Yahoo Finance Goldman Sachs report: Why advancing Black professionals is essential for business success
Racial diversity is "crucial" to the long-term success of companies says the chief operating officer of Global Investment Research at Goldman Sachs (GS), in a special new report.
Gizelle George-Joseph, makes the argument for greater workplace diversity to attract employees and grow a sustainable consumer base.
"The powerful influence of corporations in America provides an opportunity to hire, develop and advance Black professionals in their own organisations, as well as encourage other firms in the US and globally to do so," says George-Joseph in the Investing in Racial Economic Equality report presented to clients by Goldman Sachs.
Her comments are supported by further evidence from the gold standard benchmark McKinsey reports which clearly show diversity is a vital component of financial growth.
Companies in the top quartile for ethnic or cultural diversity in their executive teams are 36% more likely to experience above-average profitability, the McKinsey research has previously demonstrated.
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The Boston Consulting Group also ran a comparable study which revealed companies with above average diversity on their management teams had innovation revenues 19% higher than firms with below average diversity representation.
George-Joseph concludes that the business case for diversity will only grow in America as the labour force, clients and consumers become increasingly diverse over the coming decades. By 2030 the non-Hispanic white population in the US is expected to decline by 10% making communities more diverse as immigration rises.
But Black Americans continue to experience high levels of labour market discrimination, both in terms of hiring and the lived experience in the workplace, says the Goldmach Sachs report.
Action to address this can be achieved through a range of measures including sponsorship, mentoring, career development programmes, employee dialogue and diversity and inclusion training.
"Embracing diversity is critical to companies' long term success both as it relates to how they are perceived as an employer of choice in a globalised world with an evolving demographic makeup, as well as to their bottom line," adds George-Joseph.
