The business case for diversity is clear. Diversity can boost innovation and employee engagement, and companies with greater gender and racial diversity financially outperform their peers. Yet progress within organizations has been slow – there is still a lack of women and minorities in leadership positions, and certain industries like tech and finance are lacking diversity at all levels. And many diversity programs fail. Based on evidence that diversity initiatives are more effective if they start at the top, I interviewed 11 CEOs who have made a public commitment to diversity about how they are creating more diverse workforces.
商业领域需要多元化。多元化能够鼓励创新、提高员工参与程度,性别、种族更加多样化的公司比其他公司更能盈利。尽管多元化可以带来许多好处,但是许多公司内部的多元化进程仍然缓慢,领导席位女性和少数群体的数量少,科技、金融等领域多元化程度低。许多多元化项目也都未能成功。经验表明,公司高层采用由上而下的方式实现多元化更为有效,于是,我们采访了11位公开表示要实现企业内部多元化的首席执行官,试图了解他们是如何实现员工多元化的。

The CEOs raised a variety of reasons for caring about diversity—the most common being that they believed greater diversity leads to greater diversity of thought, to the ability to attract and retain top talent, and to a better understanding of their customer base. Susan Wojcicki of YouTube said that diversity is necessary for preventing homogeneity, falling behind, and losing their competitive edge.
关于为什么要实现多元化,CEO们给出了很多原因:最重要的原因是,他们相信多元化能够带来更多不同的观点,可以吸引和留住人才,并能更好地了解客户群。来自YouTube的Susan Wojcicki表示,多元化可以避免同质化、落于人后以及失去个人竞争力。
 
The CEOs highlighted four key lessons that other leaders should keep in mind when trying to make their organizations more diverse and inclusive.
同时,CEO们还强调了以下四点,其他公司在推进公司多元化和包容性可以借鉴这几点。
 
Lead by example when it comes to diversity. A CEO’s actions, whether on or off the job, signal the extent to which diversity is valued. Kevin Johnson (Starbucks) said, “In order to make great progress the CEO needs to take this on as one of those personal initiatives that they’re going to be involved with and personally drive.” Marc Benioff (Salesforce) has embodied this concept of leading by example and signaling how much he cares about equality: he publicly opposed discriminatory legislation in states like Indiana and Georgia and marched alongside his employees in the Women’s March.
以身作则。无论在公司内外,CEO的个人行为都代表了其对多元化的态度。Kevin Johnson (星巴克)说:“为了更好地推进多元化,CEO需要以身作则,亲身参与。” Marc Benioff (Salesforce)就是以身作则的好例子,以个人行动表达对平等的重视:他曾公开反对印第安纳、乔治亚等州的歧视性法律,并与员工一起参加了女性大游行(Women’s March)。
 
Many of the leaders also speak at conferences about diversity and write openly about its importance. For example, David Cohen (Techstars) started the Techstars Foundation to promote diversity in entrepreneurship by funding women-led companies and projects that promote more women in tech.
许多公司领导人还在一些大会上围绕多元性话题发言,公开支持多元性的重要作用。例如,David Cohen (Techstars)创立了Techstars基金会,通过资助以女性为主导的公司以及帮助提高女性在科技领域地位的项目来推动企业家多元化。
 
Hold yourself and others accountable on diversity initiatives. Data and deadlines are also imperative to making diversity initiatives work. “Saying there is no deadline on this, or that things will right themselves, is an ahistorical way of looking at the advances that have been made in terms of equity and representation,” Katherine Maher (Wikimedia Foundation) said. “It has always required people to do the work. It has always required people to stand up and make it a priority.”
共同参与完成促进多元化的项目。项目完成除了需要大家的参与,也需要制定时间表和截止日期。Katherine Maher(维基媒体基金会)说:“有的人会不设定截止日期,或者认为应该顺其自然,这些都是不顾事实、不考虑之前所取得进步的说法。必须要有人参与完成这些项目,大家必须重视这些项目。”
 
Indeed, research has shown that setting and following through on diversity goals is the most effective method for increasing underrepresentation of women and minorities. Susan Wojcicki (YouTube) asks managers for updates on their numbers around diversity. Through efforts focused on supporting other women, providing longer maternity leave, and funding women’s groups, she has increased the representation of female employees from 24% to nearly 30% since taking over as CEO of YouTube in 2014.
事实上,有研究显示,设定项目时间表、并跟踪项目实施进度是最有效的提高女性及少数群体地位的做法。Susan Wojcicki (YouTube)会向下属询问多元化职工数量变化情况。自Susan 2014年出任YouTube CEO以来,通过一系列支持女性、给予女性更长产假、资助女性组织等活动,将女性职工数量比从24%提高到近30%。
 
Foster diversity throughout the organization. Many CEOs talked about the importance of having diverse teams at all levels of the company – from the frontlines to middle management to senior leadership. Shira Goodman of Staples, for example, has created programs to hire, develop, and retain more female employees, in order to have women represented equally at all levels of the organization.
在公司各个部门提高多元化程度。许多CEO都表示在公司内部各个部门实现多元化是非常重要的—前台、中间管理部门到领导部门都是如此。来自Staples的Shira Goodman就设立了这种项目,计划雇用、培养并留住更多女性员工,从而提高女性员工在各个部门的地位。
 
According to Kaiser Permanente’s year-end 2016 numbers, more than 60% of the total workforce (of 186,497 employees) are members of racial, ethnic, and cultural minorities, and more than 73% are women. More than 50% of the management and professional positions are held by racial and cultural minorities and 75% are held by women.
Kaiser Permanente公司2016年数据表示,超过60%的员工(员工总数为186,497)属于少数民族、种族以及其他文化背景人员,超过73%的员工是女性员工。管理及专业岗位中50%以上的员工都是少数民族或其他文化人员,75%是女性。
 
Broaden your perspective on diversity. Many of the leaders have been recognized for addressing racial and gender diversity at their companies, but also issues faced by LGBTQ workers, veterans, and people with disabilities. “Equality takes many different forms—income, education, racial, gender, LGBTQ, ability. There’s so much work to be done across all of these issues as we fight for equality for all,” said Marc Benioff (Salesforce).
扩大关于多元化的认知。许多领导人都在公司内面临过种族及性别多元化问题,也遇到过性少数群体(LGBTQ)、退伍军人、残疾人问题。来自Salesforce 的Marc Benioff 说:“平等所涵盖的范围很广—收入、教育、种族、性别、LGBTQ、能力等等,在追求公平的道路上我们要面临非常多的问题。”
 
Wikimedia demonstrated one way to ensure that all employees feel safe being themselves at work: they created a non-discrimination policy that includes explicit protections and expanded definitions related to gender identity and disability, citizenship, and ancestry.
维基媒体创造了一种能够保证所有员工在工作中觉得平等、有安全感的环境:非歧视原则。这项原则明确保护了员工利益,包括性别认同、残疾、公民身份、祖先等等各个方面的细节。
 
 
The CEOs talked about realizing that equality is not just giving everyone the same things, but about giving people what they need. As Bernard J. Tyson (Kaiser Permanente) told me, “We’ve evolved from equality to equity. Equality says everybody gets equal. Equity says no, everybody gets what they need. Part of building an inclusive environment is not how you’re going to change the person. It’s how you’re going to change yourself and the environment in which the person is going to have to succeed.”
CEO们表示,他们认识到平等并不是给予所有人同样的东西,而是给予人们所需要的东西。来自Kaiser Permanente的Bernard J. Tyson表示:“我们实现了从平等到公平的跨越。平等要求每个人得到同样的待遇,但公平拒绝如此,要求每个人得到需要的东西。要想在公司内创造一个包容性的环境,你不能去改变别人,而是要改变自己、改变环境,从而让大家都取得成功。”

The companies reviewed here are some of the most successful in the world. And they succeed while working to create and maintain diverse workforces. What they’ve made clear is that diversity programs alone are not enough to improve diversity in most organizations. But CEOs have the power to champion diversity by leading by example, setting goals and utilizing metrics, and holding their companies accountable.
上述公司都是世界知名的成功企业。他们也是努力创造和留住多元化员工的典范。他们表明,仅靠多元化项目是不能改善大多数企业的多元化现状的,但是CEO们可以以身作则、制定目标和项目实施进度表、关注公司发展,从而通过自己的力量促进公司员工多元化。