It’s not so surprising that LGBT employees are happier at companies that are strong on diversity, but it’s also true that straight employees are more likely to apply to more diverse companies and feel happier there and stay longer.
Interview with Michiel Kolman
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | Download
What makes us comfortable may also make us more successful. Diversity and inclusion in the workplace correlate to above-average profitability, according to a 2017 McKinsey survey of more than 1,000 companies in a dozen countries. For LGBTIQ employees especially, inclusive office cultures conclusively do drive higher achievement.
Equal treatment for all is, of course, a basic principle of civil society. We shouldn’t have to make a business case for it. As a challenge to discrimination in the workplace, though, the business case is a necessary and important argument to make, one among many others.
Drag Queen Bingo during Pride Week in Amsterdam
Over many years, Michiel Kolman has honed his skills as an advocate for diversity and inclusion in publishing as senior vice president, information industry relations and academic ambassador emeritus at Elsevier in Amsterdam, as well as on his travels around the globe as president of the International Publishers Association. Recently, Kolman spoke with CCC’s Chris Kenneally about why it is important for publishers to make LGBTIQ workplace inclusion a key principle in their hiring practices.
“Why does diversity pay off? I think there are five important reasons. One is that it helps in attracting and retaining top talent. It also improves what you call ‘customer orientation.’ It leads to better employee satisfaction. The decision-making process is better. And companies which are more diverse are also more creative and more innovative,” Kolman explains.
“It’s not so surprising that LGBT employees are happier at companies that are strong on diversity, but it’s also true that straight employees that are more likely to apply to more diverse companies and feel happier there and stay longer. So, diversity pays off for retention, as well,” he adds.
