Managing Diversity*
July 2009

Creating competitive advantage through cultural dexterity
Highlights • Cultural dexterity is a business skill that enables effective collaboration and communication among people across multiple dimensions of diversity. • Collaboration within a group of diverse people, who approach problems from different perspectives, improves corporate performance. • The environment a company creates can enable—or impede— the success of its employees. • Leaders are personally accountable for creating a culture in which all employees clearly understand what success is and how to achieve it—and are actively encouraged to participate.

Facing continued economic uncertainty and concerned with the short-term demands of meeting …show more content…

Such an ability is vital for companies striving to manage change or weather crises with creativity and agility. It’s a basis for resilience.

A business imperative An increasing number of studies indicate a correlation between the number of women in management positions and corporate performance. A 2001 survey found that Fortune 500 firms with more female executives outperformed their industry medians by 34% in terms of profit as a percent of revenues and by 69% in terms of profit as a percent of stockholders’ equity.3 A 2007 survey found that among European firms, those with higher percentages of women in management saw their stock price increase 17% more than the average in a two-year period.4 These results suggest that the cognitive diversity brought by just one dimension of diversity alone may impact the bottom line. The need to recruit, retain, and motivate a diverse talent base is a business imperative.

B

13%

C

82%

† Audience poll at the PwC Diversity Leadership Forum.

3. Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow. “The female advantage.” Boston Globe, May 3, 2009, final edition. 4. McKinsey & Co. 2007. Women matter: Gender diversity, a corporate performance driver. New York: McKinsey & Co.

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Building a platform for success
What are the race and gender of the person leading diversity efforts at your company?† A. B. C. D.
A

White woman White man Woman of color Man of color
20%

B

17%

Environment plays a critical role in an