by Marte C. W. Solheim
It is hardly possible to overrate the value (…) of placing human beings in contact with
persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and action unlike those
with which they are familiar (…) Such communication has always been, and is
particularly in the present age, one of the primary sources of progress.
(Mill, 1848)
The quotation by Mill is easily applicable in contemporary society, as one of the pivotal strategic challenges in modern work-life is changing the demographics of the workforce.
Augmented diversity is a reality across organisations, industries and countries. Employees in today’s workplaces are more likely than before to engage with people with different backgrounds. This increased diversity stems from increased and more complex migratory patterns, ageing populations, anti-discrimination measures, more women entering the workforce, educational and skill upgrading of the workforce and augmented job-hopping. Together, these factors (and more) lead to increased diversity in the contemporary workforce in terms of work-life experiences, gender, educational background and
skill mix, birthplace diversity and age, to mention a few.
Concomitantly, a vast amount of research has pointed to the benefits of a diverse workforce and has been highlighted by practitioners. The commonly painted picture herein is that a diverse workforce boosts creativity and innovation. Past research discusses, on the one hand, diversity bringing new perspectives and ideas , and on the other hand, reducing trust and increasing conflict among actors. Thus, there are mixed and often contradictory results in the context of culturally diverse teams. Diversity has, therefore, often been depicted as a ‘double-edged sword’ or a ‘mixed blessing’.
Innovation comprises a set of processes carried out by individuals and assemblies of individuals that are ‘stimulated, facilitated and enhanced – or the opposite, by a set of macro-structural conditions’ (Kanter, 2000, p. 205). Kanter herein addresses the importance of management of the innovation process in empowering the individuals who facilitate ‘connecting the dots’.
However, in considerable research on skill inflows, these processes are taken for granted, as if the integration of diverse knowledge take place (or not) independently of firm efforts. In line with this, van Knippenberg and Schippers (2007) have signalled that it has been difficult to predict under which conditions diversity might have negative or positive effects on organisational outcomes. Stegmann et al. (2012, p. 20) argue that ‘the underlying mechanisms which translate diversity into individual and organizational outcomes, as well as the factors that moderate these relationships, are not sufficiently understood.’
Moreover, van Knippenberg and Schippers (2007, p. 534) argue that diversity research should pay more attention to the social categorisation and information/decision-making processes and intergroup biases that underlie the potential effects of diversity. In line with this, this chapter argues that firms can gain a competitive advantage only if they can integrate the knowledge and expertise of their workforce in meaningful ways. Traavik (2019, p. 215) argues that ‘Today’s workplaces, filled with a variety of people, need to create environments where people can develop a sense of belonging and self, contribute successfully to organizational goals and outcomes, collaborate and cooperate with one another and flourish.’ Even though employees might come up with creative ideas and innovate (put those creative ideas into practice), they must also feel confident that their attempts to innovate will be well received. We therefore arrive at a crucial point of marrying diversity, innovation and inclusion. This is increasingly important in the knowledge economy, where business success depends on bringing in and joining diverse perspectives ‘on purpose’ (Edmondson & Besieux, 2021).
Consequently, the purpose of a recent book chapter that I wrote, is to marry lessons learned from social psychology and management with those learned from innovation studies.
I argue that the field must move beyond the automatic assumption of association between diversity and innovation or studying either the good or bad effects of diversity on innovation (separated from mechansisms at play to increase utilisation of such), and rather, shed light on inclusion or stimuli that leverage the potential in a diverse workforce fostering innovation.
Note: The text above is based on my introduction to a book chapter on innovation and diversity, entitled “Making a thousand diverse flowers bloom: driving innovation through inclusion of diversity in organisations”. Would you like to read the rest of the book-chapter? Please see here.