Canada’s next diversity challenge: inclusion

Next weekend Canada will celebrate its 150th birthday. What will the world look like when we get to 2067?

Unlike anything we know in 2017.

We’re at the intersection of the two most interesting trends of modern times: a demographic revolution and a technological revolution. To make the most of this confluence, we need a combination of brainpower and social awareness like we’ve never seen before. In other words, diversity like we’ve never seen before.

I addressed the issue at a Dentons global partners conference in Toronto. Here’s what I said we should consider:

1. A changing world has come to Canada

When Canada marked its centenary, the world was full of warnings about a population bomb, and predictions from the Club of Rome that we would not be able to feed, house or clothe a more crowded planet. The opposite has happened in terms of basic needs — global poverty is steadily declining. And Canada is among the beneficiaries, producing more food, energy and ideas for more people.

In the past 50 years, the world’s population has more than doubled — from 3.5 billion to 7.5 billion today. If current projections are correct, the world will surpass 10 billion people by 2060. But unlike decades past, people are no longer staying within the borders of their country of birth. Across the globe, we are seeing unprecedented migration: the number of humans on the move worldwide has increased from 154 million in 1990 to 244 million in 2015. Again, Canada gains — for the most part. Without immigration, our population would soon be in decline. Unfortunately, climate change has been an outcome too, and will get worse before hopes improve for the global environment.

2. The world’s middle class is on the move

Common to elections now in many countries is the demonization of immigration. Be it for security or cultural reasons, immigration is routinely attacked — a discourse that distorts the reality of immigration. Today’s immigrants are more educated and wealthier than ever before. In 2015, immigrants originating from middle income countries represented nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of all migrants worldwide. In Canada, over half of our scientists, engineers, and technicians are immigrants — and their kids are doing even better. According to a 2011 report from Statistics Canada, 57% of immigrant children obtained a university degree — compared to 37% on non-immigrant children.

3. Diversity is driving innovation

Immigration has changed as much as the world around us. More than a third of Silicon Valley’s population was born outside of the United States in 2016–37.5% compared to 13.5% for the entire U.S. And these newcomers are not just employees; they’re the founders and drivers of the innovation economy. Last year, America produced 87 so-called unicorns — new companies that had reached a value of at least $1 billion. Just over half were founded by immigrants. A recent study by Bessma Momani and Jillian Stirk for the Centre for International Governance Innovation surveyed nearly 8,000 workplaces to assess the impact of diversity on performance. The authors found that a 1% increase in ethnocultural diversity was associated with an average 2.4% increase in revenue and a 0.5% gain in productivity. For gender, a 1% increase in diversity was associated with an average 3.5% increase in revenue and 0.7% gain in productivity.

4. Gender diversity has stalled

The diversity debate in 1967 focused on gender, and helped to transform the workforce. Increased female participation pushed productivity and innovation to new record levels in the 1970s and ’80s. But progress has stalled. At the most senior, level women account for only 12% of board seats globally, and only chair 4% of boards. Here in Canada, we’ve doubled female representation in just 15 years in our top 500 boards — but we’re still only at 22%. Even worse, 60% of Canadian resource companies reported last year that they had zero women on their boards. The world has changed. Business is still playing catch-up

5. Inclusion is the next frontier

Quotas do not magically produce innovation or growth — or inclusion. Women are not inherently more innovative than men, nor are Asians more than Latinos. Instead, it is the aggregate of diversity and the ability of inclusion to leverage the power of the many that produces the diversity dividend. A commitment to enhancing diversity and inclusion in a company’s purpose is a crucial first step. Diversity councils, chaired by the CEO, can take it further. Employers should host regular career development and networking events to strengthen female and visible minority candidates for pipelines positions. And mangers should track and be held accountable for tracking the development of female and visible minority candidates. Diversity is a fact. Inclusion is a choice. And choices usually require work, fi they’re to work out.