The Inclusion Incentive

Within the next 5 years, the global population will reach 8 billion for the first time. It doesn’t need saying that this is a monumental milestone in human history and achievement.

2020 also marks another marquee moment, particularly for civil progress in Europe. December 2020 will be the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, a document that enshrines equality before the law, and protects citizens from discrimination on the basis of disability, age, sexual orientation, culture, religion or language.

Though these two events seem quite distinct and separate events, they are both important as they give us an opportunity to recognise the diversity of our society and the importance of protecting it.

We live in an incredibly colourful world that becomes more varied and vibrant each day. For me, it is important to commemorate landmarks that have made our world a better place and to take these opportunities to reflect on what more we can do.

As the Global Executive Sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion across SAP’s Global Customer Operations business, this means taking stock of these moments and identifying ways for us to make our organisation more inclusive for the diverse talent that we already employ. At SAP, it is important that all our employees’ voices are heard and recognised.

A recent study by Harvard Business Review found that half of women report being interrupted in meetings at a higher rate than their male peers are. If a business systematically undermines the ideas of a large portion of its workers it won’t approach its problems with the richness of ideas that they deserve.

Our Executive Board recognised that 34% of our workforce are women and they were underrepresented in management positions. As such, we committed to increasing the percentage of women in management positions by 1% each year with a target of 30% by year-end 2022.

I believe that encouraging every employee to be their authentic selves and giving them the agency and opportunity to develop in their careers is vital for businesses to be successful.

A recent McKinsey report supports this understanding that diversity and inclusion have demonstrable business benefits. The report showcased that the top 25% of ethnically diverse companies are 33% more likely to achieve above-average profit. Making sure that your workforce is diverse and inclusive is not only the right thing to do, but it is also the right thing to do for your business.

To me, it is clear that a diverse and inclusive working environment helps improve employee retention and a company’s bottom line.

 At SAP, our workforce consists of over 150 nationalities across 5 generations, 87% of whom embrace workplace diversity. In fact, in 2016, SAP became the first multinational technology company to be awarded the Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) certificate. Then, when we recertified in 2018, EDGE found that we had improved in every category across hiring, promotions, gender balance, career accelerators, and flexible work options.

However, far from resting on our laurels, these accolades encourage us to approach our commitment to helping improve lives around the globe with renewed vigor. One of the ways we do this is by tapping into the power of technology for the greater good.

For example, we have a dedicated SAP.iO fund that focuses on strategic early-stage investments in enterprise software start-ups. As a part of this fund, we have committed to invest up to 40% of the investable capital in under-represented groups in technology to help foster diversity and inclusion in the sector.

While promoting diversity and inclusion within your business can help with profitability and growth, by tackling diversity and inclusion from a holistic, industry-wide perspective, we can create a culture with richer ideas that will help drive innovation within our sector.

I remain proud of the work that we do at SAP to promote diversity, and I look forward to watching diverse and inclusive workforces stimulate global growth in 2020 and beyond.