Inclusivity: It’s imperative for your business and society

“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” That’s the quote from Verna Myers that was ringing in my mind as we touched down in Detroit for our latest Cultivating Confidence Conversation panel, which focused on diversity and inclusion and how we can “shift the mindset to build an inclusive workforce.” No small task at hand. 

The themes of our ongoing Cultivating Confidence Conversations are inspired by exploring barriers to women’s confidence and identifying and sharing actionable solutions on how to address this global issue. We know that diversity and a lack of inclusion can be one of the largest obstacles holding people back from success. Tupperware Brands is a consistent and vocal champion when it comes to finding solutions to these confidence barriers, especially gender parity and equal representation of women. However, I also recognize that we’re not quite at the party yet, even though we’re practicing our dance moves – there is more we could do to recruit and activate a more diverse corporate workforce.

While it’s certainly a time for reflection, more importantly, it is a time for action by corporations, organizations and people. And what better place to get started than Detroit. As we explored the city, it became increasingly obvious that this was the perfect place to host such an action-oriented conversation. We could see the remnants of Detroit’s halcyon days scattered throughout, but we could also feel the surging spirit of renewal, growth and change. Our panel reflected this spirit - being made up of women who are striving for equal progress, either through non-profits focused on youth and emerging entrepreneurs, or finding a place as a purpose-driven business. They exemplify the power of cultivating confidence and breaking barriers, and I believe they will bring change to Detroit.

I’ve recapped the key highlights from our Detroit conversation with these four unstoppable women. What is most fascinating is that these can be translated across regions and countries. I urge you to join in the Conversation and be inspired to break barriers for a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

1.    Be intentional about opening up the pipeline: Diversity and inclusion is not just an HR checkbox. It’s an opportunity to harvest and maximize all potential for success. Research from McKinsey shows that diverse businesses outperform their competitors by up to 35%. Why wouldn’t organizations make it a top priority? We need to have the right policies in place to level the playing field, and be very intentional about hiring, promoting and retaining diverse talent across all levels of the organization. Our panelist Kuhu Saha, executive director of non-profit Give Merit, emphasized this during our Conversation: “We’re intentional about relationships and about hiring. This is across the board too, when you’re pulling people up, you’re reaching back.” I couldn’t agree more and believe we can all learn from Give Merit in this respect.

2.    Cultivate Confidence: When you don’t see your likeness, hear your voice, or get exposure to opinions that mirror your own, it’s nearly impossible to feel like you belong. For instance, for every step up the corporate ladder, the representation of women declines and women of color face an even steeper drop-off at senior levels. As a result, only one in five C-suite leaders is a woman, and fewer than one in 30 is a woman of color. We need to get ahead of this challenge by creating a culture that cultivates confidence in employees – an inherent confidence that helps them embrace their unique strengths and perspectives, and know the value of their contributions. I thought our panelist Pamela Lewis hit the nail on the head when she said that the feeling of being excluded had a lot to do with how she saw herself. “When I developed more confidence and embraced who I was, it seemed like that feeling got minimized," she said. In her experience, confidence was the key ingredient she needed to thrive in an industry dominated by men. That’s the kind of confidence that organizations need to instill in their employees.

3.    Learn from everyone: For true organizational change and success, there must be a diversity of ideas, approaches and thoughts through a diversity of people. However, that’s futile if we’re not willing to learn from each other. During our Conversation, our moderator Darlene King highlighted the importance of learning and reverse mentorship. “I am a believer in reverse mentorship. From Gen Z specifically, we can learn to not be inhibited by our own fears and perspectives on what we think people are, or should be.” This is an absolutely critical point as workplaces are increasingly made up of a millennial audience who are impassioned in these areas, have a more inclusive mindset and a higher sense of valuing themselves as well as those around them.

It’s encouraging to see that diversity & inclusion is increasingly becoming a top priority among leaders. However, there is still much that needs to be done. According to McKinsey, women account for an average of just 16 percent of members of executive teams in the U.S. And 97 percent of U.S. companies don’t have senior leadership teams that reflect the demographic composition of the country’s labor force and population. Unfortunately, this is not a challenge unique to the U.S. – globally, we need to act with much more urgency to build a diverse and inclusive workforce.

At Tupperware, we believe that we should not wait for the right opportunity, but create it, and there has never been a better time. With new technologies and an energetic young workforce, we have tremendous potential for change if we are willing to identify our blind spots and challenges, take intentional action and keep learning from each other along the way. The more we can knock down barriers to confidence and inclusion, the more we can come together and accomplish more – and we will be unstoppable.

If you’d like to find out more about our most recent conversation in Detroit, you can access it via livestream. You can learn more about Tupperware Brands Cultivating Confidence Conversations at https://www.tupperwarebrands.com/csr/cultivating-confidence.

If you’re interested in hosting your own Cultivating Confidence Conversation, you can visit Tupperware Brands Resource Guide here: https://www.tupperwarebrands.com/assets/files/TUP_CCC-RG_031618.pdf 

Rick Goings is the Chairman and CEO of Tupperware Brands Corporation.

Through an independent sales force of 3.2 million, Tupperware Brands Corporation is the leading global marketer of innovative, premium products across multiple brands utilizing social selling. Product brands and categories include design-centric preparation, storage and serving solutions for the kitchen and home through the Tupperware brand and beauty and personal care products through the Avroy Shlain, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics and Nuvo brands.