By now, we know that diversity (representation of a mix of people from different cultural backgrounds, races, education levels, ages, sexualities, genders, and abilities) and inclusion (making all those people feel welcome) is important in giving every person the human decency of equal opportunity to be seen, hired and upheld with just as much power as another.
As the daughter of immigrant parents from Vietnam, I was well-versed in Vietnamese before I could even speak English. I’ve personally felt the brunt of racist taunts and social exclusion. Let me tell you, it doesn’t feel good sitting in the corner at school, surrounded by kids playing without me in what seems like an alien language.
I’ve also experienced challenges in business. As a life and business coach in an industry where many theories and practices were founded in the East, it’s hard not to notice that the face of the industry remains white-centric. For example, Google’s list of the top 25 coaches in 2023 failed to feature even one Eastern Asian, Indigenous, black or brown woman coach.
We also know that diversity and inclusion in business have a positive impact on performance. Data by McKinsey & Co in 2015 has shown that organisations with high marks for ethnic diversity are 35 per cent more likely than those with poor marks to experience financial returns above their industry average.
However, this data is based on big companies with revenue over $100 million, where there are more resources to divert towards diversity efforts.
So, is this data relevant to small businesses?
Sarah Platts, Director of leadership and communication consultancy Catalyst, says, “When an employee can bring their whole self to the workplace, they will feel more engaged and effective,” she says. “The benefits of this engagement are amplified in a small business, where people often play multiple, critical roles in driving business performance.”
I see this clearly within my own business. I have a small contracted team of Australians, a Germany-based Vietnamese social media manager, and a Filipino virtual assistant and graphic designer.
I’ve had my team members offer new business ideas unique to Asia, suggest new practices through European technological advances not yet launched in Australia, and bring perspectives about ways of working that I’d never come across before. Thanks to my culturally diverse team, I’ve had awesome innovation in my business.
The benefits of diversity in recruitment in small businesses
How do more ethnically diverse small businesses grow and perform better than those that aren’t?
- Team members are more happy and harmonious, and less stressed. Statistics show that people in diverse teams are three times less likely to resign (Inclusion@Work Index 2019). This makes sense. When people feel seen, heard and accepted, they are more satisfied and have less reason to seek alternative work options.
- Becoming more adaptable. For a small business to create an ethnically and racially diverse environment, there must already be a level of progressive thinking and openness to explore. A diverse team means more variation in team experiences, beliefs and values, further encouraging innovation in business decisions and strategy. In this fast-paced world, where change is only accelerating, adaptability is the difference between a small business staying relevant, and not.
- Expanding their customer base and connecting to their community more intimately. Small businesses with diverse cultural representation are three times more likely to provide excellent customer service, the Inclusion@Work Index 2019 states. How? Diverse small businesses have more widespread insight and can market to a wider customer base of different races and cultures. With more representation, they can speak more directly to their community to build trust, loyalty and higher conversion rates.
In contrast, if a small business lacks diversity, the three or four people in its team will carry similar beliefs, leading to difficulty seeing different perspectives and a lack of innovation.
During the pandemic, 85 per cent of diverse small businesses made business-saving changes like expanding their customer base or changing their pricing, while only 57 per cent of non-diverse businesses made those changes (Federal Reserve research).
A sure way to doom our small business to conformity and stagnancy is to create an echo chamber of confirmation bias and consensual validation, where people attach themselves to those who share the same attitudes, staying closed off to new ideas.
What about personal benefits?
Let’s not forget that the root cause of all systems of oppression, like racism, ableism, sexism and ageism is the fact that we subconsciously view certain traits as inferior compared with others.
In other words, we create a hierarchy of worth in our head, where certain traits, and people, matter more than other minority or unfamiliar traits.
In simple terms, the root cause of discrimination is the engrained judgment we carry for anything different.
But what we don’t realise is we are not separate from our judgment.
Where we judge others for being different, we also judge ourselves for our differences.
And how many of us have ever felt insecure, or doubted ourselves because of our differences?
I know I have.
Complete acceptance of diversity in small businesses is complete acceptance of ourselves, creating inner peace and liberation.
So, what can we do today?
- Create business branding and values that welcome ethnic and cultural diversity.
- Advertise job descriptions that are accommodating and flexible, with work hours to attract all people.
- Screen CVs and ask whether your decision to hire this person would change whether their name was Bonnie White or Yaling Zhao. Research shows that despite identical CVs, ethnic minorities received on average 51 per cent fewer callbacks than applicants with English names.
- Make an effort to increase diversity in all collaborations, partners and suppliers.
- Shift the narrative from within: educate yourselves through books, podcasts and online forums, about different systems of oppression and their intersectionality; check your subconscious biases that affect your mannerisms, language, decisions, and behaviours; learn about what language is no longer deemed appropriate or inclusive; and consciously expand the diversity within your personal circles, such as friends you make, media you consume, books you read, and events you attend.
If we are from an ethnic minority background, we owe it to ourselves to fight for a future of equal opportunity.
If we are Caucasian, we owe it to all those without the same privilege to give them more opportunity to match what we already possess.
Do it for the growth and success of your small business.
Do it to liberate yourself from the self-judgement you might be carrying.
Do it for a better world, where everyone can have space and a voice to shine, no matter who they are and where they have come from.
This article first appeared in issue 45 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
