Diversity Sucks. Diversity Matters.

We need to admit that diversity sucks but that it matters.

I dare you to tell me otherwise. Diversity sucks. It’s annoying, frustrating and often infuriating. And if it doesn’t then you’re doing it wrong.

Most of the time, it seems like a good idea to avoid diversity. Why invite tension and conflict into the team or the company? Because let’s face it, diversity creates friction.

If you worked or grew up in diversity, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It annoyingly raises the minimum standard of behavior.

• You’ve got to think before you open your mouth
• You’ve got to check your attitude at the door
• You’ve got to explain things that are obvious to you
• You’ve got to listen to things that make no sense to you
• You’ve got to discuss things you don’t always care about
• You’ve got to mind other people’s identity issues
• You’ve got to agree to disagree
• You’ve got to try stuff that feels, tastes, sounds strange

Basically, to survive diversity you need higher than average empathy and also some nerves. Hard stuff for most people. I should know: I’m a TCK, a so-called Third Culture Kid. Diversity has been a default setting my entire life. And I still think it sucks.

More people should admit that diversity is a pain in the neck, and stop blaming/shaming companies that don’t practice diversity. First of all, shaming isn’t a very effective way to motivate anyone. But it fails to recognise that not every team/leader/manager is equipped to deal with a diverse workforce.

Some companies are better off without diversity (although they will pay the price in the medium and long term) until they have the capacity to turn it into a positive force. Otherwise, all they’ll see is the annoying, frustrating and infuriating side of diversity.

Diversity as more than a social agenda

Companies have been under a lot of pressure to diversify their workforce and their practices. It seems to come from different movements: on the one hand there is the social agenda and, somewhat disconnected, the business agenda.

While I see no problem in advancing a social agenda that is more inclusive and fair, not all companies know how to balance community values with their business imperatives. In many cases, the bigger motivation for practicing diversity is the resulting gain in competitiveness and innovation capability.

Much of the conversation on diversity (at least on Medium) seems to come from the US, where there is a unique social movement afoot. But in other places in the world, the push for more diverse teams is less about a social agenda and more about the practical benefits of a diverse team.

By the way, if you’re still with me so far, I will add that I’m not referring to ‘top-level’ diversity; the one that is marked by ethnicity and gender. Diversity runs much deeper than that. Limiting it to gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation makes for easier conversation but it leads companies to struggle even more. Let’s not forget, for example, age diversity.

At MEGI, we try to practice diversity in a more organic and practical way. We actively seek people with different personal experiences and from different professional and educational backgrounds. We hope the rest (e.g. gender, ethnicity, etc.) sorts itself out in the process. So far so good. It’s hazardous and frustrating but many of our team’s biggest achievements came from the tensions brought about by diversity. We’ve come to believe that diversity could be our competitive advantage.

Diversity as a competitive advantage

I’d like more people to talk about diversity in terms of a competitive advantage. We should be able to measure the impact of diversity on everything and more specifically on a product or the bottom line, like a Return on Diversity. It might be easier to move companies forward if we explain how they will be better off (financially) with a more diverse workforce.

First, we need to admit that diversity sucks but that it matters.