The business case for diversity, equity, and inclusion has been well-established for years now.  For example, McKinsey reports in 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2023 document how companies with gender and racial/ethnic diversity in their executive leadership consistently and dramatically outperform those that do not.  In McKinsey’s most recent report, companies in the top quartile for such diversity financially outperform companies in the lowest quadrant by 39%.   

And lest we confuse correlation with causation, studies that focus specifically on workplace belonging reveal other quantifiable positives.  BetterUp Labs’ 2019 study, The Value of Belonging at Work, found that “[h]igh belonging was linked to a whopping 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days….  Employees with higher workplace belonging also showed a 167% increase in their employer promoter score (their willingness to recommend their company to others).”

Sounds like an easy, simple fix, right?  Things seldom are.  I’m intrigued by the research of Katherine Phillips.  As a tenured business professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and, later, at Columbia Business School, Dr. Phillips dug deeply into the nuts and bolts of how diversity impacts group dynamics and problem-solving performance.