OSPE - The Voice - March 2018 - 3

letterS to the editor

Ensuring a diversity payoff
There is a lot of buzz around diversity at the moment - and it was a timely theme
for the December issue of The Voice. Several contributors cited research evidence
and compelling examples of positive financial performance and enhanced creative
innovation associated with diversity. It seems obvious that organizations should
pay serious attention to diversity in their employee ranks and on their boards.
Where they don't make the grade, they should take actions to address underrepresentation. However there is a danger that organizations will assume that the
correlations between diversity and positive outcomes are robust in all contexts. That
if you bring diverse talent together on a design or research team - innovation and
financial performance will certainly improve.
This assumption is examined in an insightful opinion piece published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(Nielsen et al, March 2017 http://www.pnas.org/content/114/8/1740.full). The
authors focus on gender diversity, but their observations can be extended to
broader considerations of diversity. The authors make it clear that '"diversity in"
does not automatically lead to "creativity out." They emphasize the "need to foster
mechanisms of innovation" to produce successful outcomes.
What does this mean for organizations that hope to improve research innovation
or corporate performance through greater diversity?
Leaders in these organizations must ensure that there is a positive climate to
foster collective intelligence. 45 per cent of the women who participated in a recent
survey for OSPE's "Breaking Barriers for Women in STEM" project indicated that
they feel "disrespected and undervalued by managers, co-workers, contractors and/
or clients"- clearly a situation that is not conducive to creativity and innovation.
I agree with Dean Duever's point that there is a need to change STEM culture by
raising awareness of individual and group biases and by addressing other systemic
barriers. We know from our efforts to increase gender diversity in STEM fields that
these barriers are deeply rooted and there must be a long-term commitment by
employers and advocates to effect culture change.
However, if organizations do not pay attention to these factors, there will be
economic consequences. Not only will they fail to realize "diversity dividends," they
will not be able to retain talent and lose their investments in recruiting and training.
A report summarizing all of the survey findings will be posted on the "Let's
Break Barriers" website (https://www.ospe.on.ca/lets-break-barriers ) this month.
The project team is analysing feedback from focus groups and surveys and will
use this information to develop and pilot strategies to address systemic barriers
for women in STEM fields.
Valerie Davidson, P.Eng.
"Breaking Barriers for Women in STEM" project team member
University Professor Emerita, University of Guelph

PUBlISher
Sandro Perruzza
edITOr
alida Flannery
COnTrIBUTOrS
Natalia Bernatek
Edmund Konroyd-Bolden, PhD.
Lee Weissling, PhD.
mark Bowling
alida Flannery
Patrick Sackville
catrina Kronfli
Jamie Gerson, P.Eng., mBa
chett Bradley
Stephanie harden
deSIgn and PrOdUCTIOn
Dovetail communications
adVerTISIng InqUIrIeS
Eastern Ontario
Jason Di Tommaso
jditommaso@ospe.on.ca 613-986-1437
Northern/central Ontario
Jamie Gerson, P.Eng., mBa
jgerson@ospe.on.ca 647-515-5281
Southwestern Ontario
catherine Dunn Stadtegger
cstadtegger@ospe.on.ca 647-205-0375
OSPe IS PrOUdly SPOnSOred By
PreSIdenT'S CIrCle

dIreCTOr'S CIrCle

InflUenCer'S CIrCle

SUPPOrTer'S CIrCle

Submit your letters via email to:

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Ontario, m2N 6K1

info@ospe.on.ca | www.ospe.on.ca | Postage paid: Publications mail 40606018

The VOICe

March 2018

The ROI is Priceless

mIX
Paper from responsible
sources
www.fsc.org FSc® c103513

http://www.pnas.org/content/114/8/1740.full https://www.ospe.on.ca/lets-break-barriers http://www.ospe.on.ca http://www.fsc.org

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