It is well established that diversity boosts creativity and reduces groupthink. So the Bank of England has adopted a challenging set of diversity targets. Considerable progress has been made in ensuring that the BoE reflects the nation better — women now make up 31 per cent of our senior team, up from 17 per cent in 2013 — and diversity is at the heart of the “One Bank” strategic plan.
Similar initiatives across the public and private sectors show that attitudes are shifting. But while people believe that workplace diversity is valuable, they also think recruiters should choose the best person for the job. The problem is that these propositions have a nasty habit of jarring. How many times have you heard an organisation say they would have loved to close their diversity deficit, but selected “on merit”?
This is a false trade-off. It stems from using too narrow a definition of “best person for the job”. This can make for faulty hiring decisions and a less diverse workplace. If relatively simple steps are taken to widen the definition, this could transform organisational strength.