How embracing diversity and inclusion can boost innovation

Just as ecosystems and economies thrive when built on diverse foundations, businesses and industries flourish when they embrace diversity and inclusion (D&I). Diversity in the workplace fuels innovation, improves problem-solving, and drives more sustainable, productive outcomes.

EDI is an essential driver of innovation and economy

A business that embraces diversity in their culture has been shown to have many benefits. Diversity in teams boosts productivity by up to 30% and patent citations by 121%. Research by McKinsey shows that companies with higher levels of gender and ethnic diversity in their executive teams are about 40% more likely to outperform their peers in terms of profitability. More diverse companies are also 70% more likely to capture new markets, generate nearly double the revenue derived from new products and services, and have more than double the cash flow per employee over a three-year period. 

The benefits of greater diversity are not just limited to individual business cases. In fact, there is evidence to support these benefits can translate to a stronger national economy. In a government report looking at gender diversity alone, closing the gender gap in labour market participation, STEM qualifications and wages could grow the UK economy by 2%, that’s about £55 billion, by 2030.

How to embrace EDI

To help embed EDI in your industry or company, it is vital to recognise the barriers to entry. Social economics impact access to resources and networks. Financial, regulatory, educational and operational factors can also make the prospect of finding employment difficult for those who are not part of the established status quo. 

Recognising these barriers and putting practices in place to minimise or remove them can create policies and ways of working that benefit people at all levels, both within and outside your company. 

Here are some ways to make EDI part of your ethos: 

• Build EDI into early career initiatives. Give career talks in schools and colleges, host STEM events and provide work experience opportunities. For example, the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) Careers Team supports schools, employers and providers, through several programmes designed to raise aspirations and awareness of employability and transferable skills:
  - The Big Big Project
  - The Anything Is Possible Initiative
  - SEND Enterprise Challenge Week

• Career adverts paint a picture. Debias your application and recruitment process by carefully wording the job advert to attract a diverse array of candidates. They should be formatted for readability and not be overly complex or dense. Consider using language decoders to avoid gender, age or ethnically biased wording. Adding an authentic diversity statement that incorporates the company values is a strong signal your company cares about their employee’s unique differences and the benefits of EDI.

• Make sure your hiring review team reflects the diversity you are looking for. It should be comprised of people from different backgrounds, perspectives and ethnicities and, where possible, be part of the feedback process before an advert is placed.

• Representation matters. Building a diverse and inclusive culture and workforce can take time. It is important to make sure those with different beliefs, backgrounds and characteristics within the company have a voice and visibility.

• Retain institutional knowledge. If an experienced employee leaves, passing on experience and skills throughout the company ensures others can mitigate this loss. It also reduces the focus on age and experience in the hiring process.

• Empower management to drive EDI initiatives through relevant training. Due to their influence and leadership, this can greatly impact an inclusive culture from the top down.

Inclusive innovation at CPI

CPI’s EDI journey started a few years ago, but accelerated in February 2022 when CEO, Frank Millar, signed the Catapult Network’s Inclusivity in Innovation Charter. The Charter was a joint effort set up and signed by the Catapult Network’s CEOs committing to a shared vision for diverse and inclusive workplaces in innovation. 

Fast forward to 2024 and inclusivity is one of our core values, we work closely with Inclusive Employers on a membership basis, who support our ED&I journey through access to resources, expertise, consulting and training. In early 2023, CPI received formal accreditation from Inclusive Employers with a silver award. 

As part of our efforts, we have made it a key focus to deliver EDI training to all managers in our 3‑year road map for improvements to EDI. Similar cross-industry initiatives could help to drive systemic changes that make entire sectors more inclusive and diverse. 

We are supporting women by reducing our gender pay gap, making sure there are equal opportunities for women across roles and empowering women through development programmes. Our Diversity and Inclusion Affinity groups provide safe spaces for representation where experiences can be shared and discussed. We are grateful for the work they do and have planned. 

CPI also works with partners to embed EDI principles across sectors. Take the foundation industries, which employ a quarter of a million people in the UK and contribute 2.5% of the UK’s GDP. This sector is a bedrock of our society but faces challenges around decarbonisation and adapting to an evolving global market. Innovation will be crucial to help overcome these challenges, and a lack of diversity was identified as one of the key barriers by industry partners. 

As one of the founding partners in the Foundation Industries Sustainability Consortium (FISC), CPI has been working with partners to address this issue, focusing initially on early career influence. The foundation industries typically struggle to attract people early on in their career, so CPI has worked with local organisations in Tees Valley (an area with a rich industrial heritage) to understand the problems and provide practical guidance for organisations to improve their early-career offerings – from creating case studies of successful internships for better outreach to making the most of funding programmes to help close skills gaps. 

In CPI, we are committed to breaking down barriers and creating a culture where diverse people and ideas can build a better world through impactful innovation.