“Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.”
This famous Groucho Marx quote has been much on my mind recently as the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have come under sustained pressure.
The law is the law. Of course companies and organisations must comply with that. But most of the corporate values we choose to prioritise and portray have absolutely nothing to do with legislation. It’s about what you think is right and how you want to be seen.
Your values are your values. Restating and confirming them in tricky political weather is called leadership.
And if, for some reason, you don’t like the ‘it’s about fairness’ argument for DEI, then what about the financial one?
McKinsey & Company’s report Diversity Matters Even More, released just over a year ago, found: “Despite a rapidly-changing business landscape, the business case for DEI not only holds, but grows even stronger.”
It went on: “Companies with greater diversity on their boards of directors are more likely to outperform financially.”
Do all DEI initiatives or hiring practices work perfectly? On the basis that there is unlikely to be a single programme or process in any workplace, anywhere in the world, that cannot be improved in some way, I doubt it. But would you just tear up any other programme or process, or would you take the time to make it better?
So one more time for the people at the back… Evidence suggests that firms – including ITS firms - which embrace diversity might do better at the one thing they are created to do: make money. The fact that this is still up for debate is curious.
DEI includes greater gender representation, and Ertico - ITS Europe is running an event called Moving Beyond Manels on 11 March, to raise awareness of gender imbalance in the transport and mobility sectors.
There will also be a Special Interest Session on Women in ITS during Ertico’s ITS European Congress in Seville, which runs from 19-21 May.
At the ITS World Congress in Dubai last September, Ertico organised a session called Global Voices of Women in ITS. We caught up with the six speakers who took part to get some more thoughts from them in 'You can't be what you can't see'.
As Ertico’s Lidia Buenavida Peña says: “Ultimately, the ITS industry must recognise that fostering a culture of inclusivity is not just about fairness—it’s about driving innovation through diverse perspectives and creating solutions that better serve all members of society.”
As McKinsey & Co suggest, it helps the bottom line, too. That’s a principle we can surely all stand by.
