The need to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts has long been clear, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it even more apparent — and urgent. For example, the pandemic disproportionately displaced women from the workforce around the world. In December 2020, at the height of the pandemic, 100% of jobs lost belonged to women. Yet according to McKinsey, there’s $12 trillion in additional, untapped GDP left on the table if we can collectively narrow the gender gap by 2025. Other research by McKinsey shows that “financial institutions could realize approximately $2 billion in incremental annual revenue if Black Americans had the same access to financial products as white Americans.”
And these are just the financial benefits. But outside of this pandemic (or any other global, national, or local crisis), the full reward of a diverse workforce has no bounds. Diversity has been shown to yield higher employee satisfaction, better retention, smarter company decisions — and more.