Diversity Secrets

Getting Serious About Diversity? ‘Enough Already with the Business Case’, says Dr. Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey, PhD

April 21, 2022 Louise Moulié Season 2 Episode 1
Diversity Secrets
Getting Serious About Diversity? ‘Enough Already with the Business Case’, says Dr. Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey, PhD
Show Notes

#008 For our first episode of Season 2 “Why it Really Matters”, we are thrilled to welcome a very exciting guest: Dr. Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey, PhD, founder and Managing Director of Element of Inclusion. In his mission to make companies more diverse and inclusive, Dr. Jonathan applies academic theory to business practice.

This episode, he keeps us on our toes as he helps us understand what exactly we mean by ‘business case’ when talking about DEI. He tells us that mainstream studies that have made this so-called business case popular may have mislead us: the correlation between diversity and economic performance isn’t as simple as it seems. And so we discuss how to build the right business case for your organization, as well as the missing keys to make DEI deliver on their economic promise. Finally, Dr. Jonathan reminds us that this business case is underpinned by the Friedman Doctrine, that states that the primary responsibility of an organisation is to its shareholders and that the primary goal of an organisation is to maximize returns to the shareholders. We question this doctrine and ask ourselves whether it is still relevant today, especially given the rise of interest in social justice for which companies are being held accountable for. Will the social justice case replace the business case?

Tune in today, and subscribe to not miss our next episode next week!

This season, we’re partnering with Mixity.co, the first digital HR solution for assessing, managing and promoting D&I in businesses of all lines and sizes. Mixity gives you a 360-degree view of your D&I footprint on 5 dimensions: gender equality, sexual orientation and gender identity, disability, cultural and social origins, and age.
Be sure to check out their website for more information: https://www.mixity.co/

Resources cited in this episode:

Curious to learn more about Diversity Secrets Agency Training & Consulting services? Get in touch: louise@diversitysecrets.co
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