Finding Diverse Candidates for Fortune 500 Companies
First and foremost, U.S. Fortune 500 companies are focused on the bottom line in order to maintain profitability and shareholder value. Significantly, study after study have proven that more diverse companies are more likely to outperform their less diverse counterparts. For example, firms in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above the national industry medians. Additionally, companies with 30% female leaders earn 6% more in profits compared to those without female leadership.
Corporate roles by gender and race
However, corporate America still remains primarily white and male, an issue that is especially pronounced at the executive level. For example, men compose 79% of executive roles, while women occupy just 21% of executive positions. The same study conducted by McKinsey also found a lack of ethnic diversity within leadership. African Americans comprise approximately 10% of all U.S. university graduates but only hold 4% of senior-level executive roles; similarly, Hispanics and Latinos represent 8% of graduates, yet comprise just 4% of executives.
CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion
After PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a survey of corporate directors, researchers found that 84% agreed that companies should be doing more to promote gender and racial diversity in the workplace. Additionally, CEOs have been signing on to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, which is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Recognizing that change starts at the executive level, more than 2,500 CEOs of the world’s leading companies and business organizations are leveraging their individual and collective voices to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
So why isn’t there greater diversity within Fortune 500 companies? Lack of a diverse network of contacts and unconscious bias, or implicit bias, are several reasons among many. Dylan Green has been leveraging its vast network of contacts from decades of recruiting experience to connect top-notch, diverse candidates with hiring managers.