Diversity Into Action

Illustrations by Samtrez Crawley // Additional Research & Writing by Jasmine Williams

How 7 Modern Leaders Operationalized The Value of Diversity

Diversity isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a strength — but far too many leaders approach diversity in simplistic ways, peppering their teams with employees from various underrepresented or marginalized groups and hoping for the best.

Embodying diversity as a value is much more complex than that. It’s about more than individual representation. It also involves systematically dismantling systems of oppression that have barred people from those groups from achieving success.

The murder of George Floyd and the ensuing protests was a watershed moment that pushed companies like Nike and Ben & Jerry’s to reexamine their diversity practices and publicly commit to doing better for all BIPOC individuals and communities. Suddenly, diversity became the word on everyone’s lips, second only to equity and inclusion.

When handled correctly, bringing more diversity into your organization can give you a competitive edge, but leaders need to be thoughtful and intentional with their approach. To guide you in the right direction, we’ll define diversity in the context of leadership and share lessons from modern leaders who champion diversity in all aspects of their work and life.

Why diversity is essential to leadership

For too long, only a specific type of person, typically white and male, could occupy specific spaces of power or authority. Now we know that every person has leadership potential and diversity isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s critical to a company’s success.

Diverse companies perform better, have less groupthink, have higher employee retention rates, and are often more creative since employees don’t feel pressured to conform. However, to make the most of diversity, leaders must also think about inclusion and belonging. Bringing in a few new faces doesn’t go far enough.

Diversity as a value means taking a good hard look at your actions, as well as those of your team and company as a whole, and consistently looking for opportunities to bring in and empower people who have historically been excluded and ignored. Diversity’s about holding space as much as it is about making space for others.

Lessons from diverse modern leaders

Learning how to incorporate this value into your leadership style starts with learning by example. Read on to learn how these incredible leaders promote diversity and advocate for others.

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative @ U.S. Congress

• Bozoma St. John, CMO @ Netflix

• Britta Wilson, VP of Inclusion Strategies @ Pixar

• Ajay Banga, Executive Chairman @ Mastercard

• Rihanna, Founder @ Fenty

• Sanna Marin, Prime Minister @ Finland

• Avery Francis, Founder @ Bridge School & Bloom

1. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative @ U.S. Congress

As the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has shaken up the Democratic Party. She doesn’t hide behind jargon or talk down to her audience. She speaks plainly to ensure that anybody listening an understanding, regardless of their educational background.

Ocasio-Cortez also openly addresses sexism and racism, both on and off the Hill, leaving no room for ambiguity about her stance on diversity and respect. She’s conscious of her position as a public figure and uses her platform to advocate for those who don’t have a voice. Whether she is backing up a colleague tackling tokenism in diversity or discussing her racial heritage, she fully embraces the value of diversity.

Says Ocasio-Cortez on the future of the United States: “The only way forward is a multiracial democracy that fights for the economic rights of all people and the civil rights of all people. Period.”

ACTION: Be a voice for the voiceless.

2. Bozoma Saint John, CMO @ Netflix

As the Chief Marketing Officer of Netflix, a talent agency, Bozoma Saint John is beyond passionate about reshaping diversity and inclusivity (D&I) in corporations. Before the death of George Floyd and the BLM protests of 2020, she found that the organizations she worked with often spoke about D&I but didn’t do the work to apply that knowledge.

On creating more inclusive workspaces, Saint John feels that “action is better than inaction,” and companies should always do something instead of nothing. She believes that everyone should “be in charge of diversity” because changes will only have long-term impacts if they have buy-in from the whole organization.

Being an advocate for diversity also means acknowledging credit where credit is due, especially when it comes to women or BIPOC in the workplace who are often overlooked or have to perform emotional or administrative labour without compensation or acknowledgment for that work.

ACTION: Make diversity everyone’s responsibility.

3. Britta Wilson, VP of Inclusion Strategies @ Pixar

As the Vice President of Inclusion Strategies for Pixar, Britta Wilson’s main priorities are increasing bias awareness in the workplace and fostering a more inclusive and diverse environment for everyone.

Pixar is making a concerted effort to showcase more diverse casts and stories in their films. The studio released Bao in 2018, directed by Domee Shi, the first woman of Asian descent to direct a short, and 2020’s Soul features the studio’s first Black lead character. The studio also recently launched SparkShorts, which are shorts made by Pixar employees. The Sparkshorts initiative helps foster new talent and highlight the work of women and racialized people in the company.

“Inclusion in hiring practices starts before you start hiring,” Wilson told the Hollywood Reporter. “It starts with creating an inclusive workplace. It starts at the top. Those are the seeds that companies need to be planting.”

ACTION: Ensure diversity & inclusion is being practiced at all levels of the organization

4. Ajay Banga, Executive Chairman @ Mastercard

Ajay Banga uses his position as the CEO of Mastercard to champion diversity initiatives throughout the corporation. Diversity to him means both acknowledging and appreciating individual differences.

“For any company or even for society to succeed, we have to acknowledge that diversity is a key component in strength,” Banga told The Economic Times. “That is diversity in thought and perspective, diversity in skills and resources, and diversity in revenue streams and innovation.”

He works tirelessly to expand the limited scope around the idea of diversity. Seeing diversity as only a race or gender issue will not unite a workforce. It needs to be all-encompassing and the best way to inspire diversity is to showcase it in all of its forms.

ACTION: Acknoweldge diversity as a competetive advantage.

5. Rihanna, Founder @ Fenty

Rihanna deftly wields her social capital and fame as a multi-talented celebrity to bolster her advocacy regarding diversity and inclusivity. She never shies away from lending her voice to causes that need amplification. She also practices what she preaches. From her lingerie line to her cosmetic company, Rihanna consistently uses models of all races, genders, and sizes to promote her products.

Rihanna knows that representation matters, and the best way for people to feel included and acknowledged is to work with people who look like them and have them in her runway shows and marketing campaigns. “[Inclusivity’s] important, right?” Rihanna told Elle. “You belong in these pieces. You, me, trans women, women of all sizes, paraplegic women, all women are important women! All women belong here, on the biggest platform that I can give them.”

ACTION: Remember that representation matters.

6. Sanna Marin, Prime Minister @ Finland

The Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, has joined the ever-growing ranks of female leaders across the world. She soon hopes to see a future where a leader’s gender is not the most reported aspect of their tenure. Her focus on gender equality is evident in all aspects of her government, from her stance on parental leave to her desire to close pay gaps and improve work/life balance with a four-day workweek. “We all have to fight each and every day for equality, for a better life,” said Marin on a 2020 World Economic Forum panel.

Everything about Marin’s leadership style looks forward and nowhere is that more evident than her acknowledgment of how important diversity is to Finland’s future. She treats immigration as a solution to not only reinvigorate the country’s economy and workforce but as a way to diversify its culture too.

ACTION: Shape a future in which all people free, equal, and able to reach their potential.

7. Avery Francis, Founder @ Bridge School & Bloom

As a founder of Bridge School and Bloom, a workplace design consultancy, Avery Francis’s activism focuses on gender and race. Her passion for educating organizations is evident in her programming, which targets unconscious bias and tackles microaggressions. She works hard to stamp out assumptions and stop stereotyping in its tracks.

“Collectively, as a community and society, we’re having lots of conversations about systemic oppression, systemic racism, and big, big things, but what I find is that oftentimes, within the workplace, it’s the microaggressions, the not overtly harmful or aggressive comments, and the indiscretions that tend to make the biggest impact,” Avery said in an interview with freelance journalist, Wing Sze Tang.

ACTION: Educate people about issues impeding diversity & inclusion.

Ideas Into Action

Diversity unlocks human potential. When maximized, it harnesssses the collective power of the human gradient: a full range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectices. In the absence of diversity, an organization will develop blind spots and repeat mistakes. A homogenous organization remains shsackled to the customer base it’s always worked with, missisng opportunity to grow in a changing world.

Augment your leadership style with ideas from each of the 7 modern leaders featured in this article:

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Be a voice for the voiceless.

• Bozoma St. John: Make diversity everyone’s responsibility.

• Britta Wilson: Ensure diversity & inclusion is being practiced at all levels of the organization

• Ajay Banga: Acknoweldge diversity as a competetive advantage.

• Rihanna: Remember that representation matters.

• Sanna Marin: Shape a future in which all people free, equal, and able to reach their potential.

• Avery Francis: Educate people about issues impeding diversity & inclusion.

Being a good leader means advocating for diversity and inclusivity at all levels of your operation. It’s about more than statements or social media posts — it’s about actions too. You have to meet your employees and consumers where they’re at, and if you don’t, you’ll miss out on them.

Update your leadership style for the modern workplace with practical strategies for new leaders. Get a copy of my latest book, “Leadership, Reinvented,” here: https://geni.us/LReinventedWebsite