When I sat down to interview Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation, for the Purpose and Profit podcast, I initially planned to delve into the business case for diversity.
But frankly, I’m done talking about the business case for diversity.
The data on the positive impact of diversity is crystal clear, yet the leadership imbalance persists. Look around the C-suites of S&P 100 companies: 70% of executives are white men, despite comprising only 30% of the US population.
The math… Just. Doesn’t. Add. Up.
Rewind 20 years, and instead of 70% white men, you’d see 100%. But these numbers, even with what might seem like significant progress toward diversifying executive teams, still reflect a broken system.
According to a 2020 report by Korn Ferry, the average tenure of a C-suite executive is 4.9 years. That means in the past decade alone, there have been multiple opportunities for change.
Multiple chances to make different choices.
Multiple chances to act on the crystal clear data.
And yet, 70% of the time, the replacement leader looked exactly like the person leaving.
Same. Same. Same. Same. Same. Same. Same.
Instead of a bias multiple of 3.3x, we’ve “progressed” to a bias multiple of 2.3x. These numbers go beyond statistics—they reveal entrenched biases and a lack of equitable opportunities.
As I prepared for my conversation with Dalila, I realized something profound: we’ve been asking the wrong question by myopically focusing on the business case.
Sure, the data overwhelmingly supports diversity as a catalyst for business success. Diverse teams innovate more, solve problems more effectively, and resonate better with diverse customer bases. Study after study confirms this, yet the composition of senior leadership across industries remains skewed. Why?
The issue isn’t a lack of evidence. As Ozan Varol said in his viral article ‘Facts don’t change minds. Here’s what does.’ “As a result of the well-documented confirmation bias, we tend to undervalue evidence that contradicts our beliefs and overvalue evidence that confirms them. We filter out inconvenient truths and arguments on the opposing side. As a result, our opinions solidify, and it becomes increasingly harder to disrupt established patterns of thinking.”
To fix the problem we don’t need more facts. We need to be willing to confront the uncomfortable truths embedded in our systems and cultures—the biases that favor familiarity and conformity over true merit and inclusivity. It’s about dismantling the damaging system that prevents qualified individuals from equally ascending to leadership positions.
It’s time to move beyond the “business case”.
The truth is, the business case can be a form of hiding.
A myopic focus on the business case can narrow our vision so completely that we lose sight of the bigger picture. We lose sight of our humanness. We lose sight of ethics, fairness, and justice. We lose sight of the values that should form the foundation of our decision-making.
Myopically focusing on the business case can cause us to get lost in the business. In the deafening hum of productivity, frantically copying and pasting what we did before. In this chaos, we not only lose sight of who we are, but we lose our ability to become something new. To choose something different. And we get stuck. The result?
Same. Same. Same. Same. Same. Same. Same.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just strategic imperatives. They tie us to our humanity and to each other. They allow space for our full being and uniqueness to exist while recognizing there is far more that unites us than divides us.
In the boardrooms and executive suites, the lack of diversity is not merely a statistic—it’s a reflection of our societal beliefs. It’s about who we see as leaders, whose voices are heard, and whose voices are valued.
It’s time to honestly assess where we are and make intentional choices, one after another, to break longstanding patterns of discrimination. To correct a broken system that has been handed down from generation to generation. And ultimately, to create a new system we’re proud to pass on. A system rooted in fairness, equality and human dignity.
It’s time to create a future where diversity is not a buzzword but a lived reality.
