Wrapping Up Women’s History Month: Thoughts on Diversity and Inclusion

Thought Leadership
beavillamorwebb

We may be wrapping up Women’s History Month but every day is an opportunity to drive female empowerment, gender equality, as well as diversity and inclusion as a whole, so I wanted to share one of my favorite quotes to help inspire this:

“Diversity is being invited to the party – inclusion is being asked to dance”.
– Verna Myers, Netflix VP of Inclusion, Inclusion Strategist, Thought Leader

My perspective on diversity and inclusion

When I was growing up in the Philippines, we had a female President, Corazon Aquino – in retrospect, it was a special experience to not only see women represented but in positions of power and authority as well. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have this exposure until later on in life, when I moved away and lived in places where I saw the traditional under representation of women in the workforce. 

It also became clear to me that there were other issues at play – for example, the represented women I saw growing up mostly came from specific backgrounds and families, they came from certain schools – which is why it’s worth closing out Women’s History Month with a note to encourage diversity and inclusion across the board.

What exactly is diversity and inclusion?

Diversity and inclusion is defined “as a greater proportion of women and a more mixed ethnic and cultural composition in the leadership of large companies”. An often used saying is “diversity makes us unique – inclusion makes us powerful”.

At We Are Social Singapore, I’m proud to say 54% of our team is female and we collectively represent six (6) nationalities, five (5) ethnicities, and a diverse mix of backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures.

The business case for diversity and inclusion

There’s been significant research that organizations that invest in diversity and inclusion are more efficient, innovative, and – as a result – profitable.  

It’s quite intuitive: a mix of people means a mix of perspectives, which then translates to different ideas, different approaches to understanding customers, problem-solving, as well as new, innovative concepts, all of which drive profitability.

At We Are Social Singapore, we can’t do what we do without diversity and inclusion – with a total of 50 employees and 9 nationalities, representation and a safe space to communicate are essential in fueling our strategic thinking, creative concepting and execution end-to-end.

The innovation that we drive – case in point: Global Pride Crossing – comes from embracing work across all kinds of clients and is rooted in unexpected thinking and a fresh approach, which power our team’s diverse viewpoints and experiences.

I feel fortunate to live and work in a place and an organization that champions diversity and inclusion, and am committed to actively contributing to this culture daily. It’s my hope that each person understands and supports diversity and inclusion, and that they are part of a community that fosters this as well.