In this section, you find a summary of why diversity in leadership matters. The numbers are taken from the Conference Board of Canada’s report The Value of Diverse Leadership and the Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute in Management and Technology’s report The Importance of Diverse Leadership in the Greater Toronto Area. For case studies, profiles of diverse leaders and further resources, please see the other sections of the Knowledge Centre.
- Introduction
- The Canadian Imperative
- Under-Representation in Leadership
- Benefits of Diverse Leadership
- Opportunity for the GTA
Introduction
Leaders play a pivotal role, and their impact is felt in everything from strategic decision making to organizational and community effectiveness and ultimately financial performance. Diverse leaders bring added benefits and unique capacities that, when realized, add significant value in both the public and private realm.
Five of the most important benefits of diverse leadership are:
- Improved financial and organizational performance;
- Increased capacity to link to new global and domestic markets;
- Expanded access to global and domestic talent pools;
- Enhanced innovation and creativity; and
- Strengthened cohesion and social capital.
From The Conference Board of Canada report: The Value of Diverse Leadership.
The Canadian Imperative
“In a knowledge-based economy and in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, every mind matters, and every language in our midst is a bonus. All Canadians must have the opportunity to develop and contribute to their full potential” (Augustine, 2004).
- A talent shortage is looming in Canada because of an aging population, low birth rates, and global competition for skilled workers
- Companies are already experiencing a skills shortage. Specific sectors affected include:
- Information and Communications Technology
- Medicine
- Public sector organizations
- Policing
- By 2011, all labour force growth will come from immigration
- Visible minorities account for a growing proportion of the Canadian population
- Visible minorities and immigrants contribute to the economy, and there are costs associated with under-utilizing their skills
To find out more on the sources and statistics behind these facts, download Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute report.
Under-Representation in Leadership
“As globalization, technological change, collective human experiences and advances in knowledge drive human societies in the 21st century, how successfully Canada continues to manage the challenges of diversity will have an important bearing on the social and economic success of Canada, the quality of our communities and the success of our corporations” (RBC, 2005).
- Visible minorities are under-represented in leadership roles
- In 2005, only 44% of corporate boards had a minimum of one visible minority director
- In 2006, 7.8% of all Members of Parliament were visible minorities
- In 2005, 7.8% all Ontario Members of Provincial Parliament were visible minorities
While we have very little recent data — our project will help paint a clearer picture – and take steps to improve it – 1999 employment equity data also tells us:
- 0.8% of Fire Chiefs are visible minorities
- 3% of Police Chiefs
- 4% of Judges
- 5% of lawyers and Quebec notaries
- 5% of secondary school teachers
- 4% of elementary school teachers
To find out more on the sources and statistics behind these facts, download Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute report.
Benefits of Diverse Leadership
“Leaders develop the vision of society and institutions which guide us; Leaders have the power to make decisions which affect a significant number of people: An inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to lead: leaders symbolize who belongs and who doesn’t” (Maytree, 2007).
- Financial performance may be enhanced by diverse leadership
- Greater employee productivity and organizational performance have been tied to commitment to diversity
- Greater financial profits are tied to a well-managed diverse workforce
- Leaders shape organizational decision making, and diverse leaders are able to respond better to Canada’s increasingly multicultural markets
- Diverse leadership is more likely to attract and retain a diverse workforce
- Diverse teams are more likely to “think out of the box” and come up with innovative solutions
- Strategic innovation is the result of diverse voices
- Diverse senior management teams produce superior outcomes
- Diverse leadership offers role models for diverse citizens, shaping the aspirations of employees and young people
- The representation of visible minorities in Canadian media plays a critical role in shaping the aspirations (and success) of citizens. Leaders, whether in corporations, the public sector, or non-governmental organizations, are featured prominently in the media on a daily basis. Media has the potential to perpetuate harmful stereotypes or to promote positive role models
- Diverse leadership is critical to democracy and representation. The importance of the demographic make-up of the public service, especially at the most senior levels, is well-understood to be fundamental to democracy. The term “representative bureaucracy” was coined by J. Donald Kingsley’s in 1944:
“The democratic State cannot afford to exclude any considerable body of its citizens from full participation in its affairs. It requires at every point that superior insight and wisdom which is the peculiar product of the pooling of diverse streams of experience. In this lies the strength of representative government. Upon it depends the superiority of the democratic Civil Service over its totalitarian rivals. In a democracy competence alone is not enough. The public service must also be representative if the State is to liberate rather than enslave” (Evans et. al, 2008).
To find out more on the sources and statistics behind these facts, download Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute report.
Opportunity for the GTA
“Diversity is Our Strength” (City of Toronto, 1998)
- In 2006, visible minorities comprised 40% of the GTA population, and only 16.2% of Canada’s population
- Approximately 43.8% of Canadian visible minorities reside in the GTA
- Across the GTA, visible minorities represent 50% of Peel’s population; 47% of Toronto’s population; 37% of York’s population; and 17% and 13% of Durham’s and Halton’s population, respectively
- In 2006, the top five visible minority groups were South Asian (12%), Chinese (11.4%), Black (8.4%), Filipino (4.1%) and Latin American (2.6%)
- In Toronto, a greater proportion of visible minorities face higher unemployment rates than non-visible minorities, although higher proportions of visible minorities are university educated
- In addition, visible minorities in Toronto earn less than non-visible minorities in Toronto
The GTA plays a pivotal role to the Canadian economy. It is also one of the most richly diverse communities in the world. There is enormous potential to take advantage of diversity. It begins with leadership and representation.
To find out more on the sources and statistics behind these facts, download Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute report.
