How can diversity help in my business?

People with different cultures and life experiences add new points of views and help find innovative solutions

Stimulating diversity is a practice that has been gaining momentum in the business world. Today, many companies recognize the benefits of this approach and seek to create teams characterized by diversity. But do you know exactly what that word means?

Diversity has to do with variety, with difference, with multiplicity. The term came to be used to highlight that society is composed of people who are different in many aspects, such as:

• Physical characteristics (skin color, height, weight, etc.);
• Age;
• Gender (male or female);
• Geographical origin (place of birth or family origin);
• Life experience, values and culture;
• Religious beliefs;
• Political opinions;
• Sexual orientation.

You just need to look around to realize that there is no uniformity in the population. Why should it be different in business?

It’s vital to open spaces and include people who often are discriminated against just for having one or more of the aspects listed above. But the importance of encouraging diversity goes beyond offering equal opportunities for all as being fair.

To deal with the challenges of today’s world, a good tip is to count on world views and different opinions. In a team comprised of people with similar profiles and characteristics – this is much more difficult. Interacting and sharing experiences – within the widest diversity of people – lead to incorporating new possibilities and enriching everyone’s knowledge. This is the main benefit of diversity in a company: to expand the vision, renew and get out of the sameness. Think about it: it’s the sum of different knowledge and ways of doing that will provide creative, innovative and better solutions!