As organizations tackle gender diversity and appropriate strategies, it is essential to take a step back and ask – Why does your organization want to or for that matter need to build a diversity strategy?

Here are 6 foundational factors to consider when analyzing why diversity is important? and what will it help you achieve?

1. Moral/Ethical Value: Are you seeking to implement a diversity strategy because of the moral value associated with it? Because it is the right thing to do?
2. Profit Margins: Do you want to increase your profit margins and positively impact your bottomline?
3. Long Term Growth: Do you want to create a sustainable long term growth arc for your organization?
4. Employee Retention/Engagement: Do you want to attract and retain the brightest and most productive employees?
5. Resilience: Do you want to build an organization that can adapt to change, is agile and can recover from setbacks quickly?
6. Innovation Drive: Do you want to increase the creative and innovative output of your organization?

Conducting this 6 factor analysis will enable you to build the right foundation, in approaching your organizations diversity agenda and the strategy to implement it.