Diversity Insight: Varied numerators, common denominator

Companies benefit from having people with many different perspectives working together toward a unified vision.

I’m a past chapter president for a well-known international women’s organization, The Links, Incorporated. Before I took office, I had a vision to ensure that we were a diverse group of women comprised of a vast range of talents, exposures and life experiences who were prepared to serve youth, the arts and good causes.

Thinking of this mathematically, you could say that as a result of diversifying the “numerators,” representing different talents, backgrounds, gender and races on the team, we were able to synergize our talents to work toward the same common denominator—the organization’s mission.

When I think about diversity, I think about how important it is to first know what diversity really means. Diversity is everything that makes us who we are as individuals. According to the National Credit Union Administration,  diversity includes racial background, skin color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, religion, language, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, family structure, geographic differences, diversity of thought and life experiences.

Here are four ways to promote diversity in your numerator, so your team can more effectively work toward your credit union’s common denominator:

 

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