Page 46 - FDI Alliance International Magazine. Winter 2020 Digital Interactive Issue.

→ CULTURAL DIVERSITY. AND INCLUSION.

Proliferated by the pandemic, the rise of globalism and technology
has created an incredibly lucrative investment opportunity. In cultural
training. Cultural understanding and synergy are no longer nice-to-
haves. They are necessary. They are competitive advantages.

Diversity and Inclusion. These are big buzz words in the industry right
now. And they should be as they are very important in today’s times.

Many large companies are hiring for diversity in race and gender,
amongst several other categories. But why, so often, is culture left
out of the equation? Should it be? Definitely not. And here’s why.

The word “diversity” carries a connotation of variety. It pertains not just
to race, gender, religion and so on, but to other areas less focused
on such as age and experience as well. If we want to have a truly
diverse organization, we must make sure to be diverse not only in
one of these arenas, but in all of them.

And diversity pertains to culture too. Cultural diversity is just as
important, if not more so than diversity in the other categories. Why?
Teams with higher cultural diversity have been shown to produce
extraordinary results. This is because culturally diverse teams have
the power of drawing upon a variety of perspectives and problem-
solving approaches. Which leads to more creative and effective
solutions to problems.

46. FDI ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL