Diversity & Inclusion Drives Technology Innovation
Published: 10/15/2018
Last Updated: 10/15/2018
“Full representation, full inclusion, full force ahead” is the vision for Intel’s commitment to diversity and inclusion—in our workforce and for the technology industry. Research1 shows that greater workforce diversity is in everyone’s interest, individuals and organizations: diverse teams deliver better results and greater innovation.
Here are just a few examples:
- In Diversity - the key to unlocking innovation, the professional service company KPMG cited a recent North Carolina State University study showing that companies who embrace diversity from multiple angles (e.g., geographical, educational, gender, etc.) are more successful when it comes to innovation.
- The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) reports that in a study of 101 public, private, and nonprofit organizations, that those with three or more women on their executive boards outperformed other companies on all the study’s performance measures.
- FORTUNE published in its 2017 Why Diversity and Innovation Play a Role in Becoming a Great Tech Company that companies where fewer employees report fair treatment in regard to race or gender tend to score lower on measures of innovation.
- The Decoding Diversity report by Dalberg Advisors with the Intel Global Diversity & Inclusion Group analyzed the impact of improving diversity in the technology sector, based on diversity data collected from nearly 170 companies. The report found faster innovation correlates with diversity: employees at diverse firms were 60% more likely than their peers at non-diverse firms to see their ideas developed or prototyped, and 75% more likely to see their innovations implemented or deployed; research data also suggests that highly-diverse firms with a growth strategy see more than twice the productivity compared to firms that are less diverse.
Speaking Out for a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace
I am honored to reinforce the importance of inclusion in the workplace and Intel’s vision for diversity driving innovation as a speaker at recent events for a wide range of technology professionals, including:
Wonder Women Tech, October 5-6 in Long Beach, CA, where I spoke to 1,000+ professionals, start-up executives, corporate representatives and academics about growing male alliances and support for inclusion of women and how women and men can achieve this together. I talked about three key ways to grow male alliances: inviting more men, inspiring them, and igniting them to take action and change the status quo. An invitation is the beginning of any relationship, any transformation, any growth—an invitation to change, to work toward something new. Inspiration is needed because change is hard; it requires more than the initial desire. The impetus for change needs to be kept alive so the motivation doesn’t wither on the vine. Lastly, igniting action will translate belonging and believing into becoming. We can all help ignite actions that will lead to long-term and sustainable change.
Blacks in Technology Inaugural Conference, October 11-13 in Minneapolis, MN, where I emphasized the responsibilities we all have in the tech industry. I talked about knowing yourself, knowing each other and knowing your network to excel in the technology workplace. I shared my own experiences and ideas with the 500+ engineers and developers gathered at the event, and we discussed how we can all get involved. I reminded everyone that we must bring together people with a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to maximize innovation. And we need all these voices not only present, but included and fully engaged.
How Can You Take Action?
My own experience in the tech industry teaches me that mentors and allies are critical to all of our success, and the most important thing we can do is increase the flow and develop the talent and leadership of a diverse community. I’m proud to work for an organization the fully supports an inclusive workplace.
The Decoding Diversity research report calls on tech companies to increase “representation of ethnic minorities and women in technical in leadership roles by five percentage points in five years.” I urge you and all organizations to join Intel in achieving the “Five in Five” pledge:
- Implement and publish company-specific goals to recruit, retain, and advance diverse technology talent, and operationalize concrete measures to create and sustain an inclusive culture
- Annually publish data and progress metrics on the diversity of our technology workforce across functional areas and seniority levels
- Invest in partnerships to build a diverse pipeline of technology talent to increase our ability to recognize, develop, and support talent from all backgrounds
By committing to “Five in Five”—and to the evidence-based actions needed to reach that goal—the tech industry will make significant strides toward capturing the full range of available talent. Doing so will bring tremendous benefits to your organization and its employees, and drive the innovation needed for long-term success.
Michael Greene is VP & General Manager, Intel System Technologies and Optimization Division. He leads a worldwide organization responsible for a broad range of development, enabling, and architecture analysis efforts to accelerate development velocity and time to market for Intel platforms. He joined Intel in 1990, after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and managing several new product developments, research efforts, and engineering groups. Michael has served as Intel’s initiative owner for power efficiency, pre-silicon software development, and has driven new technology benchmarking throughout his career. Follow Michael on Twitter.
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1 Decoding Diversity, 2016, Dalberg Global Development Advisors with the Intel Global Diversity & Inclusion Group
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