No New Information: First Report on DiversityCity Counts

DiverseCity Counts is a three-year project being conducted by Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute. This project is part of DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project, an
initiative of Maytree and the Toronto City Summit Alliance. This first report titled "DiverseCity Counts: A Snapshot of Diversity in Greater Toronto Area measures Diversity Leadership. A cursory glance at this report appears very similar to the results of several previous reports and research, which are not limited to those that came out from Katherine Giscombe & Laura Jenner (2009) "Career Advancement in Corporate Canada: A Focus on Visible Minority ~ Diversity & Inclusion Practices" Catalyst; The Conference Board of Canada (2008) "The Value of Diverse Leadership" and the United States findings from Meghan E. Irons (2009) "Workplace diversity grows, but not at the top, reports says" Bostom.com, May 19 and Cedric Herring (2009) "Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity". American Sociological Review. Vol. 74(2): 208-224. (Dr. Marilyn J)

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Dr Marilyn J

Succession Planning and Diversity Leadership

Succession planning is central to diversity leadership for top managerial positions in communities, organizations and the workplace. Historically, indigenous communities have always engaged in putting in place succession planning processes for their leadership. Let us learn from them and create succession plans for the leadership of diverse organizations and workplaces. In accomplishing this task and reflecting on the diversity of the workplace at the bottom as research has shown, let us seriously consider how to accomplish diversity leadership succession planning for top managerial positions.

Succession Planning

Succession planning involves replacement plans of a potential list of successors. When this is done in advance, rather than in an emergency, more care and thought are put into perspectives. Most importantly for succession planning to effectively work within diverse organizations and the workplace, recruitment of top managerial positions must occur from potential leaders that are from diverse groups, which include visible minorities and women. Research has shown that visible minorities and women are absent from top managerial positions. Diversity must be visible at the top of organizations and boardrooms, and not only at the bottom of organizations as shown from the findings from Stephen P. Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, Boston. Additionally, statistics have shown that diversity pays. Professor Cedric Herring from the University of Illinois at Chicago demonstrated this in his research on "Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity. Organizations and the workplace need transparent recruitment programs to attract leaders from diverse cultures. These are the role models that others need to see how to emulate and learn empowerment. Simultaneously, diverse leaders should be encouraged and supported in their positions with mentors and specific programs. Succession planning for diverse leadership is critical to all organizations. At the same time, bear in mind that traditional leadership development approaches are flawed as I have shown in some of my previous blog discussions.

Given this, take a look at what DiverseCity The Greater Toronto Leadership Project is putting into place to create diverse leadership.

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Dr. Marilyn J

Diversity in the Workplace Grows: No Commitment to Diversity Leadership at the Top

There are several arguments that support the benefits and increase of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Both qualitatively and quantitatively research have shown the benefits to the workers and overall profits for organizations and businesses. However, there is no evidence to show that diversity is reaching leadership at the top. Given this, critics are skeptical about the effects of diversity on leadership because there is no increase of the representation of minorities and women in top leadership positions. Yes, there is no doubt that diversity is represented at the bottom of organizations or businesses where many minorities and women are located. However, their absence in top management certainly shows. The gap and absence of women and minorities in upper management are not being addressed. Again, reflecting on my last blog about solving the world economic crisis, women have shown how it should be done. Without them in leadership at the top, how can we get change? What about diverse ethnic minority groups? What are the obstacles also preventing them from climbing to top managerial positions of leadership in organizations and businesses? These must be addressed for any true change. Diversity should be represented throughout organizations and businesses, not only at the bottom. We need to have diversity in top managerial positions of leadership.

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"Stepping Up: Managing Diversity in Challenging Times," from above is the recently concluded study done by Commonwealth Compact created by Stephen P. Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies. The report shows that although there are initiatives aim to help reverse Boston's image as unfriendly to minorities and women in the workplace, 42% of organizations surveyed showed that they were not satisfied with diversity leadership. 11% surveyed have no minorities in their governing and leadership boards, unlike minority representation in clerical and technical positions. The report reinforces that having minorities and women in the workplace doesn't mean there will be diversity in the leadership ranks. One reason is that there is less a focus to bring in people to break the glass ceiling, and I would add also the concrete ceiling.

The Diversity Institute in Management and Technology, Ryerson University, Toronto and the Maytree Foundation are embarking on a similar leadership project to review the participation of visible minority men and women in leadership positions in the Greater Toronto Area within key areas of government, private and public sector organizations and not-for-profit institutions. Do you think that the findings would be different or similar to what came out of the Commonwealth Compact project in Boston? We can know definitely after 2011, when the project ends and the report written.

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Dr. Marilyn J

Women's Leadership will Drive the Bottom Line

Reflecting on my last discussion and raising the question, who will save us from the world economic mess, the job has long been recognized and taken up by women. First, we have been hearing repeatedly about a "business case" for diversity. Although diversity extends beyond race and gender, they both prove conducive to productivity, and beneficial for raising the profitability of organizations, which affect the economic mess of the world. The organizational leadership of men has a lot to do with this present situation.

Without excluding race and particularly locating my discussion on gender, women have already begun using "The new work order" to improve the economic mess of the world. What is this new work order, as if we are unaware? This is using the cliché of "Work life balance". However, Time magazine calls it "make more money", a rather masculine and more appealing cliché.


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Dr. Marilyn J