If you’re a business decision maker...diversity matters.If you’re an entry level employee...diversity matters.If you haven’t even entered the workforce yet...diversity matters.Because companies that prioritize diversity do better. According to McKinsey, in 2019, companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity financially outperformed those in the bottom quartile for diversity by 36%.But how do we put that 36% in context? And how do we, as individuals, make sure we’re holding corporations accountable for diversity and inclusion efforts?This week on Business Casual, I speak with Edith Cooper to figure it out. Edith, who our producer Marilyn aptly called a “corporate badass,” is the former head of Human Capital Management at Goldman Sachs, a board director at both Etsy and Slack, and cofounder of personal and professional development startup Medley.Also? Edith was named to Black Enterprise’s 2017 “300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America” list, among many other awards and honors.Edith’s candor and insight will push you to think differently and ask more questions about diversity in the workplace, like...

If you want to stay relevant as a corporation today, you need to open doors for everyone—not just for prospective employees who look like you. Young consumers notice when businesses aren’t woke, and they’re voting in a new guard with their ballooning purchasing power.

If you had the opportunity to become excellent right now, immediately—why would you turn it down? When corporations don’t hire from diverse backgrounds and promote Black workers, they’re doing just that...leaving excellence on the table, as Edith puts it.

What other aspect of a business’s success would be okay to sidestep for this long? Not even the most promising of startups could put off something like a path to profitability forever. So how come we’ve allowed corporate leaders to put off diversity—something we know contributes to long-term financial success—for centuries?

Edith begins to offer answers, but the truth of the matter is that this has to be an ongoing conversation. How are you going to make sure that this time, it’s different?Listen now to get started.