What does diversity mean in companies? Our society is intercultural, colorful and diverse. It is high time this reality was reflected in the workplace as well. For young people, in particular, who grow up in this diversity and build friendships within it, the notion of the white, male "average person" plays barely any role. More and more people and organizations are demanding equal opportunities and consideration for as many interests as possible.

Diversity means taking social and ethnic differences as well as age structures and gender identities into account – especially in the economy. In recent years, the term "diversity" has shifted: from a buzzword in activist and academic contexts to the name of an economic management function. In daily life, in education and at work, we need to respond to people’s different needs in order to prevent discrimination and to nurture individual talents. We introduce the most important developments below.

1. Many organizations are creating roles for equal opportunity and diversity management

Just how much importance diversity has gained in companies is evident from the fact that many organizations are already taking action at the operational and organizational level. Companies and universities are increasingly creating roles for equal opportunity and diversity management to do better justice to a wider range of target groups.

In doing so, they face the complex task of understanding the interactions between different dimensions of discrimination – also referred to as intersectionality. This is the case when someone could be disadvantaged due to several characteristics – for example, being both Black and living with a disability.

2. Representation and language should reflect society’s diversity

What does diversity mean in companies? One answer to this question is the effort to achieve equality in the representation of different ways of life and in linguistic expression. The media and entertainment industries in particular have responded to criticism in recent years and have driven corresponding developments.

Today, audiences of films, video games, books and other entertainment media pay much closer attention to whether language and characters reflect the diversity of society. They are far more sensitive to stereotyping than they used to be and demand that every biography be considered on its own terms. This also includes shunning words perceived as discriminatory. One topic that is still being hotly debated in this context is gendering – the attempt to use language in a gender-neutral way.

3. What does diversity mean in companies? The key drivers

US-influenced movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter have given many people the impression that this is not a European topic. Yet the mainstream here, too, is slowly engaging with questions of social justice. A range of drivers is spreading and amplifying the Diversity Awareness trend across most Western societies.

An important factor for gender equality, for example, is the dual-income model: the share of women in the labor market has steadily risen while real wages have fallen. Supporting a family on a single average salary is significantly harder today than it was a few decades ago. At the same time, neither gender has yet fully shed old role distributions, not least because of external expectations in the workplace. Women who work for a living often still take on the bulk of childcare, household tasks and care work. To retain talent and keep motivation high, companies need to factor in this unequal distribution of burdens.

Young professionals today come from more varied backgrounds than they used to.

Globalization is driving ethnic diversity, making societies – and therefore workforces – ever more multicultural. This diversity brings a higher level of innovation, but, especially at the outset, also conflicts that have to be worked through. Demographic change is closely linked: young professionals today come from more varied backgrounds than they used to. And digitalization makes it necessary to reintegrate older employees as well. This diversity is enriching when the generations learn from one another.

Diversity in companies creates new opportunities

The rising awareness of diversity in society is presenting many industries with challenges – and creating new opportunities in equal measure. In the media and entertainment sector, the call for representation runs through everything, whether it is talk shows, games or advertising. The risk that individual people of color end up appearing only as a "token minority" is high. Content can only be as diverse as the people who make it. But the predominantly white creative industry in particular can benefit from the new perspectives that less-recruited demographics bring.

Diversity in background and gender is not the only kind that brings new talent into the pool – neurodiversity does too.

One industry that does not have a particularly good reputation in terms of equality is IT and telecommunications. Yet the IT industry is desperately searching for talent – often internationally, given the skills shortage in Western societies. This means IT employees may bring with them corresponding transcultural challenges.

But the diversity of individuals also represents a great opportunity for companies. Diversity in background and gender is not the only kind that brings new talent into the pool – neurodiversity does too. Employers can benefit, for example, by giving greater consideration to the needs and special abilities of people on the autism spectrum.

Diversity Awareness and more trends at a glance in our Megatrend Map

Diversity Awareness is one of a total of 120 Macro Trends from our current Trend Universe, which is grouped into 17 Megatrends. With our free Megatrend Map, you get an overview of our entire Trend Universe, including explanations and our analysts’ assessments of mainstream adoption.