Increasing Diversity in Business: What Can You Do?

Gina Grillo, President & CEO, The AD Club of New York

eBay and Apple are the latest to join the long list of public companies to share their diversity data widely with the masses. We are constantly discussing – too often in abstracts – the need to foster diversity of thought in advertising and marketing. But what can you, as business-savvy industry professionals and thought leaders in the space, actually do to improve this issue of  the lack of diversity in our industry? How can you work to represent a greater range of diverse backgrounds within in your business?

It all starts with retention. Here are 3 tips for creating an inclusive environment:

1. Create a Valuable Experience. Build an environment that not only provides an abundance of training and information to new employees, but also take the extra steps to make them feel comfortable and included. 

 2. Provide Diversity Training. Helping your executives, managers and employees understand the importance of fostering diversity of thought is imperative to building successful professional communities.

 3. Conduct Exit Interviews. In order to truly recognize what steps can be taken to improve retention of culturally diverse employees, seek candid answers from those walking out the door.