What is the Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Project Management?

As companies make changes in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, some have focused on efficiency and put diversity and inclusion initiatives aside. That shows a lack of understanding that diversity and inclusion are not just the right things to do, but also vital to success in the modern, global marketplace.

A June 2020 report from the Project Management Institute (PMI), called the Case For Diversity, offers viewpoints from project professionals on how diverse perspectives and skills add value to projects. In a survey that is part of the report, 88% of respondents said inclusive project teams add value when they have team membership that is diversified in areas such as gender, age, race, experience, sexual orientation, nationality and culture.

However, the report notes that a 2020 Institute for Corporate Productivity report found 27% of organizations have put all or most diversity and inclusion initiatives on hold during the pandemic. “That’s a mistake,” the PMI report stated.

A Long Way To Go On Diversity

PMI researchers found a large gap between talk about diversity and inclusion and actions taken. For example, only 33% of project professionals said they work for an organization with a diverse senior leadership team. 

“A lot of companies are saying, ‘we’re committed to diversity,’ but then you take a walk with their HR and recruiting departments and there are no people of color on their team,” Blair Taylor, a diversity and inclusion consulting co-leader at PwC, told PMI researchers. 

Also, more than half (60%) of project professionals said they work for an organization without one single female in a C-suite role. Only 18% work for organizations with formal mentorship programs to develop female project leaders, and less than half (47%) said senior leadership at their organization is “promoting a level playing field for project professionals of all genders.”

Only 40% said their leadership works at attracting the younger generation of project professionals, while 38% said their organization’s leaders educate project professionals on cultural norms and practices to improve collaboration with global colleagues and customers.

Why Diversity and Inclusion Are Important

The PMI report calls diversity and inclusion not just the right thing to do, but the “smart thing to do.” Research shows that companies with a deep focus on diversity and inclusion have better outcomes. 

For example, those that offer gender-based programming are associated with higher performance – 63% vs. 36%, according to the report. Also, those with culturally diverse leadership have higher organizational performance (85% vs. 61%).

PMI also notes that diversity and inclusion have a powerful impact on how employees, business partners and potential new hires see an organization. 

Diversity and inclusion work together, but represent two different ideas. Rita Mitjans, chief diversity and social responsibility officer at global payroll and human resources company ADP, said in an interview that “diversity is the ‘what’; inclusion is the ‘how.’” 

Diversity focuses on workforce demographics including gender, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, veteran status and other issues. The level of inclusion measures how well the organizational culture promotes and enables the diverse workforce to thrive.

How The Coronavirus Has Impacted Project Management

Rather than see the coronavirus as a reason to put diversity and inclusion measures on hold, organizations should look at the pandemic as a chance to make them a priority. That’s because the coronavirus has altered how businesses approach work.

If organizations are willing to relax policies about people being in the same office for the same time every day – or that everyone needs to reside in the same city, state or country – it gives companies access to a broader talent pool. And remote work, already a trend before the pandemic, has now become a necessity.

“One of the positive outcomes of the current crisis would be that companies embrace, even faster, this idea of a future of work that is more distributed, more independent, more inclusive and more diverse. And that we come out of it with a stronger economy,” Stephane Kasriel, former CEO of Upwork, told PMI.

Once a diverse workforce is in place, organizations must create a culture of inclusion to capitalize on the variety and wealth of diverse talent. That starts with valuing every employee and giving them “opportunities to develop, learn, share their ideas and challenge each other,” according to workplace culture advisor Paul Pelletier.

For organizations that want to succeed in the future, the time to start the process is during the pandemic, not after. 

Learn How to Manage Diverse and Inclusive Project Teams

Villanova University’s Mastering Project Management course, a required course in the Certificate in Applied Project Management program, emphasizes the importance of effectively leading a diverse and inclusive project team. The course also teaches project professionals how to navigate a diverse landscape, manage gender issues in project management and efficiently manage global project teams.