Embracing diversity for an edge in corporate progress

There is no doubt that Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in the workplace is clearly becoming a critical issue and for very good reason too.
Diversity breeds creativity, innovation and boosts staff morale. The more that organisations focus on developing an inclusive culture with broader views and reflect the diverse customers around them, the more opportunities they have to demonstrate agility in overcoming today’s economic barriers. Furthermore by opening up to the opportunities of diversity, your company will have the edge by selecting employees from the largest and most diverse set of candidates.
In Thailand, we have a very active LGBT community who often feel marginalised and discriminated against in the workplace. A recent USAID study highlighted there were multiple reports of LGBT individuals in Thailand being denied promotions, being fired from their jobs after disclosing their sexual orientation, as well as being asked inappropriate questions during interviews. The report went on to highlight that transgender people who cannot easily hide their identities suffer the most employment discrimination in Thailand. There also exists a pervasive discrimination towards people with a disability: there are nearly 2 million people in Thailand with a disability and only 17 per cent of these are employed in professional occupations. 
As responsible corporations, it’s time we open our employment minds and doors to the beauty and benefits of being different. A diversity corporate policy can no longer be simply bolted on to the HR function. In order for it to have any impact at all, it must be all-inclusive and must be filtered from the top. While many companies have HR Managers who oversee diversity efforts, it's the companies where the CEO is actively engaged that stand out.
A Mckinsey study highlighted companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 per cent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians. Although statistics and documented evidence show that increasingly companies are implementing a D&I strategy, a recent social media poll at the Economist Pride and Prejudice summit illustrated that 92 per cent of the viewers believed that CEO’s were still not doing enough to promote and encourage diversity in their companies. 
At Krungthai-AXA Life we are committed to providing equal opportunities to all, not because of some corporate policy, but because it is our human instinct and responsibility to treat all equally. Today nearly 5 per cent of our workforce have some form of disability and we are one of the leading companies in Thailand that provide spousal benefits for LGBT employees and we also provide leave entitlements for staff wishing to undergo gender realignment.
Having such a diverse work environment has its challenges. Probably one of the most common issues is the “unconscious bias”. Obviously, it is very difficult to completely eradicate such biases entirely from our workplaces but identifying our prejudices, and moving them from our unconscious to our conscious, is certainly the first positive step we must take as we begin to address the problem. 
I absolutely believe that as leaders in the corporate world we should be embracing diversity because it is the right thing to do. However, I think that it’s only when CEOs make the critical link between more diverse talent and better results and when there’s a full understanding that diversity cannot be an add-on to your mission but is critical to your mission, that we will get the transformation we need.

DAVID KORUNIC is CEO of Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance.