5 Ways Businesses Can Boost Profits And Sustainability With Diversity And Inclusion
Workplace diversity is gaining momentum. LinkedIn’s 2018 Global Recruiting Trends report found 78 percent of the US companies surveyed are focusing on diversity.
The three top reasons identified by companies were to improve corporate culture, elevate company performance and to better represent their customers. And further research shows companies with more diverse workforces see increasing profits. A report by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, observing more than 300 companies in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America, found that companies ranking in the top 25th percentile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21 percent more likely to turn a profit above the national average.
McKinsey and Company also reported that when ethnic and cultural diversity were taken into account for executive teams, companies were 33 percent more likely to see better-than-average profits.
“There’s a significant correlation between diversity and performance,” says Betty Ng, CEO of Inspiring Diversity, LLC (iD) (www.inspiringdiversity.com), which builds inclusive, collaborative and high-performing communities, and author of PO-LING POWER: Propelling Yourself and Others to Success. “A diverse workforce can improve innovation, customer relationships and employee retention, which are essential elements for business growth.”
There’s an important distinction in definition between diversity and inclusion, and numerous studies and diversity advocates say one is not effective without the other. A diverse workplace employs people from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. An inclusive workplace treats all employees with dignity and respect, and policies are in place for equality, human rights and fair recruitment. As Ng notes, diversity’s full range of positives in the workplace won’t transpire without true inclusion being practiced.
“Diversity has to be a conscious effort,” Ng says, “and companies wanting to recruit and retain diverse employees need to create a culture of inclusion, which needs to start at the top and needs to be woven into the day-to-day operations.”
Ng gives five ways workplace diversity and inclusion lead to a more productive, sustainable, and profitable company:
“By fostering an environment where everyone helps each other to achieve goals, an organization can build a genuinely inclusive community that will better attract and retain diverse talent, and do the same among its customers,” Ng says.
About Betty Ng
Betty Ng is the co-author of PO-LING POWER: Propelling Yourself and Others to Success, and founder/CEO of Inspiring Diversity, LLC (“iD”) (www.Inspiringdiversity.com), which builds inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing organizations and communities. iD works with organizations to drive profitability through increased employee inclusion, engagement, and performance. iD is also a collaborative community with members of all backgrounds who inspire, empower, and elevate each other to achieve goals. Ng holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Business School. She is a tech entrepreneur, media and content creator, author, trainer, public speaker and consultant. Ng was a high-level executive at Citigroup and Moody’s.
===========================
HOPESFALL
Release New Album
Arbiter
Out Now via Graphic Nature / Equal Vision Records
Available for Purchase Here
Streaming on Spotify &
Recently Featured on Loudwire, Alternative Press,
Metal Injection & More
July 13, 2018 - Charlotte, NC - Melodic hardcore legends Hopesfall are celebrating the release of their new album, Arbiter, available now via Graphic Nature / Equal Vision Records. Arbiter is the long-awaited follow up to 2007's Magnetic North, and marks the band's first record in over a decade. It's now available for streaming via Spotify and Apple Music, and purchased online at hopesfall.lnk.to/arbiter.
"After Magnetic North, I felt like we left unfinished business on the table," shares vocalist Jay Forrest. "I think Hopesfall has carried the underdog chip on our shoulder for the majority of our playing career. That's given us an edge that has defined our music."
He continues: "Now, we've hunkered down and cast our antenna out to tap into this vast creative universe. We're counting on the listener to complete the creative process and help decode the transmission. Barring World War III, I think this album will stand amongst our best."
Hopesfall formed in 1998. Over the next decade, the band would undergo numerous line-up changes but always drew from the same core group of lifelong friends to source new members. The bond between the group was so strong that even after disbanding in 2008, guitarists Joshua Brigham and Dustin Nadler and drummer Adam Morgan continued to get together on Wednesday nights to work on new music despite having no plans to release it. It was during these jam sessions that the music that would eventually find its way onto Arbiter first began to take shape.
In 2012, Brigham and Morgan visited frontman, Jay Forrest, in Chicago culminating in the decision that Forrest would add vocals to the demos. The lineup for the band's reformation would then be cemented in August of 2015 when bassist, Chad Waldrup, joined the group to see Hum and Failure. Still, the idea of putting out new music as Hopesfall wasn't part of the plan. With the lineup complete, the band brought their demos to another trusted collaborator - producer Mike Watts (Glassjaw, Dillinger Escape Plan, O'Brother) whom they had worked with on two previous releases, Magnetic North and A Types. It was Watts who brought the demos to Dan Sandshaw and Will Putney of Graphic Nature / Equal Vision Records where the idea of releasing it as a Hopesfall record was finally discussed. A testament to the band's hard-earned legacy, the famed label immediately jumped on the opportunity to release the project.
Arbiter has a decidedly unique bend to it, but Brigham points out that it is built off of the same principles as Hopesfall's previous catalog - "big riffs and dark melodies." Forrest adds that the driving message of Arbiter remains the same as well: "Hopes fall. Tragedies happen. But that doesn't mean you should give up or not stay the course."
Arbiter is out now via Graphic Nature / Equal Vision Records. It is at once a reminder of why the band has become so influential and a beacon of its continued evolution.
The band will take the stage for the first time since 2011 for two special shows at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn tonight, July 13th, and for Kerrang Presents tomorrow, July 14th. They will also be performing at Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte on July 21st. The Kerrang Presents and Neighborhood Theatre shows have sold out in advance, with tickets for July 13th at Saint Vitus available at hopesfall.net.
For More Information, please visit:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HopesfallOfficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/hopesfall
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hopesfall
Arbiter Tracklisting:
1. Faint Object Camera
2. H.A. Wallace Space Academy
3. Bradley Fighting Vehicle
4. C.S. Lucky-One
5. Catapult
6. Tunguska
7. Aphelion
8. Drowning Potential
9. To Bloom
10. Indignation and the Rise of the Arbiter
Upcoming Shows:
7/13 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus
7/14 - Kerrang Presents - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus **
7/21 - Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre **
** - Indicates Sold Out
===================
NORTHLANE
RELEASE NEW SINGLE "VULTURES"
Sydney, Australia - July 13th, 2018 - Northlane has released their new stand-alone single "Vultures" today via UNFD. Listen to the hard-hitting track HERE. The song confronts those who have tried to contain the band with a no holds barred attitude that's both dark and scathing. "Vultures" is available now on limited edition vinyl (only 300 copies worldwide) and on all streaming services HERE.
"The main message is not having to live up to someone's expectations or live within someone's idea of what you should be," states frontman Marcus Bridge about the criticism he's received over the years, since stepping in for Northlane in 2014. "It stems from a built-up number of things over the last few years that comes with people expecting what we are supposed to sound like as a band since I've come on board. A lot of that stuff that has given us this feeling to want to talk about it. It's important to be true to yourself and not let anyone mould you in a way that isn't the way you want to be. Just being able to talk about this subject at a point in time now where I see Northlane as being our band now, I don't feel like the new guy anymore. It feels like we are finally doing us and it's all feeling a lot more natural."
After announcing they'd be taking a break from the Australian touring circuit in early-2018, Northlane had their first real break in years. During this downtime music was never far from their collective minds and feeling inspired and invigorated again, "Vultures" was created.
To bring "Vultures" to life, Northlane returned to their roots in Western Sydney and recorded instruments at Chris Blancato's studio, the same place they recorded the instruments for Hollow Existence and the single "Rot". The band then tracked vocals at Electric Sun Studios with Dave Petrovic, where Discoveries was recorded. The band also introduced some new faces into the recording process with Drew Fulk (Motionless in White, Pop Evil) co-producing the track with the band and mixing handled by Adam "Nolly" Getgood (Periphery).
Bridge has his own personal history at Electric Sun Studios, who recorded there a decade prior. With both Bridge and Northlane revisiting both of their pasts at the studio, it cemented his place within Northlane. "It was really special to come back to Electric Sun and merge mine and Northlane's history together," states Bridge about the band's shared history with the studio.
Northlane released their previous album Mesmer in March 2017 with no forewarning. The album debuted at #3 on the ARIA Chart and earned the band their second ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock / Heavy Metal album that same year. In 2018, Mesmer was nominated for an AIR award (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) for Best Independent Hard Rock, Heavy or Punk Album, as well as Best Artwork at the Heavy Music Awards.
Northlane is Marcus Bridge (vocals), Jonathon Deiley (guitar), Josh Smith (guitar), Alex Milovic (bass), and Nic Pettersen (drums).
Follow Northlane:
Website: http://northlaneband.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northlane
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Northlane
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northlane/
