Gender Diversity for Innovation

Michel Foucault spoke of the disciplinary power in the modern society, power that produces docile bodies - economically efficient and politically obedient. How would tradition define women in this definition of power? It would be as domestically efficient and politically silent.

Women, for centuries, have been subjugated to a role that is considered meaningless. This subjugation is internalised. It has been their social identity. In Marxist terms, the division of work is not just between the bourgeoisies and the proletariat, but even within these sections of society, it has always been in gender terms. It comes down to what Weber called the protestant ethic, but here we can refer to it as the ‘gender ethic’. Women work at home, and men in the market place, and that is the divine order of things. Challenging it would mean, challenging god.

For women in most parts of the world and across the various levels of society, empowerment is a luxury and usually the consequence of economic liberation. Yet, the empowerment is tainted, and in the case of the marginalised women struggling to earn a livelihood, it may not exist at all.

Against this background, discussing the need for gender diversity for innovation may seem futile. However, issues tied with this need regularly come up in the modern society, and thus this ‘need’ cannot be ignored.

Benefits of Diversity in Innovation

The nature of work is changing along with the role of women. An important factor today is any organisation’s work in a highly competitive environment and to stay on top, as well as agility of a diverse workforce. This organisational agility is defined as the successful exploration of competitive bases through the integration of re-configurable resources and best practices to provide customer-driven products and services in a fast changing market environment (Bren et al., 2001). In such circumstances the role of women and the diversity of a workforce cannot be ignored. Innovations along with the best practices are the culmination of diversity.

Diversity is necessary for success in any business environment, being synonymous with change and differences (Joachin, N.D.). Research shows that there is a good chance that success of an organisation is the by-product of innovation driven by diversity. In fact, it is seen that the most innovative companies design products that integrate user demand, which includes women. Women bring new markets and new technological applications to the design process and can effectively market them to other women, opening up new lines of business (Thomas, 2004).

Corporations are in business to generate returns for shareholders, and appealing to a diverse market makes economic sense. There is no better way to reach a diverse consumer base than to have people on the staff that represent diversity and can tap into new markets (Stewart, N.D.). Thus, the exploitation of benefits is not only from incorporating women’s demand, but also from the inclusion of women in innovative processes within an organisation and team.

The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and their training of women in solar lamps assembly and repair, is a case in point. These women were assembling solar lamps through Self Help Groups (SHGs), but selling and marketing was posing to be a problem. The salt workers in Gujarat needed a low cost lighting system. SEWA connected the two through the wives of the salt workers. Today the women have regular customers, and the salt workers have a cheap and reliable source of light.

Women’s involvement in micro-credit programmes exemplifies the point as well. The positive effect of these programmes is well known. There have been innumerable cases where these programmes have led to better outcomes for the household (Khandker et al., 2008). Thus, the inclusion of women in the innovation processes and systems is not a bad idea. The World Bank (2006), in fact, calls the restriction of economic opportunity for women as bad economics, as under-investing in women limits economic growth and slows down progress in poverty reduction.

Need for Gender Diversity in Innovation

Despite numerous examples of increased efficiency and improved livelihoods due to involvement of women, there is little evidence of women moving up the social ladder. In certain cases, skilled women in rural India are made to work for free as a community benefit.

When women regularly face roadblocks in earning a livelihood, the question of gender diversity in innovation is a tough one to answer. This is despite the evidence which claims that group diversity leads to better decision outcomes, creativity and innovation (Hambrick, Cho and Chen, 1996). A recent industry report estimates that by 2012, teams with gender diversity will double their chances of exceeding performance expectations when compared to all male teams (Harris and Raskino, 2007).

In a constructive environment where people are allowed to move beyond fear, mistrust and prejudice, differences can be leveraged to enhance and sustain the innovation process (Skaug, 2007). Hence, the inclusion of women in the innovation process is necessary. Here, the culture of the organisation plays a pivotal role. If it values women they will come forward, but if it doesn’t, the women take the back seat, consequently misbalancing the gender ratio and staining the company’s image. Diversity is seen as a contributory factor to a better image for organisations today. Moreover, discrimination against women workers means being forced to select from a smaller talent pool, thereby reducing the ability to find top performers.1

Way Forward

If organisations benefit from having a gender diverse workforce, why are women still marginalised? Majority of women avoid higher levels of responsibility, especially if they have children. This is further exacerbated by the burden of domestic labour on women at all levels of the society (Gratton et al., 2007). These factors need to be considered while employing a diverse workforce.

An optimal mix in a team is said to be 50-50, which ensures that the company can benefit from a diverse talent pool. This ratio of teams is advantageous to diminish tokenism and stereotypes. Tokenism has a highly negative effect on the performance capabilities of women and innovation in the team (Gratton et al., 2007). In fact, if women are in a slight majority (about 60%) then it creates optimal conditions in relation to the self-confidence of the teams (Gratton et al., 2007). A grassroots example of this is the Nayaghar committees set up by SEWA for reconstruction of houses post the Gujarat earthquake. These committees of 11 people - 7 women and 4 men - were accepted by all. These committees led their communities to reconstruct their houses to be disaster safe and environment friendly (SEWA). The key levers and processes of innovation get unlocked by having an optimal gender mix (Gratton et al., 2007). And if it works at the grassroots, it will certainly work in big businesses.

The inclusion of differences, thus, can drive innovation especially with regard to changing and turbulent conditions characteristic of today’s market place. It is very easy to ‘cope’ by using imposing structures that reinforce traditional structures, but innovation is the best way to adapt to change (Skaug, 2007). In organisations that realise this, innovation tops their strategic agenda and gender diverse teams, working collaboratively, are at the heart of that strategy (Gratton et al., 2007). Apple and Google are two perfect examples. In fact, at Apple a manager clearly states, ‘Apple as a company has certain values, and these are made visible. One such value is empowering people through the tools they make. To do this effectively, diversity has to be factored in, and it is factored in. Diversity is a logical corollary of the Apple culture. After all if you get higher levels of productivity by respecting people’s differences, then why not respect them?’ (Rodriguez, 1992)

The corporate diversity director for AT& T, Peter Bye, reinforces this belief by saying, ‘If we really have an environment which brings out different perspectives and use those in a productive way, then business products and services can improve’.

Conclusion

‘Research continues to show that well-managed diversity yields more innovation and leads to enhanced financial performance’ (Lang, H. L.).2

Innovation thrives in diversity, so long as the differences are seen with respect and curiosity. These differences can become the seeds for creativity and innovation. The point is to use the differences to move beyond each of the ‘traditional roles’ that society has defined. When we step outside the traditional, innovative perspectives are born that can provide value for all.3

However, despite all the benefits, the reason that gender diversity at a workplace is still being discussed and debated is that men are afraid of losing their power. In fact, the whole problem with the women’s development agenda is that it is considered threatening, as it implies the fundamental restructuring of society and institutions. This restructuring, to a majority of institutions, means the empowerment of women and loss of male power and privilege (Jahan, 1996).

The changing nature of work is not easily digested. Women at the workplace face discrimination at all times due to the additional roles they perform in society. This discrimination is starker in the context of marginalised women, as these women, due to great cultural constraints, are made to occupy the back seat.

In the case of large organisations, factoring in more women in top or middle management teams means decreased male clout. Organisations also argue that having greater diversity means being more flexible, and that costs a lot. But, in today’s global environment, with organisations realising the benefits of diversity, the issues of discrimination cannot be ignored, or diversity will be simply a word and innovation will be stifled. q

Vrinda Chopra
vchopra@devalt.org

References
Bren, Hemingway and Strathern (2001) Workforce Agility: The new employee strategy for the knowledge economy.
Foucoult, M. (1975) Discipline and Punish. Random House.
Gandz, J. (2005). A Business case for Diversity. Canadian Department 0f Labour: Ottawa, Canada.
Gratton, L, Kelan, E., Voight, A., Walker, L. and Wolfram, H. (2007) Innovative Potential: Men and Women in Teams. London Business School.
Hambrick, D.C., Cho, T.S. and Chen, M.J. (1996) The influence of top management heterogeneity on firms competitive moves. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, pp. 659-684.
Harris, K. and Raskino, M. (2007) Women and Men IIT: Breaking Sexual Stereotypes, Gartner.
Hippel, V.E. (2005) Democratising Innovation. MIT Press.
Jahan, R (1996) The Elusive Agenda: Mainstreaming women in Development. The Pakistan Development Review, 35 (4 part 2) pp. 825-834.
Joachin, M. J. (N.D.) The benefits of gender Diversity in the workplace. http://www.helium.com/items/1509325-gender-diversity-employer-staffing-company-loyalty-team-work-overcoming-prejudice-respect
Khandker, S., Koolwal, G. and Sinha, N. (2008) Benefits of improving young women’s labour market opportunities: Evidence from group based credit programs in Rural Bangladesh. World Bank.
Rodriguez,S (1992) This man knows what Diversity is- Interview. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4422/is_n12_v9/ai_13928238/ [Accessed 15th feb, 2010]
Skaug, I. (2007) Breaking free in turbulent times: The intersection of turbulence, innovation and leadership. Business Leadership Review.
Stewart, L. (N.D.) diversity in the workplace; http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/50472.html [Accessed 8th February, 2010]
Thomas, D. (2004) IBM finds profit in Diversity. HBS Working Knowledge.
(Footnotes)
1http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/gender.htm
2 President & Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst
3 http://www.newandimproved.com/newsletter/1090.php

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