There is a lot of debate among CEOs about whether or not we are in a recession or one is looming, and how significant the impact will be.

Regardless of the answer to those questions, inflation is sky-high and there are 2 jobs open for every unemployed person right now.  That means the cost of business is high, and retaining top talent is more vital than ever.

More and more employees only want to work at a company that serves a larger stakeholder purpose beyond profit, and DEI is a core component of that. 

Doubling-down on your DEI work brings you multiple benefits.  Not only will you meet these employee needs, incentivizing them to stay and attracting new talent you want to hire.  You will also gain significant benefits you can take straight to the bank:

* Racially diverse companies are 33% more likely to outperform on EBIT margin1
* Every 1% increase in gender diversity yields a 3% increase in revenue2
* Diverse companies are 1.7x more likely to be innovation leaders3
* Diverse teams are 70% more likely to capture new markets 4
* Diverse and inclusive workplaces have 5.4x higher employee retention5

If you’ve got DEI in place, elevate its importance to be top priority.  If you’re just getting started, assess your biggest opportunities, build your roadmap and get the work started right away.  The CEO needs to be the voice of DEI internally land externally, now more than ever.  There is no time to lose.

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