Equity, Inclusion and Diversity

We believe that a sense of shared responsibility – along with a genuine commitment to long-term, meaningful action – is vitally important if society is to confront and resolve issues that continue to affect, in disproportionate ways, the most vulnerable and disadvantaged among us. We believe we all have a role to play to ensure more equality and fairness.

In our work with more than 11,000 senior executives each year, we actively challenge the biases – conscious or subconscious – that we encounter. We encourage business leaders to consider the impact of their decisions, and encourage them to reduce deeply ingrained inequalities and contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Most importantly, we ask leaders and organizations this fundamental question: What do you stand for?

In the past, leaders worked in mostly homogenous teams, operating from a single, shared perspective, very often applying a Western lens. In today’s globalized world, many organizations and businesses face a complex reality: a changing workplace, digital exposure, an intensified war of talents, reputational management, and a consumer expectation of them to take a stand and act. To continue to grow, organizations must visibly mirror their stakeholders, partners, and clients, and represent their expectations.

More than ever, leaders must to be able to recognize, attract, develop, and retain all talents, model inclusive leadership in all circumstances, and recognize and address micro-inequities to cultivate high-performing teams to promote business growth, for adaptivity in turbulent times, and to strive for a more diverse, inclusive, and fair future.

Today, knowing how to grow diversity and implement inclusive leadership has become a ‘must have’ management skill.

Knowing how to translate good intentions into real and sustained behavioral change is the largest hurdle most of our clients currently face.

Global anti-racism protests and the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic on many communities and countries have exposed social inequalities in a very bright light – and provided all of us with the impetus for renewed action.

As a global, independent academic institute, we are guided by a strong sense of purpose: Challenging what is and inspiring what could be, we develop leaders who transform organizations and contribute to society in a positive and sustainable way. This purpose anchors our sphere of influence to the world of business and learning while also compelling us to lead by example.

Focusing on the role of business in society, we believe that a sense of shared responsibility along with a genuine commitment to long-term, meaningful action is vitally important if society is to confront and resolve the issues that continue to affect in disproportionate ways the most vulnerable and disadvantaged among us. In our work with executives and organizations, we actively challenge the conscious and unconscious biases of our community and audiences, including the more than 11,000 senior executives with whom we work annually. We encourage business leaders to consider the impacts of their decisions, to reduce deeply engrained inequalities and to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable future.

Closer to home, we strive to ensure that IMD is free from discrimination based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic. Our goal is that IMD will be an even safer and welcoming place for all people – a place that encourages open debate with compassion, respect, and support.

Making the world of work – the part of the world we can influence most – more diverse, inclusive, and fair is an ambitious pursuit. We know that reaching this goal requires more effort on our part. We take our mission and responsibility to heart, and are committed to intensifying our efforts in four key areas:

• Ensuring that IMD’s stance against any form of discrimination and injustice continues to be enshrined in our values and beliefs and is applied in our daily interactions
• Overseeing broader diversity in our workforce and creating an even more inclusive environment for all our constituents, led by our Head of Diversity & Inclusion supported by our Executive Committee, Faculty, and Staff
• Intensifying our research efforts in the areas of diversity, inclusion and fairness
• Ensuring that we include these topics in all our leadership development programs

These commitments will contribute to advancing the journey ahead of us. We, as academic institutions, do not change the world by ourselves, although we can influence current and future leaders in positive directions.

We at IMD are committed to encourage and help leaders to strive for a more diverse, inclusive, and fair future. Self-reflection is a first step to achieve this because it all starts with the person in the mirror. We encourage you to join us on this meaningful journey.

IMD – The Institute for Management Development