Do great minds think alike?

Great minds think alike. But sometimes too much similarity can lead to limited solutions when a crisis erupts or an issue needs to be tackled creatively to achieve success.

In order to combat the problem, factoring in cultural diversity on boards is essential and has a multitude of benefits including increasing an organisation's capability, broadening its market share and ensuring its people are made to feel included.

As a multicultural society - and the fifth most diverse country in the OECD, New Zealand comprises more than 200 ethnic communities. This diversity is reflected not only on our streets, but also in the food and products we consume. Yet the same cannot be said of the makeup of our boards. The question is why?

Dealing with cultural diversity needn’t be an obstacle that requires stamina to overcome, but simply a matter of opening the doors.

Mervin Singham, Chief Executive of the Ministry for Ethnic Communities

And those who sideline diversity could be missing out on a massive win, according to Mervin Singham, Chief Executive of the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, who says there is a wealth of research linking organisational diversity to its success. The outcomes include a better understanding of customers, employee satisfaction, positive brand reputation and increased innovative solutions. 

“In a global and highly connected economy a diverse board will likely reflect its diverse customer base and better understand its changing needs. It also allows for complex problem-solving for increasingly complex markets,” he says.

Higher employee satisfaction also results from board diversity, fostering a culture of inclusivity, and in turn, looks favourable for employers and benefits the organisation's reputation as ‘a desirable place to work.’

Singham says the moral and societal value of diversity can’t be overlooked in today’s socio-political environment.

“It also leads to increased self-confidence and higher self-esteem...a diverse board signals to the firm’s internal and external stakeholders that it is in sync with their values, preferences, interests and aspirations.”

More innovative solutions

According to Singham, diverse boards come with a variety of personal experiences, skill-sets, values, and convictions. And with more distinctive, individual characteristics at play, this also makes directors less likely to succumb to group pressures. 

“This creates an environment where employees feel free to voice innovative ideas and provide creative solutions [because of] the wider range of competencies and differing risk-reward orientations and approaches to stewardship,” says Singham.

So how can boards truly reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity beyond just a numbers game? And are there any limiting social or cultural barriers that get in the way?

Erin Roxburgh-Makea Director Women in Sport Aotearoa.

“Too often I have had experiences where I’ve been hired as the Māori person, but the organisation wasn’t a culturally safe place to have me in there,” says Erin Roxburgh-Makea, a final year PHD student whose research has included unconscious bias and Māori governance.

With a background in policy and business management, she says being in an environment that didn’t feel culturally safe created tension, and inhibited her professional growth.

An elite athlete, Roxburgh-Makea also sits on the board for WISPA - Women in Sport Aotearoa.

“Diversity is about bringing people along for the journey,” she says.

Her board is currently undergoing bicultural training, which looks at the impact of colonisation on Māori. Equipping the board with understanding of the importance of having Māori representation, it also illuminated the underlying issues for Māori that have led to the tail end of negative statistics.

She says if boards want to create space for cultural diversity they need to think about the cultural barriers in place that stop people from putting themselves forward for board roles - shyness or feeling whakamā is one obstacle she has seen for Māori. In order to create a level playing field, she feels quotas are useful.

“I’ve heard people say they don’t believe in quotas and that it should just be about individual ability. But I think we need to acknowledge that in New Zealand not everyone starts on the same block.”

She refers to the equity versus equality diagram which illustrates how disadvantage plays out from the get-go.

“There’s a fence and someone is standing on a block so that they can see over the fence. Then there’s someone that has no blocks to stand on, so they don’t see over the fence. If all of those people are always given the same opportunity, one person will always be able to see over the fence and be slightly higher [than everyone else],” she says. 

From a recruitment point of view Roxburgh-Makea says boards can bypass cultural bias by reaching outside of their own networks where they’ll be more likely to find the right people. Blind CV’s are another option, but do they actually work?

“I think blind recruiting is good because it might remove some of those biases, but I think in the first place we need to question why these biases still exist and why people can’t bring their full selves into the recruitment process.” 

Also read It’s not about raising the numbers in our Boardroom Autumn 2022 issue