How do global organizations find and advance their talents in the global workplace?

The giant success in countries around the world of the US blockbuster movie, Wonder Woman 1984, got us thinking about a real-life struggle we help our customers with every day.

How do global organizations find, develop, and advance their Wonder Women in the global workplace?

If you know the Wonder Woman story, you know that Diana Prince came from the Amazons. In our world, that could be São Paulo, maybe Dubai, or Shanghai. But why aren’t these real-world Wonder Women flying through the ranks to lead the management teams of our global companies?

Hiding your Cape to Fit In

One of the answers to that is as simple as it is disarming. According to a 2020 PwC survey, one-third of employees believe that diversity and inclusion issues present a barrier to progression in their company.
And while we do not expect your Wonder Women to be caped-crusaders, pacing the hallways with a lasso and golden boots, the impact this has on self-confidence, ambition, and ultimately engagement means minority talent is more likely to be hiding at the back of the room rather than leading from the front. This is tragic for the employee and bad news for your company.

The Growth of The Multinational Workforce

In a recent tweet, to promote her new book, Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere, Harvard Professor Tsedal Neeley said:

Between 2000 and 2015, U.S. multinational companies alone hired 4.3 million employees domestically versus 6.2 million employees overseas — that means millions of people who need digital technology to communicate and collaborate effectively from anywhere.

How many potential Wonder Women are lost among those 6.2 million overseas employees?

In its recent report, Diversity wins: How inclusion matters, McKinsey advances the need for “bold steps to strengthen inclusion,” including the critical need to “create a level playing field for all employees.”

As well as the global access to digital technologies that Professor Neeley advocates, we’d argue that Learning & Development has a critical role to play in leveling the playing field for overseas employees.

But to get management buy-in, those programs need to offer a skill-based approach that is focused, business-centric, and metrics-led – what we call Precision Learning. As HR Industry Analyst, Josh Bersin explains:

Diversity and Inclusion is one of the most powerful business tools you have, take it seriously and you’ll see the needle move.

…If you’re struggling to move your diversity metrics ask yourself a simple question. Is D&I an HR program or is it truly essential to your business? Are you ready to empower women, minorities, or local nationals really run your company as it grows?”