Diversity is Good for Business
Over the last 10 years, Markham has become one of the most diverse towns in Canada. This could have been a problem, but the community and business leaders in Markham rose to the challenge and have been successful in making diversity one of the strengths of Markham.
By Chandra Kiran
Don Cousens, the mayor of Markham, has been one of these leading visionaries in promoting the value of diversity through events like ‘The Many Faces of Markham’ while Bill Fisch, the Chair and CEO of the Regional Municipality of York has been a strong proponent of leveraging diversity through commendable initiatives like ‘The Road to Inclusivity: An Action Plan for York Region’. The York Region Police Board Chair, David Barrow, and the York Region Police Chief, Armand La Barge, have been strong advocates of diversity in the Markham and York Region police forces. Keith Bray, President and CEO of the Markham Board of Trade (MBT), believes that “the MBT membership should reflect the community we live and work in.” He recently created the MBT Diversity Committee to translate this vision into reality.
The mandate of the Markham Board of Trade Diversity Committee, chaired by Stephen C. Wong, President, ESM Group Inc., is as follows:
1. To make recommendations to the MBT board to assist the MBT in becoming more inclusive.
2. To advocate approved initiatives.
3. To consult with the board on diversity matters.
The objectives of the Diversity Committee are:
1. To better understand the diverse needs of businesses in Markham.
2. To bridge cultural differences to help Markham businesses succeed.
3. To ensure cultural norms are understood and respected.
4. To build programs and events of interest to all Markham businesses.
5. To build awareness of the MBT and its role as ‘the voice of business’, and the MBT and chamber’s role in government affairs.
6. To be a resource for MBT board, staff and committees.
7. To build a membership more reflective of business in Markham.
8. To assist the MBT in becoming the umbrella organization to foster the connection between business communities.
Many of the members of the Markham Board of Trade already recognize the business case for diversity. They know that by cultivating and valuing diversity at work, their organization will have a better understanding of its customers and will do a better job at attracting the best people. This will help increase productivity and improve profit. An organization should therefore pursue a diversity strategy as part of the overall human resource and business strategies. IBM is perhaps the best example of this. Lou Gerstner, former chairman and CEO of IBM Corporation, has said, “IBM’s competitiveness will be enhanced through a workforce which reflects the growing diversity of the external labour force and the growing diversity of our customers.”
MBT members will find that promoting diversity to reflect the changing faces of Markham in their businesses will provide significant value to their organizations. The key benefits are:
1. Winning new customers not previously addressed.
2. Attracting new employees with critical skills.
3. Promoting productivity through harmony and team-work.
4. Developing new export markets.
5. Developing new suppliers and sub-contractors.
6. Gaining recognition and brand equity as a good corporate citizen.
Wayne Kalinski, Superintendent, Markham, York Regional Police, summarizes it best. He says, “Diversity is good for business. York Regional Police continue to hire personnel and officers who are reflective of the community we serve. We embrace diversity with the same commitment demonstrated by the Diversity Committee of the Markham Board of Trade. Markham is diversity and diversity is Markham.”
For further information about diversity initiatives of the Markham Board of Trade, please call 905.474.0730, or visit www.markhamboard.com
2600 John Street, Unit 207, Markham, ON L3R 3W3 T: 905.475.5222 F: 905.475.6369
