By Jordan Chan ‘27
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fundamental values that many businesses target at every level of their organization. Though DEI efforts may boost company profitability and productivity, many companies see these efforts as more than a business strategy — they are a social and moral responsibility. This article provides insight into what DEI looks like in the consulting world, why it is so important, and how CBE has implemented practices aligned with these values.
Defining DEI
While closely related, diversity, equity, and inclusion are values with independent meanings. Diversity refers to the goal of bringing in representatives from a wide variety of demographic groups (e.g. people of different genders, sexualities, ages, abilities, ethnicities, backgrounds, and perspectives). Equity is about treating people from this diverse pool fairly, allowing everyone to have an equal opportunity to contribute to the company. Equity accounts for and accommodates differences across groups without assuming that each individual’s needs can be satisfied in the exact same way. Inclusion refers to creating an environment where everyone feels like they belong. No matter what background someone comes from, they should feel listened to and valued (University of Michigan). Ideally, a company’s hiring practices, treatment of employees, policies, and culture all showcase a commitment to DEI.
Benefits of DEI
Global management consulting company McKinsey has published multiple studies exploring how diverse workplaces — especially those with diverse executive teams — are more likely to outperform their competitors financially. Their reports found “clear correlations between diversity and business performance” and an overall positive view of diversity from most employees, although negative sentiments around DEI programs are still commonplace. McKinsey focused particularly on how, when it came to profitability, companies with more women and more ethnic and cultural diversity had the edge over comparable companies with less diverse representation.
Over the years, McKinsey’s studies have garnered significant influence and attention from professionals in the business sphere. Some have cast doubts on the company’s research methodologies, wondering whether they could prove a definitively causal link between financial performance specifically and diversity (WSJ). However, recent studies from other sources corroborate McKinsey’s findings, often citing how diversity might improve factors like brand equity and legitimacy, thus contributing positively to profitability in the long run (Sage Journals and Springer). This factor tracks with findings from McKinsey, as well as other consulting organizations like Boston Consulting Group, with studies on the performance benefits of DEI that are not explicitly “profitability” but do contribute to a company’s overall success. These include enhanced talent acquisition, better insights and creative innovation, reduced attrition, and higher levels of employee motivation and satisfaction (McKinsey and BCG).
Naturally, researchers will continue to refine their work exploring the role of DEI in the workplace, but it is important to note that most critics of studies on DEI even acknowledge how research flaws do not negate the societal and moral benefits of increasing diversity in the workplace.
From CBE’s perspective, when a consulting organization has members bringing diverse perspectives, they can come up with solutions that suit the diverse needs of their client base. All the while, the organization can uplift groups of people who have historically been underrepresented and undervalued, pushing back against the structural inequities that make success in business more difficult for marginalized demographic groups.
How Consulting Companies Embrace DEI
Almost all major consulting companies have publicly committed to values similar to those outlined above in some way, shape, or form. For example, to expand the diversity of their recruitment systems and the industry at large, many major consulting companies host special summits and internships for undergraduate students coming from specific backgrounds. Some well-known programs include McKinsey’s Sophomore Summer Business Analyst internship, Bain’s Building Entrepreneurial Leaders Program, and Boston Consulting Group’s Growing Future Leaders Program, which all seek Black, Hispanic/Latin American, and Indigenous candidates. There are also well-known programs for women, such as PwC’s Women’s Consulting Experience initiative and Bain’s Connecting and Resourcing Empowered Women opportunity. Companies also make efforts to support employees from different backgrounds after they hire them, forming affinity groups to connect employees from similar backgrounds, fostering rich mentorship opportunities, investing in DEI research and consulting services, and more.
A Long Way to Go
It is no secret that despite all of the buzz about DEI in recent years, the business sector still tends to lack diversity, particularly in top leadership positions. One salient example of this is what some refer to as the “women’s leadership gap,” where women are much less likely to hold senior management positions than men. For example, figures show that the top positions in Fortune 500 companies are dominated by men even though the percentages of men and women in lower positions are more equal (CAP). Another striking example is the underrepresentation of Black employees in management positions and in high-growth, high-paying industries (McKinsey).
Furthermore, recent news has shown that major companies are moving back from DEI initiatives, with The Wall Street Journal publishing an article titled “Banks, Law and Consulting Firms Are Watering Down Their Diversity Recruiting Programs” this June.
Simply having a diverse set of summer associates is not enough to be a true champion of the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Even if companies have more diverse recruitment systems, employees from specific demographic groups might still face limited opportunities for advancement, high attrition levels, unsupportive work environments, and implicit biases from peers, which contributes to a persistent lack of diverse representation across the industry (WSJ and McKinsey). Thus companies must embody the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion at every level, ensuring that these values permeate every facet of their culture and environment — they are never simply words on a website.
DEI in CBE
CBE has grown immensely as an organization in the past few years, taking on more cases and more members than ever. With this growth, we want to continue to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion and create as much positive impact as possible on our internal and external community. Through affinity groups, a program that we expanded last spring, we try to create supportive sub-communities for people with similar backgrounds to connect with one another. CBE also offers financial aid to members, recognizing that students from different socioeconomic backgrounds may have financial responsibilities that make it more difficult to commit the time and effort required to complete casework. Furthermore, CBE welcomes any student to apply to join, valuing passion and potential for growth over factors such as past experience in consulting.
This perspective helps us deliver the highest quality of work possible, allows members to work towards the best version of themselves, and is mindful of how the diverse set of students at Harvard have not all had the same access to experiences as one another in the past. We also hold ourselves accountable by getting advice from experts on DEI in the industry and closely reviewing feedback from our community on how we can improve — efforts overseen by a dedicated Director of Internal Engagement & Inclusion on our executive board.
We recognize that we, too, have a long way to go. But we take this responsibility seriously and proudly commit to embodying the growth we hope to see in the consulting industry.