“Diversity in Management ratings and diversity deep dives” is the name of the conference organised on 11 October 2016 in Santa Maria da Feira (Portugal). Event hosts, Lotte Hjortlund from ISS and Morten Kamp Andersen (Proacteur) presented results of the report focusing on diversity within Danish corporate managements and across all management levels. In this unique survey, Danish companies have been ranked according to the level of diversity of their management on four diversity criteria: gender, ethnicity, age-range and seniority. The results of the survey indicate that companies with the most diverse leadership earn an average of 12.6 percentage points more than companies with the lowest diversity in leadership. At the same time, the most diverse companies earn an average of 5.7 percentage points more than their competitors.

Workshop participants had an opportunity to discuss how diversity affects companies and institutions they represent. Lublin (Poland), where in 2013 only one thousand foreign students attended nine universities in total, is an interesting example of how diversity influences institutions. Active support provided by representatives of the municipal government administration, e.g. launching Study in Lublin project aimed at university candidates of various non-Polish nationalities and conducted in several foreign languages. The project resulted in increased number of foreign students attending universities in Lublin - currently it equals approximately 6,500 (Lublin ranks first in Poland). 

According to Lublin representatives, this ratio rose due to Ukrainian nationality of the member of staff who is responsible for providing information to international students and attracting prospective candidates during education fairs organised abroad. Representatives of the City of Lublin are of the opinion that hiring this person allowed them to establish closer relationships with candidates from such countries as Ukraine, Belarus, Kazachstan and, hence, successfully encourage them to study in Lublin.

At this very moment, over three thousand international students are of Ukrainian and Belarussian nationality. This shows that even a small degree of diversity can produce positive results. The number of non-Polish native speakers employed in Municipal Government Administration of the City of Lublin is increasing. The local government representatives are planning to encourage local businessmen to diversify their teams on various organisational levels. The report results as well as the tools used for monitoring the influence that diversity exerts on financial results in companies may turn out to be particularly useful in conversations with certain stakeholders.