Welcome back to Reading the Research! Each week I trawl the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects to share with you. Along the way I discuss the findings with bits from my own life, research, and observations.
Today’s article shows the benefits bosses and companies can reap when diversity in the workplace is respected and amplified. That diversity can include neurodiverse people, like autistic folks, but it can also include black people, immigrants, and even the aged or young among us.
There is, I think, the preference for those “like us,” especially in groups and companies predominantly one ethnicity. In the US, that’s white people like me. The problem is that the “ingroup” can only generate so many ideas. We can see this pretty clearly in Hollywood’s choice of major movies. The typical directors and screenwriters are white and male. The Oscars are almost exclusively judged by old white guys. The same ideas get used and reused. It’s incredibly hard for marginalized people to get their ideas up to the highest level. Even if their ideas are actually really good. (A couple that made it through despite the immense difficulty: Creed and Black Panther).
Missing the Best Ideas
So many good ideas are thought up and are never used or even heard by people in power, simply because people don’t put a lot of stock in diversity in the workplace or ideas from marginalized people. (In fact, it’s difficult for marginalized people to get hired at all.) Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way. Ideally, we would simply hire and promote marginalized people in all industries. That way ideas could be introduced naturally in an organization’s power structure. Unfortunately, that’s not how most companies are right now.
So until things improve on that front, there’s another solution: making sure managers and other higher-status people in organizations listen to all their employees. If a good idea comes up, that higher-status person can promote it, or signal-boost it and the person that thought of it. Since the person is higher-status, others with power in the business will listen to them and the good idea. In turn, this makes the company more likely to use the good idea and benefit from it. Finally, the inventor of that good idea receives recognition for their work, and the possibility of advancement.
The Problem and a Solution
The tripping point is that many managers don’t see the value in promoting ideas from their underlings. Often, they would rather not rock the metaphorical boat, or take risks associating with lower-status people in the company.
Here’s the thing, though. This article tells us that this decision to promote good ideas from marginalized people pays off big time. The company benefits because good ideas rise to prominence, allowing the decision-makers to choose from the best possible options. The marginalized person benefits from the recognition of their good idea.
And the missing piece: the promoter also gains a status boost from bringing the good idea to the table and crediting the idea’s owner. Essentially, everybody wins. There’s no reason not to do this. Plus, doing this can lead to better, more competitive, fairer organizations where the best idea truly does win.
(Pst! If you like seeing the latest autism-relevant research, visit my Twitter! There are links and comments on studies that were interesting, but didn’t get a whole Reading the Research article about them.)
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