Promoting Racial and Ethnic Diversity in The Workplace

Racial diversity in the workplace has a lot more benefits than you might think.

Improving racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace is one of the most important challenges of any present-day organization. Yet many studies show that it increases staff engagement, wellbeing and innovation when companies take an active lead in adopting various diversity initiatives, and not just promoting it on paper. All these combine to help promote the company's brand and reputation in the market. 

That's not all. Research conducted by McKinsey showed that companies in the top quartile for gender or racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians.

When I joined Star Anise, one thing that amazed me was the diversity that the team had in terms of multi-culture with a good mix of local and international employees. I truly feel, understanding and drawing inspiration from various viewpoints, experiences, values, and cultures is crucial to diversity and it plays a great role in employee wellness and engagement. And the company actively encourages employees to talk about their own culture and to improve cultural insights. As a professional recruitment company this awareness raising is invaluable in helping its consultants take a more understanding and sensitive approach when speaking with job applicants from different countries around the world. 
 

Being aware of and recognizing a range of religious and cultural holidays is one method to promote more tolerance, encourage diversity, and increase awareness in any workplace.

At Star Anise, we recently celebrated two of the most important Indian festivals, Diwali (Festival of Lights) and Holi (Festival of Colors) with immense fun and excitement. It was amazing to see how each of the team members were so engaged and excited to be a part of these celebrations! Decorating the office and having lunch together gave me a very homely feeling, away from home! This was rightly a step towards promoting cultural diversity and inclusion. One of our former colleagues Shirin is from Kyrgyzstan and she held a special presentation about what life is like in her home country, it was absolutely fascinating to learn about this. 

Together as a team over the past year, we participated in CSR events like Hong Kong Legal Walk, Pink Friday, and International Women’s Day. Being a part of these events gave me a sense of satisfaction as I could do my little bit in supporting these noble events.

Working at Star Anise gives me immense pleasure as I can be a part of one of the first 100+ signatories to be included in Equal Opportunities Commission's Racial Diversity & Inclusion Charter for Employers. I really feel proud to be a part of an organization to be awarded by the prestigious Equal Opportunities Commission for its efforts in promoting family status equality and racial equality and inclusion within the workplace.

Swati Karanjai joined the Star Anise group as a researcher in 2021.