Report Card on Diversity: Lessons for Business from Higher Education

American institutions of higher learning have long played a disproportionate role in supplying leadership talent to the world's business and professional organizations. New research by William Bowen and Derek Bok, former presidents of Princeton and Harvard respectively, suggests that the experience of these institutions can provide insight on how to create diverse organizations that succeed. The first insight has to do with clarity of mission. It is not enough to pursue diversity because it is "the right thing to do." The second insight concerns recruiting. The authors challenge what they call "the myth of pure merit," the notion that recruiting is a precise science based only on grades and test scores. Instead, they argue, merit is about assembling a team by deciding which applicants, considered individually and collectively, will contribute most to achieving the company's goals. The third insight concerns how organizations help employees perform to their potential. Of the factors contributing to high graduation rates at the most selective schools, higher expectations and the efforts of mentors stand out as most important. Finally, the fourth insight is about how to achieve accountability in a corporate setting. Boards must ask: Are our recruiting policies working? and How are recruited employees doing? While the authors' research was intended specifically to inform the debate over race in higher education, here the authors report on their findings, and with the help of Glenda Burkhart, a corporate executive working with them, they draw out the major lessons for business leaders. Ray Gilmartin, the CEO of Merck, discusses diversity initiatives at his company in light of the research.

• Corporate social responsibility
• Mentoring
• Diversity and inclusion
• Anti-discrimination policies
• Hiring and recruitment