In recent years the topic of gender diversity has risen up the corporate agenda. It’s now widely recognised that having a diverse workforce is beneficial for a business and its bottom line.</p> However there is still a perception that these discussions are ‘women-only’ – that these issues are addressed in a closed forum. </p> At Sibos 2016 in Geneva, the conference programme will move the conversation forward through a number of interactive sessions that will offer a broader discussion around diversity and inclusion. </p> These sessions will highlight how greater diversity by race, ethnicity and sexuality benefits corporate culture and the work experience. Importantly, there will also be a focus on how men have a crucial role to play and must be an equal part of the discussion.</p> “We often think gender equality is a case of women winning and men losing – but that’s not the case,” says Michael Kimmel, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, Stony Brook University. </p> “It’s a win-win for companies and a win-win for men. And we’re not just men – we’re partners, parents. We want the women we care about to thrive, and we want to enable a better work/life balance.”</p> As one of the world’s leading experts on men and masculinities, Kimmel has delivered the International Women’s Day annual lecture at the European Parliament and has also consulted widely with corporations, NGOs and public sector organisations.</p> His session at Sibos, ‘Why gender equality is good for everyone – Men included</a>’, will show why diversity and inclusion is not only right and fair, but also smart. </p> “There are many benefits,” he continues. “It positively impacts ROI and profit. It results in higher productivity and a lower turnover of staff – so it reduces labour costs. Also, the more diverse a workforce is, the more creative it is – great minds don’t think alike!”</p> Kimmel believes that diversity and inclusion should be a key consideration for any forward-looking company: “Diversity really means bringing everyone in. Client bases are more diverse than ever, so businesses need to become more diverse. They need to reflect the composition of their client base, and how it will look 20 years from now.”</p> Tinna Nielsen, an anthropologist and behavioural economist who set up socio-economic organisation Move the Elephant for Inclusiveness</a> in 2013, will also be speaking at Sibos 2016.</p> Nielsen, who was nominated as one of the world’s Top 10 Diversity Consultants by The Economist in 2015, helped to coin the term ‘Inclusion Nudges’. </p> Inclusion Nudges are practical interventions which help people to mitigate bias by pushing the brain in the direction of inclusive behaviour and appropriate decision-making. An invaluable tool in the workplace.</p> Find out more at Wednesday’s session, entitled ‘Unconscious bias awareness training is hot, but the outcome is not! How can we design to encourage inclusive behaviour</a>?’</p> For full details of this year’s diversity and inclusion sessions, check out the programme for the Culture stream</a>.</p>