Marva Smalls on diversity and inclusion
From Marva Smalls, Keynote - Diamond xChange 2019 · · Creative Diversity Network
“We must use data to demonstrate the financial imperative as well as the moral one: ethnically diverse companies are 33 percent more likely to outperform their peers while gender-diverse companies are 21 percent more likely to do the same.”
On , Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion & Executive VP of Public Affairs - Nickelodeon at Paramount Global, spoke about diversity and inclusion during Marva Smalls, Keynote - Diamond xChange 2019 on Creative Diversity Network.
About Marva Smalls
Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President at Paramount Global, delivered a keynote at the 2019 Diamond xChange conference where she argued that diversity and inclusion efforts should be driven by data. She stated that "ethnically diverse companies are 33 percent more likely to outperform their peers while gender-diverse companies are 21 percent more likely to do the same," and noted that at her organization, "leadership's compensation is tied to their ability to create inclusive work environments." Smalls also referenced box office successes such as "Black Panther" and "Crazy Rich Asians" as evidence that audiences are "voting their eyeballs and their wallets" in favor of inclusive content. In 2016, Smalls spoke as Board President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, where she reported that the organization's "littles are demonstrating staggering results: 97% are being promoted to the next grade, 96% are graduating high school, and 94% are gaining acceptance to college." She also announced that the evening's dinner had raised $2.3 million. In a 2008 interview, Smalls discussed MTV Networks' "Kids Pick the President" initiative, noting that children had selected John McCain in a primary before the general election results were final.