NOTE: Catalyst’s latest research on inclusive leadership can be found in our global report, Getting Real About Inclusive Leadership: Why Change Starts With You, and in infographics with country-specific data for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Learn more on our Accelerating Inclusive Leadership research series page.
How much do the very definitions of inclusion vary from culture to culture? Are there gender differences in what makes employees feel included? What leadership behaviors can promote inclusion? And how much do these behaviors need to be adapted for different cultural contexts?
This study delves into the striking similarities across most countries in how employees characterize inclusion and the leadership behaviors that help to foster it. The countries studied are Australia, China (Shanghai), Germany, India, Mexico, and the United States.
Findings in all six countries include:
- The more included employees felt, the more innovative they reported being in their jobs.
- The more included employees felt, the more they reported engaging in team citizenship behaviors—going above and beyond the “call of duty” to help other team members and meet workgroup objectives.
- Perceiving similarities with coworkers engendered a feeling of belongingness while perceiving differences led to feelings of uniqueness.
Download the complete report or view the infographic to see how inclusion was linked both to employees’ self-reported innovation and team citizenship—behaviors that have a profound impact on overall team productivity and product innovation.
Research Partners: AT&T Inc.; Bloomberg; BMO Financial Group; Cardinal Health, Inc., Chevron Corporation; Credit Suisse; Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Dell Inc.; Deloitte LLP; Desjardins Group; Deutsche Bank AG; EY; General Motors Company; Hewlett-Packard Company; IBM Corporation; KeyBank; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; McDonald’s Corporation; Sodexo; State Street Corporation; Symantec Corporation; UPS
How to cite: Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth R. Salib, Inclusive Leadership: The View From Six Countries (Catalyst, 2014).