Globalization: Good News for America’s Diverse Talent

During the decade or more that globalization siphoned off American jobs, scant attention was paid to the effect globalization was having on the most foundational Diversity and Inclusion work — building and nurturing a diverse talent pipeline.

Globalization was, in large part, a reaction to a talent shortage in the U.S. That was good for China and India, who met the needs of a competitive capitalistic system: they built the talent for today’s and tomorrow’s economy.

Now that the tide is starting to turn, and high-skill manufacturing jobs are trickling back onshore, Chief Diversity Officers need to seize the opportunity to build the workforce America needs to regain competitiveness. It’s an uphill battle against low graduation rates and a massive shortage of science and engineering talent—all as people of color are on course to constitute half of the U.S. population by 2040.

Diversity leaders need to grasp their role in the context of globalization or face irrelevance. A failure to build diverse talent pipelines is a failure to build the talent pipeline for the entire U.S. economy.