[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/09\/15\/diversity-and-inclusion-optimism-bias\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/09\/15\/diversity-and-inclusion-optimism-bias\/","headline":"Diversity and inclusion: Optimism bias or real progress?","name":"Diversity and inclusion: Optimism bias or real progress?","description":"This year, I\u00a0have\u00a0traveled around the world, attending forums and visiting\u00a0workplaces in\u00a0Portugal, Prague, Japan, and the United States\u00a0among others.\u00a0Now, at\u00a0home in Berlin,\u00a0I’ve had an opportunity to\u00a0reflect on the past few months\u2019\u00a0worth\u00a0of insights from those\u00a0activities and events.\u00a0In doing so, I\u2019ve become aware that I may have\u00a0a bit of\u00a0an optimism bias,\u00a0thanks to\u00a0my role and focus area. According to […]","datePublished":"2017-09-15","dateModified":"2021-12-02","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/anka-wittenberg\/#Person","name":"Anka Wittenberg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/anka-wittenberg\/","identifier":242,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c6fe2039047272027c0bd594b510c34d3d25f3924c9075b3c39b1d40d936534?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c6fe2039047272027c0bd594b510c34d3d25f3924c9075b3c39b1d40d936534?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Diversity-and-inclusion_FTR.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Diversity-and-inclusion_FTR.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/09\/15\/diversity-and-inclusion-optimism-bias\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/purpose\/gender-equality\/","name":"Gender Equality","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gender_equality","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q113453"]},"Inclusion & Diversity",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/purpose\/","name":"Purpose","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purpose"]}],"wordCount":844,"keywords":["CRM | Customer Relationship Management","Customer Engagement","Diversity","Diversity and Inclusion","Leadership","Marketing","SAP","Women In Leadership","Women In Tech"],"articleBody":"This year, I\u00a0have\u00a0traveled around the world, attending forums and visiting\u00a0workplaces in\u00a0Portugal, Prague, Japan, and the United States\u00a0among others.\u00a0Now, at\u00a0home in Berlin,\u00a0I’ve had an opportunity to\u00a0reflect on the past few months\u2019\u00a0worth\u00a0of insights from those\u00a0activities and events.\u00a0In doing so, I\u2019ve become aware that I may have\u00a0a bit of\u00a0an optimism bias,\u00a0thanks to\u00a0my role and focus area.According to a\u00a0Time magazine\u00a0article called\u00a0The Optimism Bias, \u201cTo make progress, we need to be able to imagine alternative realities \u2014 better ones \u2014 and we need to believe that we can achieve them.\u201d\u00a0I think this\u00a0“optimism”\u00a0helps to motivate us to pursue our goals, work longer hours, etc. But I\u2019d like to say that it\u2019s more than that.\u00a0I believe we are making very real progress.When we support diversity and inclusion, not just because it\u2019s the right thing to do, but also because it favorably impacts the bottom line,\u00a0we have progressed from a\u00a0vision\u00a0to a\u00a0very\u00a0real, practical and sustainable solution.The case for hopeAs SAP\u2019s\u00a0Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer,\u00a0I am fortunate to meet with many amazing women\u00a0and men who\u00a0advocate\u00a0for women,\u00a0underrepresented minorities, different-abled people,\u00a0human rights and equality.\u00a0These\u00a0people\u00a0are helping\u00a0others understand the\u00a0very real\u00a0value of a diverse and inclusive workforce, tapping into the increased innovation\u00a0driven by multiple perspectives that\u00a0makes our world better.\u00a0SAP is\u00a0being recognized for\u00a0its\u00a0accomplishments and\u00a0is\u00a0winning awards for significant achievements.Here\u2019s a quick look at\u00a0our\u00a0journey over the last few months:SAP China\u00a0won the \u201c2017 Best Employer for Women\u201d\u00a0Award\u00a0in March\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0Her Village International Forum\u00a0in Beijing. Hosted by Ms.\u00a0Yang Lan, the event\u00a0theme\u00a0was \u201cLeading Innovation in a Time of Change,” which strongly\u00a0mirrored\u00a0SAP\u2019s\u00a0Cloud\u00a0and Innovation focus\u00a0in 2017.\u00a0Mark Gibbs,\u00a0President of SAP Greater China, showcased SAP\u2019s Diversity\u00a0and Inclusion strategy and initiatives, discussing how SAP is\u00a0driving a business beyond bias.Diversity matters: In addition to the award,\u00a0SAP gained huge brand exposure \u2013 in the first 48 hours alone,\u00a0five million people watched online, and there were 400 million page views, with extensive online and social media reporting.Women20 in Germany\u00a0was amazing! The goal\u00a0of the conference, a new part of the G20 initiative,\u00a0was to demonstrate that women\u2019s economic empowerment is fundamental to a prosperous world, and is essential for economic growth, stable economies, and social development.\u00a0With over 400 participants in attendance,\u00a0German Chancellor Angela Merkel made her support of #Women20 clear with three appearances at the\u00a0summit.The climax of the\u00a0event\u00a0was a discussion\u00a0between the German Chancellor, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, head of the IMF Christine Lagarde, and\u00a0Ivanka Trump.\u00a0With much common ground\u00a0combined and many\u00a0innovative\u00a0suggestions from various perspectives, the\u00a0W20-initiative found great support for the proposed\u00a0creation of a public and private sector\u00a0fund to promote women entrepreneurs\u00a0and\u00a0their ability to\u00a0stimulate economic development.In May, diversity and inclusion were at the forefront of\u00a0SAPPHIRE NOW. The tone of awareness was set\u00a0with an incredible opening \u201cCall to Lead\u201d\u00a0event sponsored by\u00a0Jen Morgan,\u00a0Co-president of Global Customer Operations, and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.\u00a0I\u2019d like to point out that four years ago, this was a mere breakfast meeting at 6:30 am, in a hidden corner of the Orlando Convention Center.Over the years, we pushed to raise awareness and build “Call to Lead” from a backroom activity to a sold-out event boasting a huge waiting list. Under Jen\u2019s care the event has grown into a full-day summit, with diverse\u00a0dignitaries, including former first lady\u00a0Michelle Obama\u00a0and former president\u00a0George W. Bush,\u00a0on stage\u00a0talking about\u00a0diversity\u00a0and its relevance to\u00a0leadership.On the first day of\u00a0SAPPHIRE,\u00a0Bill McDermott\u00a0reflected on the many accomplishments of SAP\u2019s own diversity\u00a0and\u00a0inclusion initiatives.\u00a0He\u00a0noted that SAP was\u00a0the\u00a0first\u00a0multinational technology corporation to receive\u00a0the\u00a0Economic Dividends for Gender Equality\u00a0(EDGE) certificate, recognizing SAP’s global commitments and actions in achieving and sustaining gender diversity and equality in the workplace.\u00a0He\u00a0also highlighted SAP’s\u00a0Autism\u00a0at Work\u00a0program,\u00a0and\u00a0emphasized the need for\u00a0all of\u00a0us to have\u00a0empathy for others \u2013 a key element of inclusion.The buoyancy of changeOverall, for me, it\u00a0has been terrific to hear\u00a0these\u00a0topics\u00a0being discussed as critical components of a healthy and successful business, as opposed to a \u201cnice to have\u201d element. To see the conversation shift away from merely an\u00a0HR\u00a0discussion to a business imperative reflects\u00a0the progress and commitment\u00a0we\u00a0have\u00a0made\u00a0toward creating\u00a0the right environment\u00a0and sustaining\u00a0the right\u00a0mindset.\u00a0I am truly honored and proud to be\u00a0among the optimists involved in helping these programs grow from seeds of ideas to where they are today.This post was originally published by Anka on LinkedIn, and was republished with permission.  The future of business is calling.RISE to the occasion."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2017","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"15","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/09\/\/15\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Diversity and inclusion: Optimism bias or real progress?","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/09\/15\/diversity-and-inclusion-optimism-bias\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]