Inclusivity and the Power of a Diverse Team

In a Forbes article last fall about the benefits of a diverse workforce, they cited some very compelling reasons for why companies should actively seek out and promote diversity. Reasons that resonated with me include:

• Diverse teams produce 19% more revenue.
• Inclusive teams make better business decisions up to 87% of the time.
• Decisions made and executed by diverse teams delivered 60% better results.

Those compelling statistics helped shape my interview with John Jackson Moyer, the President of Tucson’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

1. I touched briefly on the Chamber’s mission and origins in the introduction, but I’m curious about how it has evolved over time. What has been and what is currently of central importance to the Chamber, both as a social and business community?
   
2. I joined the Chamber last August because it’s such a friendly group. Many large networking groups feel like a business card swap, but the LGBT Chamber is very relationship oriented, which I appreciate. When I invite people to attend a breakfast and check it out, I’m invariably asked if you can join the Chamber if you’re straight. I think it’s important for people to know that the LGBT community welcomes allies. Can you elaborate on what it means to be an ally?
   
3. This may be a perspective of privilege, so please correct me if I’m wrong about this assumption. It appears that a lot of progress has been made with regard to the inclusion and rights of gays. But it also appears that there is much progress left to be made with respect to the inclusion and rights of transgender persons. Since this is a podcast about small business, I thought we could explore that through the lens of work. Describe for us what the transgender workforce is facing today.
   
4. My question to you is, for businesses that want to diversify their workforce, what could they do to set up their LGBT employees for success?
   
5. The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce cites that the LGBT community contributes over $1.7 trillion to the U.S. economy. Can you give us some examples of how our local LGBT community affects Tucson’s economy?
   
6. I like to ask guests if there is something about their particular business or industry they wish people better understood. On behalf of the Chamber, is there anything that you wish the public better understood about the LGBT community? Is there currently any proposed legislation that you would like to discuss?