Skip to main content
  • Claims Center
  • Contact Us
  • Español
  • Brokers & Agents
Hiscox Insurance
Menu Toggle
  • Home
  • Small Business Insurance Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Why Hiscox Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Resources Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Policy Management Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Claims Center
  • Contact Us
  • Español
  • Brokers & Agents
  • About
  • Get a Quote Get a Quote
  • About
  • Get a Quote Get a Quote
  • Blog Home
    Start Your Business
    Grow Your Business
    Protect Your Business
    Celebrate Courage
    Search

    Twenty-Four Seven

    Sign up to get the latest small business news delivered right to your inbox.
    Close Close
    Celebrate Courage
    May 16, 2022
    Hiscox Diversity Report, Part 1

    Diversity can help your business in more ways than you might think

    Thought-leadership | Small business inspiration
    By:
    Karen Doyle

    Share Image

    Embed Image

    Copy

    Share Article:

    There have been many conversations around diversity in the last few years, and companies are working hard at making their businesses more representative of the communities they serve. It’s clear that improving diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do, but are there other ways it may improve your business? The answer may surprise you. 

    In the Hiscox 2022 Diversity in Small Business Report, we surveyed 400 businesses with 50 or fewer employees. We asked about the level of gender and racial/ethnic diversity they had, and about changes they’ve made and plan to make. Here’s what we learned. 

    Download the Hiscox 2022 Diversity in Small Business Report

    Diverse businesses have experienced more growth

    Those businesses that demonstrated moderate to high levels of racial and ethnic diversity have seen their business grow an average of 72% over the past two years. That’s compared with an average growth rate of 45% for businesses with little diversity. 

    Sales at businesses with high gender diversity among owners and managers increased an average of 31%, and sales at businesses with high racial and ethnic diversity increased an average of 29%. 

    This doesn’t appear to be a short term trend either. Of those businesses that experienced growth, 71% say the growth lasted six months or more. Forty-five percent said the growth is still ongoing. 

    Related: 7 Lessons on diversity and inclusion from a Hiscox HR leader

    Social awareness leads to an increase in customers

    Consumers have become more socially aware in recent years, and have begun to seek out businesses whose values align with their own. Often, this means that businesses with higher levels of gender and racial/ethnic diversity are seeing an increase in their customer base.

    Our survey found that over 62% of businesses with moderate to high racial and ethnic diversity have benefited from the increase in social awareness. This benefit has been in the form of an increase in their customer base. According to 71% of these businesses, that increase has persisted for six months or longer. 

    Related: What businesses can do to support social justice

    Diverse businesses are more adaptable, innovative and creative

    Our survey found that businesses that have higher levels of diversity also display more creativity and innovation, which can lead to business success. 

    The average number of new products or services launched by a diverse business over its lifetime was 24. For businesses reporting little diversity, the average number of new products or services launched was just 14, indicating that diversity and innovation go hand-in-hand. 

    We also found that those businesses that have moderate to high racial and ethnic diversity change their branding an average of six times of the lifetime of the business, compared with four times for those businesses that reported little to no racial and ethnic diversity. This indicates that more diverse businesses are more likely to adapt their branding and positioning to changing times. 

    There’s still room for improvement

    While the call for diversity has been heard in the past two years, 45% of small businesses do not rank the increase of diversity and inclusion as a high priority. 

    For small businesses in general, and sole proprietors in particular, improving the diversity of their staff can be challenging if not impossible. After all, it’s hard to have a diverse staff of one. But there are other changes small businesses can make. Fifty-one percent of survey respondents said they have made changes over the past two years to promote diversity and inclusion. 

    Twenty percent of respondents said they publicly expressed support for causes (e.g., on social media), 14% donated to causes that fight for social and racial justice, and 10% highlighted diversity on their website. Companies with employees improved their hiring processes to be more inclusive (19%), improved transparency in compensation (15%) and conducted diversity training (12%). 

    Survey Methodology:
    The Hiscox Diversity Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 400 US small business owners, between December 21st, 2021 and January 10th, 2022, using an email invitation and an online survey. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.9 percentage points for the main sample, and 9.8 percentage points for the oversamples, from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.


    Protect Your Business

    Protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build. Get a fast, free quote and your business could be covered today.

    Get a Quote
    Get a Quote
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Related Articles

    5 Min Read
    Spotlighting Hiscox photographer customers, Kdmorris, Sydney Sherman, and Paramount Memories - William and Jennifer Chavis

    Exposed: photographers who developed their love for photos into a profession

    Customer stories | Small business inspiration

    We spotlight the creativity and drive that inspires photographers, and share the stories of these Hiscox customers who developed their passion into a profession.

    Read More

    5 Min Read
    women-who-made-business-dreams-reality

    Strong uplifting women who made their business dreams come true

    Small business inspiration | Customer stories

    Behind every entrepreneur is a dream that motivated them. Get inspired by these four strong women who turned their business dreams into reality. 

    Read More

    4 Min Read
    Books by and for women entrepreneurs

    Books by – and for – women entrepreneurs

    Small business inspiration | Management

    Get inspired by these successful women who started and led successful businesses, and then wrote books about it! 

    Read More


    We’re here to help.
    We provide tailored insurance for the specific risks you face, so you can take the right risks to grow your business.
    Get a Quote
    Get a Quote

    Footer menu 1

    • What We Cover
      • Business Insurance
      • General Liability Insurance
      • Professional Liability Insurance
      • Errors and Omissions
      • Cyber Security Insurance
      • Workers Compensation
      • Other Coverage
    • Who We Cover
      • Small Business Owners
      • LLC
      • Sole Proprietors
      • Entrepreneurs
      • Side Hustle
      • Contractors
      • Home Businesses
    • For Our Customers
      • Refer a Friend Program
      • Covid-19 Response
      • Claims Center
    • For Business Owners
      • Save with our Partners
    • About Hiscox
      • About Us
      • Careers
      • Contact Us
      • Hiscox Corporate
      • Investors
      • Foundation
      • Newsroom
      • We Stand Together
      • Affiliate Partner Program

    Footer menu 2

    • Accessibility
    • Site Map
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Legal Notices
    • Español

    Feefo Reviews: Hiscox rated 4.8/5 with 1,926 reviews between January 1, 2021 - January 1, 2022

    © 2022 Hiscox Inc. All rights reserved. Underwritten by Hiscox Insurance Company Inc., 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 1760, Chicago, IL 60602. As of December 31, 2021, HICI had admitted assets of $1,250,758,353 and policyholders surplus of $332,792,666. Total liabilities were $917,965,687 (inclusive of $433,752,764 of loss reserves) and paid-up capital stock was $4,242,000.

    icon-facebook
    icon-youtube
    icon-twitter
    icon-linkedin