"In order to contribute to competitiveness, diversity needs to be managed and taught"
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For the fifth consecutive year, Singapore retains its top position in Asia Pacific in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2018.
Globally, European countries continue to dominate the GTCI rankings, with eight of them in the top 10. Switzerland maintains its number one position, followed by Singapore and the United States.
The report underlines that diversity is also an investment: people are often ill equipped to collaborate with others who are different from themselves.
Leveraging diversity for competitiveness hence requires resources, commitment and leadership.
“GTCI 2018 highlights that in order to contribute to competitiveness, diversity needs to be managed and taught,” said Bruno Lanvin, executive director of Global Indices at INSEAD.
“It is also important to consider additional facets of diversity, in particular gender, culture, and ethnic background. Committing to a culture of inclusion is also a must to make diversity work.”
With the theme of ‘Diversity for Competitiveness’, the GTCI 2018 examines two types of diversity: cognitive (differences in knowledge, experience and perspectives) and identity (gender, race, age etc).
Additionally, the report underscores the importance of diversity for building innovative teams and to equip organisations with the ability to address the needs of markets and operations in multicultural environments.
In GTCI 2018, six Asia Pacific countries rank in the top 30: Singapore is first (and second globally), followed by Australia (11th), New Zealand (12th), Japan (20th), Malaysia (27th) and South Korea (30th).
Top-ranking countries share several characteristics, including having educational systems focused on employability, flexible regulatory and business landscapes, employment policies which combine flexibility and social protection, as well as demonstrating external and internal openness.
