On the eve of International Women's Day, it seems clearer than ever that women (who account for 49.556% of the world's population) need more than one day each year to celebrate their achievements and shout out the systemic issues facing what is after all, almost half the globe.

The Design Council’s recent design economy research has supported the message that a more diverse workforce will lead to a more diverse output and wider audience appreciation. The Design Council has added depth to this understanding by uncovering further statistics and underpinning their message with both the positives and negatives of a diverse design workforce. The Design Council explains that a more diverse workforce will be able to understand the needs of an increasingly diverse population.
 
Using both the full Design Economy 2018 report and their article on the link between diversity and business performance, Fashion Roundtable looks to break down their findings and view them from the perspective of the fashion industry.

“We should live in a country where every person, regardless of their ethnicity or background, is able to fulfil their potential at work.”

This lack of gender diversity is not only deeply worrying, as the report has not even touched on ethnic diversity amongst these women it also highlights that a lack of any women at the top of these companies is literally bad for business. FTSE350 companies with no women on their executive committee only achieve a net profit margin5 of 8.9%, whereas the figure soars by 5%, to 13.9% in businesses with at least 25% women at this level.

The European Journalism Observatory (EJO) recently analysed the gender diversity in bylines across 11 different European countries. The result echoed the gender imbalances across all creative industries, with women continually falling second behind men. This issue filters through to all creative industries, and needs addressing at the source of the problem.