I’m an immigrant and this is why I’m an asset

It’s called cultural diversity and because of the current political climate, it’s at the forefront of many people’s minds.

As US President Donald Trump pushes for less immigration and tries to showcase the “dangers” of immigration, the nation and employers are pushing back.

Why? Because immigration is beneficial. And organisations are the ones who see it first-hand.  

Apple, Google and Facebook , are just some of the big companies who fought (and possibly will have to fight again) Trump’s widely criticised travel ban. These are companies who understand the value a diverse workforce brings to the company, something which Trump, is yet to learn.

Here’s a recap of what a diverse workforce brings:

·         Diversity drives innovation

·         Diversity drives “superior financial results”

·         Diversity drives productivity

·         Diversity drives further attraction and retention

·         Diversity improves problem solving

·         Diversity improves decision making

“Greater diversity of thought, perspective and background has been shown to lead to greater innovation and superior financial results,” Sallie Krawcheck, past head of Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney, said according to Hays report.

At a time of growing nationalism world-wide, where leaders blame terror attacks on immigration, it is important to focus on the positives of immigration and diversity.

"Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do," Apple CEO Tim Cook said, according to CNN.

Salesforce executive Vala Afshar, shared a tweet listing some accomplishments of immigrants;

US tech companies founded by 1st/2nd generation immigrants 🇺🇸

Apple
Google
Facebook
Amazon
Oracle
IBM
Uber
Yahoo
EMC
eBay
AT&T
Tesla
Reddit

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) January 28, 2017

And Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made sure to voice his opinions;

These global business leaders know the value of diversity. It’s an asset to their organisations, whether it being cultural background, LGBT, disabilities, gender or anything else. The key message is: Diversity drives innovation.

And that’s why I, an immigrant, am not the burden current politicians like to make out. Instead, I’m an asset.

Written by: Mimmie Wilhelmson

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.