While politicians argue over what’s “woke,” business leaders manage diverse workplaces and serve diverse markets every day. In fact, the workplace tends to be the most diverse part of most Americans’ day. That’s why Business Forward believes it’s important for business leaders to make the business case for diversity and inclusion. As they see it, intolerance isn’t just wrong—it’s bad for business.

We’ve also helped businesses across the U.S. explain how their community competes for new jobs and investment with communities in other states – and how growing companies looking to expand tend to look for strong communities, just like they look for good schools and roads. Communities that do a better job attracting, building, and retaining talent across their entire workforce outperform those that don’t. We’ve run “we can’t compete if we can’t get along” projects in eight states, featuring case studies and testimony from their largest employers and most respected companies.

Equally important, we believe closing America’s gender gap is the single, best way to grow our economy and make America more competitive. We’ve briefed out network on a range of related issues, including paid leave, affordable childcare, and reproductive healthcare.