May Contain Lies: Do Diverse Companies Really Perform Better? With Professor Alex Edmans

It is a truth universally acknowledged that diverse companies perform better. The evidence is apparently so irrefutable that one FTSE 350 chair raged that ‘There have been enough reports… statistics and… evidence-based research to stop talking about it and get on with it.’ Another viewed the evidence that diversity trumps any other attribute as so ironclad that he tells executive search firms, ‘I don’t want to see any men. I don’t care if they’re Jesus Christ. I don’t want to see them.’ Similar statements are made about the supposedly cast-iron link between ESG and firm performance.

But is this evidence as strong as people claim, or is this a case of confirmation bias, where people accept evidence uncritically just because it confirms what we want to be true? Professor Alex Edmans, a strong 'level-headed' ESG advocate, will explain how the evidence for both is much weaker than often touted. Beyond these two topics, he’ll explain the many ways in which people spread misinformation more generally – but also how we can spot it, and think smarter, sharper, and more critically, to make better sense of the world and take better decisions.

See Alex's recent article Is diversity actually good for business? or his recent research paper on whether there is a relationship between DEI and company performance for a flavour of what he will be speaking about.

Join us for our inaugural event at The Library in Conway Hall in London: doors will open at 6:30 and the talk will start at 7 and will last for roughly 40 minutes and will be followed by questions. Then for those interested, a trip to a nearby pub afterwards for further discussion over drinks.

Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School. His book May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It (Penguin Random House) is out on the 25th April, and he will be available to sign any copies purchased at the event. Books can be purchased as part of your ticket or at the event itself (£15, cash only).

Sacred Cows is a new series of talks in London dedicated to investigating the science behind society's contemporary 'sacred cows', and seeing whether the evidence for them can stand up to scrutiny. Sign up to our mailing list for future events or follow us on twitter.