Inclusive Economy Conference Unites Management Scholars and Practitioners to Reduce Inequalities and Social Divisions
Refugees and global migration; access to health; social connectivity. These were just a few of the issues explored at the second HEC Inclusion Day, organized by the Sustainability & Organizations Institute (S&O). This annual event showcases research on the intersection between social issues, inequalities, impact and management. As with last year, the event included breakout discussions over experiments to help organizations address concrete social challenges. Practitioners at the daylong event joined in to see how research from several continents could answers these challenges.
The FIAP in central Paris was an appropriate venue for the second edition of Inclusive Economy (IE) Day. This “Foyer International d’Accueil de Paris – Jean Monnet” was originally the brainchild of French intellectuals, politicians and resistance fighters aiming to build a Europe open to the world, to fight racism and promote cultural exchanges between young people from around the world. 66 years after the FIAP opened its doors, well over 100 academics and practitioners from around the world exchanged research and visions which would have flattered the prophetic approach of FIAP’s pioneers.
Over the course of seven sessions, they discussed ways of transforming society through research-based practices implemented by major companies. These ranged from tapping into high-skilled refugees’ knowhow (Dan Wang), to the impact of peers’ work styles on expert behavior (Carlos Inoue), or addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in entrepreneurship, especially in innovative and capital-intensive fields (Naja Pape).
The Adecco Approach to Integration
“We need other companies to stand up and say: ‘Okay, you know what? Integrating the unemployed, integrating refugees and the marginalized, does actually work.” Not the kind of words or approaches one would expect from a senior manager from a multinational that has provided jobs to 16,000 people with refugee status. Yet, the Adecco Group France’s Raphaëlle Thirion is not your typical senior manager. She has been the Operating Manager of the Humando business unit for over five years, mobilizing resources and recruits, training them, and finding employment for the most marginalized of unemployed people. These can range from refugees to former convicts and the long-term unemployed: “It doesn’t have to be all about confrontation and cultural shock,” she confides after the 11-hour conference. “It can work. We’ve proven it, time and time again,” During this intense day of deliberation, Thirion chaired the first session and a workshop entitled “Investing in Refugees”. The proof of a successful program, she said, lie in the figures. In France alone, it integrated 4,600 long-term unemployed and 3,000 refugees successfully integrated the workforce as a result of Humano’s guidance: “We deal with absolutely every social issue which could constitute an impediment to work: a solid roof over people’s head, training, a decent living style – this is a holistic approach we are working on for people who are invisible in society and at the workplace.”
Raphaëlle Thillion, Operating Manager of the Humando business unit
Impact of Refugee Presence
Raphaëlle Thirion followed up her presentation by chairing fascinating opening session on refugees and global migration. It built on a January 23 HEC conference in London shedding light on the complex realities of forced migration and the imperative for businesses to play a positive role in this global challenge. At the FIAC the panel began with a trailblazing work by Anselm Hager from Humboldt University. He spent two years in northern Lebanon to see what impact forced migration has on social capital both inside and outside the group. Hager’s research centered on a face-to-face survey where he used a simulation to estimate perceptions of Trust, Reciprocity, Altruism and Cooperation. The survey simulated a game where respondents would be able to hypothetically benefit individuals from other population groups: Syrians, Lebanese, or migrant Palestinians (refugees). The results indicated that exposure to refugees led to what he called “pro-social behavior” towards the migrants: “Despite the staggering increase in the number of refugees, largely from Syria, Lebanon has been far more effective in accepting them and organizing their resources for efficient cohabitation.” This, Hager explained is due to resource mobilization, and the creation of networks to encourage contact. “There has been a positive spillover effect on Lebanon and Palestinian communities, and there is no feeling of threats on the local culture or resources.”
Humboldt University’s Anselm Hager describing the positive impact of refugees in northern Lebanon on pro-sociality.
Refugees Input to Economy: from Bangladesh to New York
Hager’s remarkable study was followed by one delivered by SM Musa, a doctoral student from Rotterdam School of Management that S&O had invited to last year’s IE Day. This is due to his ongoing research on one of the world’s biggest refugee camps in his native Bangladesh. In the last year, Musa has deepened his understanding of the securitization, repression and resistance in the Kutupalong camp for Rohingya refugees on the Burmese-Bengali border: “Many of these migrants are spending their lives in search of some dignity in living. They have organized a bazar to sustain their identity. But this has also shaken up the hierarchy within the Rohingya community and given birth to a new elite. This, despite the fact that the authorities actively repress the right to self-organize and improve the realities of refugee life.”
Sandra Portocarrero, meanwhile, exposed research-based proof that undocumented migrants in her adopted nation of the United States contribute positively to the American economy. Last year, the Columbian Business School (CBS) postdoctoral researcher told the attendees of the first edition of IE Day of her own tribulations as an undocumented migrant from Peru. She has transformed her personal experiences into a launchpad for research which underlines the resilience and success of this group. This time, Portocarrero shared her research on entrepreneurial activity as a way to re-evaluate the position of this migrant community: “I look at this activity as a way of overcoming the stigmatization suffered by these migrants. Entrepreneurship initiatives have been shown to override the prejudice and suspicion they have been victims of.” Still, the challenges remain, including new ones: “We’ve seen the appearance of what we call ‘ethnic cages’: migrants who are being exploited by the same community. If I could give a piece of advice to an immigrant who wants to enter the job market through entrepreneurship: take that opportunity as option number one before looking for a job. Despite the fact there are many obstacles, there is also a lot of learning.”
Sandra Portocarrero, the Columbian Business School (CBS) postdoctoral researcher, sharing some of her data on migrants in the US and their economic contribution there.
Fellow CBS researcher Dan Wang’s work in American metropolitan areas confirms that high-skilled immigrants significantly contribute to regional entrepreneurship. In the closing social connectivity session, Wang described their ability to enhance the overall business ecosystem and knowledge spillover, despite facing barriers that could suppress their entrepreneurial potentials. Such conclusions, he claimed, encourage policy to ease these barriers for the general benefit of US society and its economy.
Likewise, Naja Pape’s field work in India highlighted the positive impact of gender inclusion in innovative and capital-intensive enterprises. In her presentation, the INSEAD academic attempted to address the persistent underrepresentation of women in these entrepreneurship fields. These barriers, said Pape, are related to societal perceptions and the specific needs of women in entrepreneurship[BF1] .
Businesses and a Just Transitions
The conference enjoyed the input of several business practitioners who are following HEC’s research in the field with keen interest. This includes Schneider Electric whose Director of Corporate Citizenship and Institutional Relations, Gilles Vermot Desroches, is a regular guest at HEC events on the topic. His company has been a longtime partner of several HEC programs devoted to sustainability, transition and impact. He teamed up with Maureen Sigliano, HEC’s Executive Director of the school’s Impact Company Lab to explore ways of applying the Lab’s experimentation platform. This program serves to grow companies’ drive for a just transition. During the conference, the two outlined the three levels they are working together. These begin by redefining and convening impact leadership to narrow the gaps between impact intentions and results. The second level applies future-focused thinking to universal business impact-related challenges. The Lab has fixed a 2050 horizon which centers on the world’s megacities, as related in our 2050NOW report. The final level aims to design, experiment and assess impact initiatives for the leaders of today and tomorrow. Vermot Desroches also insisted that the social dimensions of sustainability must be put at the heart of all initiatives in order to address environmental challenges.
Gilles Vermot Desroches underlining global inequalities which companies, public sector, political world, stakeholders, youth and education sector need to address to accelerate the environmental, social and energy transition.
Other practitioners attending shared their experiences in creating social ties in hybrid environments. Singa’s Guillaume Capelle gave a compelling talk on how his international NGO has helped refugees and immigrants to integrate through entrepreneurship and local communities. His companies J’accueille platform (“I welcome”) has assisted thousands of refugees in building bridges with French households, showcasing the power of solidarity and community. Whilst the founder of the social enterprise Kawaa, Kevin André, has been using his experience as a research academic at ESSEC Business School to reduce the impact of loneliness within marginalized communities. “This is an invisible scourge which handicaps integration,.” he told participants at the informal workshops that followed the talks and roundtables. “We have shown that overcoming this state of mind can lead to creating social ties and businesses,”
Ambitious and Wide-ranging Workshops
Indeed, after these research presentations, the participants at IE Day broke out into four groups to explore the challenges and possible solutions in implementing some of the proposals made. With his dozen participants, Associate professor at Morocco’s Mohamed VI University of Health Sciences, Jaafar Heikel looked into leveraging large-scale health data for business impact. He brought his 15 years of experience in Morocco’s Ministry of Health and an equal length of time in private sector to bear in discussing practical ways data can be used to improve health coverage, and health management of organizations;
Gilles Vermot-Desroches, of Schneider Electric joined forces with Arnaud Britsch, Director of the Institut Européen de Coopération et de Développement (IECD) to explore ways of attracting youth to vocational jobs in sectors facing a labor shortage. Raphaëlle Thirion led a group discussion on investing in refugees. Whilst Jacques Berger, the Director of Action tank Social & Business, sought ways to fight loneliness, alongside Pauline Lebas, Director of Innovation at the French Red Cross and Marie-Flore Leclercq, Director of Réseau Entourage.
The discussions were lively and high-class reflections on moving the cursor further forward towards an effective inclusive economy. They built strongly on last year’s inaugural event and are seen as a stepping stone towards next year’s third edition. All the while, the organizers remain consistent to their commitment to building an economy “that includes and benefits everyone.”
Inclusive Economy Day 2024 was part of a three-pronged workshop series created this year by S&O. All three were devoted to fundamental issues of purpose, inclusion and the environment. The second part preceded by Climate Day and followed up by a Stakeholders conference we will be reporting on shortly.
Our thanks to HEC doctoral candidates Alison Hsu and Andrew Montandon for their contributions to this article.