Rainbow Rising

At Thinkers50 we are committed to inclusivity and diversity, which is why we support and celebrate Pride Month.

As US President Joe Biden observed: “Pride is a time to recall the trials the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community has endured and to rejoice in the triumphs of trailblazing individuals who have bravely fought — and continue to fight — for full equality.  Pride is both a jubilant communal celebration of visibility and a personal celebration of self-worth and dignity.”

At Thinkers50, we recognise the valuable contributions of LGBTQ+ people to management thinking. We have worked hard to make our Ranking and our Distinguished Achievement awards as open and transparent as possible, and we not only welcome but positively seek out the diversity of thought that comes from seeing the world from multiple perspectives and backgrounds.

This year we are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the first ever Thinkers50 Ranking. When we published our first Ranking in 2001, the world of management thinkers was an insular environment. It was pale, male and stale.

Some people will argue that hasn’t changed much. We agree that it hasn’t changed enough but we also believe it is starting to shift in a good direction, and we seek to play our part in that movement. Every January, we publish our Thinkers50 Radar list where we identify the next generation of management thinkers. Our Radar Class of 2021 is the most diverse yet — and deliberately and unapologetically so.

Some people have told us that proactively increasing diversity is difficult because it risks diluting quality: at Thinkers50, we take the exact opposite view. We believe that increasing diversity is essential to elevate the quality of ideas because it widens the spectrum.

We are doing our best to make this process fair and inclusive. So, if you think there’s a thinker whose work we should be aware of, we’d love to hear from you! (Not just this month but any time). We highly encourage you to visit our website and submit your nomination.

The Thinkers50 is a truly global community. We are not complacent about its diversity, but we are proud of the progress we’ve made in terms of the representation of women and minority groups.  Make us prouder. Help us raise our game by identifying the top talent from across the rainbow.

Des Dearlove & Stuart Crainer