In today’s world, diversity is just a part of life. Everywhere you turn, you will see someone different from you. Diversity and inclusion are particularly important in the workplace because it allows the organization gain a global edge and respond to the increasingly changing world. Not only that, having the right policies and values in place will not only allow every employee perform their best and meet their full potential. However, having inclusive diversity values is easier said than done. There are many ways to incorporate inclusion policies in the workplace, but thinking about diversity issues as a college student is a great starting point, especially in a place like Cornell University. It is important to have diversity and inclusion, …show more content…
It can be accomplished in a number of different ways by an organization. One way it could be accomplished is by having a hiring strategy that values differences. Candidates from all kinds of communities should be considered. Candidates should also be evaluated on their personal values and their accomplishments, not on their physical or personal background. This is a great way to have diversity in an organization. Inclusion, on the other hand, is harder to accomplish. The organization must create an atmosphere that embraces and celebrates diversity. For example, one way would be to establish and enforce company values and policies that support diversity. Some policies could include better maternal leaves, acceptance of religious apparels, and accommodation of diverse holiday requests. Another inclusion strategy is having diverse networks within the company to connect minority individuals with others in the company. Women, LGBTQ, Asian, Muslim, are some examples of minority groups that can have diverse networks. However, it should be noted that it is one thing to have these policies and values on paper but another to really stick to these values. Uber, for example, has official values that support diversity, but continues to have sexual harassment issues and low numbers of women employees. This shows that an organization needs to actively …show more content…
I can contribute to having a more inclusive environment in the workplace by being open-minded, and always hearing other people’s perspective on things before casting judgement. Everyone has a different way of thinking and most of the time, it is something I have not thought of. Being open-minded will not only help create an inclusive environment of mutual respect, it will allow me to learn about different perspectives and new ways of doing something. Furthermore, it is important to seek to understand instead of immediately casting judgement. Everyone has a different background and was raised with different morals. Seeking to understand offers a chance for everyone to explain his or her opinion and fosters mutual learning between everyone. In addition to personal values, I can further contribute to a more inclusive environment by speaking up when people are being insensitive. Instead of laughing along with an ignorant joke, I will try to point out why it should not be said and why some people would be hurt by the
In attempts to comply with federal laws and in relation to fairness, organizations and business in the United States started increasing women’s representation and employment of people of color. These efforts resulted in a trend where women representation across all types of jobs increased while the workplace was characterized with people from different cultural backgrounds. Organizations and businesses sported multicultural and multilingual hues that resulted in a paradigm shift in the concept of workplace diversity (Srikrishna,
Cañas, K. A., & Sondak, H. (2014). Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity: Theory, cases, and exercises (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Life experiences accompany people and frame every other aspect of their lives (Ragins, Gonzalez, Ehrhardt, & Singh). It can be difficult to disregard them. Diversity management teaches individuals how to constructively use them. It also engages everyone. People feel included and at the same time use their differing viewpoints to correct any system components that may exacerbate discrimination. This participation can spotlight the fact that treating people equally does not necessarily mean the same.
Generally when someone begins speaking about diversity in the workplace, thoughts of Affirmative Action, racial diversity, or even sexual equality are usually foremost in our thoughts. However, diversity in the workplace really is so much more than this, we must also consider aging workers, handicapped workers, those with alternative lifestyles, and even physical traits to name others (For the sake of simplification, throughout this paper these will usually be included in the term, minorities).
14. Rice Jr., Booker (2000, May-June). Putting diversity to work: Playing on a level field. LIMRA's MarketFacts, 11(3), 38-39.
According to researchers Frances Maher and Mary Kay Tetreault, “Privilege, in its root meaning, pertains to a law--in this case often silent and unseen--that works for or against individuals and groups” (2009). In other words, although privilege is not an object, it is real. Privilege has been demonstrated in various forms of inequality and prejudice all throughout the United States’ history. From not allowing all races to become citizens of the U.S. prior to the Fourteenth Amendment to controlling who got to vote, privilege continues to impact societies. Currently, racial privilege has had a large effect on young adults, such as those in the workforce. Here, privilege negatively affects young people by limiting their hiring opportunities,
People want to be hired and work for companies where they know their skills are needed and they feel important. They do not want to be hired based on their gender, race or ethnicity. When an organization increases their diversity, they are able to enhance positive effects within their job. Diversity never needs to be looked at in a negative way, because no one wants to be put in a group just to meet a quota. People want to be put inside of groups because others want to include them and they feel their peers will respect their differences. When employees are not included they feel dissatisfied with their job which leads to conflict, miscommunication and eventually leads to
This sense of pride in diversity has led the nation to where it is today. It is important to identify various dimensions of workplace diversity. The first dimension involves primary levels of diversity. That is, people with disabilities, gender, race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, creed, religion, and age are primary dimensions of diversity. These basic groups require the greatest degree of management dexterity and attention because they play an important part in workforce interrelationships and communication. These areas are also more prone to conflicts and negative reactions among employees. Managers must recognize that there is a need to train, inform, and sensitize their employees to deal with issues relating to this type of diversity. Consequently, managers must recognize the effects of diversity in their firms and plan to deal with potential conflicts. They must also recognize the different strengths of individuals and groups so that they cay utilize their skills more effectively. The second dimension of diversity deals with individuals from different social strata. For example, education levels differ among various employees. This may result in conflicts between less skilled or educated wo...
Workforce diversity has become a reality in organizations. More organizations have written workforce diversity policies or programs. Although there is still no consensus on how to define workforce diversity, diversity policies and program are producing positive effects in organizations. Diversity in the workplace is a way of defining acceptable behaviors of employees. Diversity represents all the ways in which individuals are both similar and different. It involves a variation of characteristics such as: age, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, or any other differences. Although diversity initiatives are common in the workplace today, this is due mainly to the federal government use of constitutional amendments, legislation, and executive orders, along with court decisions to interpret the laws for equal rights (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2010). The way an organization defines diversity and how it manages its diverse workforce may determine its effectiveness.
Companies such as Buzztronics are leading the way in the global economy because of their dedication to diversity in the workplace. In order to build a diverse and successful workforce, a business needs to recruit, train, and retain capable and talented minorities.
In a world that has grown increasingly smaller due to mass media, world travel, and readily available information, the workplace has grown increasingly diverse in both gender and cultural aspects. Individuals no longer live and work within the confines of their geographic locations. At almost any position with any company the individual employee is a part of a larger world economy that harvests assets from the ends of the earth. Because of this, companies seek to capitalize on diversity to become more creative and flexible in their business models.
“[Seventy-nine percent] of organizations indicated that they use some of diversity training” (Madera, King, and Hebl 79). This huge percentage goes to show that organizations have a huge influence on diversity training programs. Furthermore, “many Fortune 500 organizations have publicly recognized the importance of education and training university students on the skills and abilities to interact with individuals from different backgrounds and cultures” (Madera, King, and Hebl 79). Companies put so attention to university students and they use so much effort into molding students into the character they want them to be once they graduate. These companies want these students to have the ability to adapt to different environments and ideas.
In the workplace, it is common to encounter individuals of different cultures, ethnicities, and genders. This diversity can either lead to an introduction of new work methods, or it can lead to conflict between coworkers. In order to avoid conflict, and have all employees work as a cohesive team, managers must educate themselves, and their employees on the topic of cultural diversity. In order for your practices to be considered effective, you must not only respect and recognize an employee’s diversity, you must use their difference to benefit them.
This would namely be implemented in work places and educational facilities. Really it applies to all institutions but for now I will focus on the work place. Companies are not allowed to hire anyone based off of race, but work places still need to put effort in where integration is concerned. This does not only mean hiring more people of colour that is a different, although extremely prominent issue. Companies should strive to encourage their workforce to interact with one another anyway since this leads to higher productivity.
Workplace diversity begins with management and spreads throughout organizations. Administrators must find ways to create work environments in which all staff members feel supported. This is particularly challenging as the world grows smaller and varying ethnicities blend in assorted talent pools. Managers can exercise several practices, in unison with technology, to support this environment. Administrators Role in Diversity Cultivation