Gender Diversity in the Workplace

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.

Over the past 50 years, employers have seen a vast shift in the demographic of their employee's. Where once specific jobs were held by a specific type and group of people, today, at that same job, anyone from any ethnic background or gender could be expected to perform the tasks assigned. This shift has caused a significant and beneficial change in the way managers are expected to handle themselves and their charges within today’s working environment. Recognizing the ever evolving social norms while maintaining a balance of unbiased professionalism has become the primary challenge faced by today’s supervisor. Where once we expected organization and task management to be top priorities, today’s workplace leaders must be held to an equally high expectation of social acceptance while maintaining an unbiased supposition of responsibility. A sharp juxtaposition between empathy (for the personal needs of the individual) and responsibility (for the business needs of the company). Finding individuals that can accomplish this is an integral part of the hiring process. Unfortunately this is a task less easily performed. di•ver•si•ty Noun: diversity

1. The state of being diverse; variety.

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Works Cited

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