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.
The emergence of diversity in organizations can be traced to the 1960s when legislation was enacted to prohibit discrimination against ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, and religion. Even though workplace diversity origins began in the aftermath of World War I, it was not until 1961, when President John F Kennedy established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), which was to end discrimination in employment by the government and its contractors (Cañas & Sondak, 2011). Workplace diversity continued to be advanced through the years by Presidents Johnson and Nixon administrations.
The EEO was the government’s attempt to ensure that all individuals have an equal chance for employment, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin. Workplace diversity is fundamental to the structure of an organization, ensuring that individuals are also characterized by their differences as they are by their similarities. A desire for a diverse workplace reinforced by the need to comply with anti-discrimination legislation places a big demand on organizations.
Workplace Laws and Policies
The impact of diversity in the workplace is contingent upon several factors. Across companies diversified workforces are becoming increasingly common. To successfully manage a diverse workforce, organizations are ensuring that employees understand how their values and stereotypes influence their behavior toward others of different gender, ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds; are gaining an appreciation of cultural differences among themselves; and behaviors that isolate or intimidate minorities are being improved (Noe et al., 2010, pg. 302).
A basic problem regarding the implementation of diversity into the workplace is that its approach sometimes does not fit the interpretations of equity and equality according to the context in which it was meant.
Cañas, K. A. & Sondak, H. (2011). Opportunities and challenged for workplace diversity: Theory, cases, and exercises. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
In my opinion, it is important for private and public organizations to adopt and implement programs and laws to overcome the challenges in a diverse work environment. One of the laws that organizations follow are Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. Equal Employment Act of 1972 prohibits discrimination of employment on the basis of race, color, nation, origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political , beliefs , and marital status. Another law that
Cañas, K. A., & Sondak, H. (2014). Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity: Theory, cases, and exercises (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Gender, racial, and ethnic diversity means different things to different people. Some believe that diversity is about quotas, and affirmative action. Others believe that diversity is something that will happen on its own with out intervention. Some experts who study diversity, however, believe that diversity is not something that should be left up to chance. It is important, therefore, for organizations to take action to encourage and foster diversity in the workplace (Clarke, 1995, p. 13).
Respecting one's individual differences can increase productivity. Diversity in the workplace can show value in marketing, talent acquisition and staffing, nurturing creativeness, and the overall business image. Creativity is the key to healthy workplace competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organization's success. Employment of the protected groups (age, social class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status) is what causes diversity in the workplace by law. Anyone from the protected groups and the employer has the right to file a claim of discrimination with the EEOC. The claim is then addressed by the EEOC to the organization through a litigation
Having diversity in the workplace allows for greater growth within a company due to the different opinions and perspectives of people from all walks of life. To remain competitive, many companies are being advised to recruit, develop and retain men and women of all different backgrounds, ages and races (Cox and Blake, 1991). By doing this and also accommodating the needs of their demographically diverse workforce, companies will become much more appealing places to work therefore reducing turnover and absentee
Living in a country where it was founded by immigrants, diversity is everywhere you go especially in the workplace. There are many types of diversity; ethnicity, gender, religion and age just to name a few. Working in a diverse organization it can give you a taste of the real world, and what you will deal with wherever you go. There is so much diversity in the world today so it is a benefit to experience it in the workplace as well. You are given the chance to learn so many things from different cultures, why wouldn't you want to work in a diverse organization?
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.
Diversity in the workplace is important for employees because it manifests itself in building a great reputation for the company, leading to increased profitability and opportunities for workers. Making sure all members, students, parents and guarding’s are welcomed at all times in a well-mannered environment Workplace diversity is important within the organization as well as outside ensuring all different are put aside and everyone can come together and work well as a great team.
Diversity is a highly important issue in today’s business, especially in a globalized company. Workplace diversity helps to get better solutions to business problems (Schawbel, 2012). When you have a group of individ...
Diversity issues will gain importance because of the effective interactions and communications between the people. Diversity is the reality of the business world. It can have negative and positive impact on the employee’s behaviour towards work and work results. This also depends on how the employees have understood it and grasps it.
Diversity Matter in Workplace Workplace diversity denotes to the variety of variances between people in an organization. It can include race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, background and more. Not only does variety include how people identify themselves, but how they observe others, which in turn can affect their collaboration in a work environment that is culturally diverse. Communication, adaptability, and change are just some of the problems these businesses must cope with. Accepting and valuing the differences between all people and incorporating diversity means the individual force and limitation of everyone can be assumed and influence into the building of workplace teams.
In today's workforce, there have been drastic changes. Diversity in the workforce now ranges from race and sex to sexual orientation and political views of an employee; Compared to 50 years ago, where the primary race in the workforce was Caucasian and other differences were not expressed. Managers must adapt to the overall appeal to the audience that is needing motivation. Although one cannot make every single body in a room motivated to do something with one appeal, it is important that a managers work personally with their employees to reduce diversity issues and work productively. In the article, 'The Top 10 Diversity Facts in the Workforce Today,' It is stated that, "Diversity creates a more creative and innovative workforce."
The importance of diversity in the workplace that it can aid in a competitive framework
However, just like everything in life there has to be a balance. To every strength there is a weakness, to every efficiency there is an inefficiency, and often times a diverse workforce includes oppositions and drawbacks and it’s often left up to the human resource managers to implement and oversee diversity training, recruiting, and employment. Throughout this paper we intend to uncover the advantages, oppositions,