Main Body
Leadership and the Promotion of Diversity in the Work Force and Beyond
Emily Feyes
Introduction
Increasing diversity is a complex issue dealing with deep seated beliefs and both implicit and explicit biases. Enhanced diversity will not be accomplished easily and requires time, planning, and a willingness to be uncomfortable. In this chapter, we will explore what qualities and theories of leadership will help an individual steer an organization through the cultural shifts needed to promote and foster diversity within the health care workplace and out into the community. To do this, we will focus on four leadership approaches/theories: Situational Leadership, Leader-Member Exchange Theory, Transformational Leadership, and Authentic Leadership. The discussion will then shift to what actions leadership can take to promote diversity within their work force followed by a discussion on the actions that can be taken to promote diversity and cultural sensitivity in interactions with members of the communities being served.
The demographics of the United States have changed over the past 40-50 years, and this is projected to continue. The number of non-Hispanic, white Americans has been decreasing since the 1980s and is projected to encompass 64.3% of the U.S. population by 2020, a 15.7% decrease (Judy, 1995). With this comes an increase in the percentages of other ethnic or racial populations. By 2020, it is projected that 12.9% of the U.S. population will be African American, 6.5% will be Asian, and 16% will be Hispanic (Judy, 1995). These changes in the overall population will also be reflected in the labor force. By 2020, only 68% of the U.S. labor force is expected to be non-Hispanic white individuals, down from 76% in 1995 (Judy, 1995). It is predicated that by 2020, 14% of the labor force will be Hispanic individuals, 6% Asian, and 11% African Americans (Judy, 1995).
As these demographics have shifted, companies, including health care organizations, have been working to increase the diversity of their work force to match the populations that they serve. Companies are actively recruiting and hiring individuals that have historically been in the minority in terms of identity characteristics such as race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, and socioeconomic status. The desire to increase diversity stems from the benefits that come along with approaching problems from different perspectives instead of through a single homogeneous lens. For health care organizations, the benefits of diversity extend into the communities in which they serve.
Increasing work place diversity requires an overall shift in an organization’s culture, which is often easier said than done. Historically, the work force has been dominated by Caucasian, middle-to-upper class men. During this time dominated by a single demographic, the multiple levels of culture (artifact, espoused values, and basic assumptions) were established and became part of employees’ work ident