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Diversity and Inclusion in the Workforce
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the benefits of employee diversity in the workplace
- Discuss the challenges presented by workplace diversity
Diversity is not simply a box to be checked; it is an approach to business that unites ethical management and high performance. Business leaders in the global economy recognize the benefits of a diverse workforce and see it as an organizational strength, not as a mere slogan or a form of regulatory compliance with the law. They recognize that diversity can enhance performance and drive innovation; conversely, adhering to the traditional business practices of the past can cost them, talented employees and loyal customers.
A global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company study indicates that businesses with gender and ethnic diversity outperform others. According to Mike Dillon, chief diversity and inclusion officer for PwC in San Francisco, “attracting, retaining, and developing a diverse group of professionals stirs innovation and drives growth.”
Living this goal means recruiting, hiring, and training talent from a broad demographic spectrum and including all employees in every aspect of the organization.
Workplace Diversity
The twenty-first-century workplace features much greater diversity than was expected a few generations ago. Individuals who might once have faced employment challenges because of religious beliefs, ability differences, or sexual orientation now regularly join their peers in interview pools and on the job. Each may bring a new outlook and different information; employees can no longer assume that their coworkers think the same way they do. This pushes them to question their assumptions, expand their understanding, and appreciate alternate viewpoints. The result is more creative ideas, approaches, and solutions. Thus, diversity may also enhance corporate decision-making.
Communicating with those who differ may require us to make an extra effort and even change our viewpoint. Still, it leads to better collaboration and more favorable outcomes overall. David Rock, director of the Neuro-Leadership Institute in New York City, says diverse coworkers “challenge their own and others’ thinking.”
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), organizational diversity now includes more than just racial, gender, and religious differences. It also encompasses different thinking styles and personality types, as well as other factors such as physical and cognitive abilities and sexual orientation, all of which influence the way people perceive the world. “Finding the right mix of individuals to work on teams, and creating the conditions in which they can excel, are key business goals for today’s leaders, given that collaboration has become a paradigm of the twenty-first-century workplace,” according to an SHRM article.
Attracting workers who are not all alike is an essential first step in ac