Workforce Diversity

Abstract

As the workforce becomes more ethnically diverse and as government agencies make attempts to manage that diversity, the importance of understanding how diversity affects workplace interactions and work-related outcomes increases. Learning to accept individual differences may be the key skill needed as we approach the future of various organizations. Changes in demographics, family structures, and nature of business today demand an understanding of our attitudes toward those who may be different.

Little research has examined the impact of diversity on performance outcomes. Effective change begins with understanding. A practice of inclusion, rather than exclusion, can unlock the potential of a diverse workforce. This paper seeks to fill this gap by studying the benefits, and challenges to workforce diversity and work-related outcomes. The effectiveness of equality/diversity training and its impact on the work environment has been a frequent matter for debate. This paper also considers the impact and value of diversity training.

Workforce Diversity

“A diverse group is comprised of individuals who are different in some ways and similar in others” Understanding and Managing Diversity, third edition E Carol Harvey, M. June Allard,(eds.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Prentice Hall, 2005, p. 3.

In todays world, diversity has become the key ingredient in the longevity and prosperity of a up and coming company. In the days of our parents, diversity was seen as a tool only used to keep the EEOC and governement regulators off their back to avoid being hit with lawsuits and bad press among the media. A company in those days that was established in a community where it was 50% equally of African-American and whites but yet the workforce consisted of 95% white males, would avoid backlash bringing in a couple of African-American workers and “put them up front” to make it seem that they were an ‘equal opportunity’ organiztion. And not having any...