Workplace Diversity: Managing Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

With the ever-increasing role of globalization in the world economy, attaining workplace diversity is an increasing trend in the corporate landscape. In fact, diversity has become increasingly important, because a range of experiences and viewpoints can improve the workplace and the organization’s value proposition.

According to the demographic analysis of the Pew Research Center, the U.S. will no longer have a single ethnic or racial majority by 2055. This transition towards a diverse population can have a significant impact on the workplace and the ways how companies address workplace adversity.

Companies of all shapes and sizes should ensure employees feel valued and respected regardless of their gender, race, and ethnicity. While this sounds like a great proposition, not all companies are successful in incorporating diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This is where business coaches come in to offer organizational change management training for successful transformation initiatives.

Workplace diversity isn’t just a new HR trend, it’s all about recruiting a wider range of candidates that add value to an organization. Business leaders today are encouraging diversity to experience its tangible benefits for the company and employees. In this article, we look at the meaning of workplace diversity, its importance, and ways to promote it in the workplace.

Defining workplace diversity

For organizations looking to promote an inclusive and diverse work environment, it is necessary to know what makes up workplace diversity.

Most people misconceive diversity that solely emphasizes multicultural matters. They view a diversified workplace as a working environment composed of employees coming from different demographics (e.g. ethnicity, gender, and racial backgrounds). While this definition is true, the real meaning of workplace diversity is more complex.

Workplace diversity refers to an organization that hires a broad range of employees and ensures their participation remains equal. Diversity not only involves how employees identify themselves but also how other people perceive them. In recent years, the scope of workplace diversity has further expanded to accommodate various characteristics, such as socioeconomic background, geographic orientation, physical disabilities and abilities, and military service.

Unfortunately, hiring people for ‘diversity purposes’ also comes with a negative connotation. Companies are struggling with their workplace diversity efforts because some employees assume diversity hires means hiring less qualified employees or hiring people because of their skin color alone, not because they’re qualified.

In this case, companies have increasingly realized that symbolically hiring diverse people isn’t just enough. The topic of workplace diversity has been a long-heated debate on how companies increase the participation, compensation, and performance of minorities instead of simply symbolically hiring.

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