"Diversity: the art of thinking independently together" -- Malcolm Forbes
The early work force diversity programs of the 1990s concentrated more on teaching employees how to relate to other employees of different backgrounds and were guided principally by Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action legislation. Today, diversity encompasses more than just race and socioeconomic backgrounds--lifestyles, religion, marital status, and physical disabilities are all included in this simmering pot called diversity.
Undoubtedly changing demographics continue to be the driving force behind diversity issues. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the country's work force is expected to increase by 17.4 million and become more diverse by the year 2012. The fastest growing or largest population segments include women (14.3 percent), Hispanics (12.4 to 14.7 percent), youth 16 to 24 (15 percent), and citizens over 55 (14.3 to 19.1 percent). Such demographic trends make the job of managing diversity a real challenge in both profit and non-profit organizations.
Managing diversity encompasses everything from policies and procedures to giving all employees an equal voice in the workplace. How administrators manage diversity greatly depends on the needs of the organization. For example, some companies may want a diversified work force in order to make them more competitive in the global market. Diversity helps them to better understand international markets. While other organizations consider diversity as a means to bring about greater harmony in the workplace and an opportunity to prepare employees and volunteers to deal with the nation's changing demographics. Regardless of the reasons, managing diversity is here to stay. So, it's no longer an issue whether to implement diversity training, but how diversity training will be implemented.
Smart companies are looking at e-learning or Web-based programming to implement diversity training. Other organizations are adding language courses in Spanish to be able to interface with the growing Hispanic population. And in the wake of September 11, employees are learning to appreciate Islamic culture or how to adequately deal with issues that may only affect international employees.
Certainly every employee in his or her lifetime will confront the subtle or not so subtle nuances of diversity. Therefore, it's simply good business or smart business for managers to take a realistic look at how multicultural issues affect their work environment and whether or not their employees are adequately prepared to deal with the changing tides of diversity.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (February 11, 2004). BLS releases 2002-12 employment projections. United States Department of Labor.
Holmes, Tamara E. (June 2003). Diversity in the workplace: Diversity training programs changing with the times. HR Center. Retrieved June 16, 2004.
Wentling, Rose Mary. (2001). Diversity in the workforce. The National Dissemination Center.