Diversity in the Workplace

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Diversity in the Workplace

• FCS 387

Hudson, N.R. (2006). Management practice in
dietetics, (2nd ed.). Belmont Thomson Wadsworth
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Diversity

• In the workplace, this refers to ethnic, racial,
  gender, age, and other differences among workers.
• New ethnic groups have gradually integrated into
  the workforce
• Multiculturalism
• Culturally diverse organization
• Multicultural organization

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Multicultural Organization

• Values, encourages, and affirms diverse cultural
  modes of being and interacting
• Creates an organizational dialogue in which no
  one cultural perspective is presumed to be more
  valid than other perspectives
• Empowers all cultural voices to participate fully
  in setting goals and making decisions

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Dimensions of Diversity

• Primary
• Race
• Gender
• Age
• Physical Ability
• Ethnicity

• Secondary
• Education
• Work experience
• Marital status
• Religion
• Sexual Orientation
• Body Size

5
Changing Demographics

• An organization should reflect the community it
  serves
• An understanding of changes in the population is
  needed to manage diversity

6
Gender

• 1994 - 45 of workers were women
• 2005 - 48
• 2020 50 (projected)
• Organizations are changing
• More flexible jobs
• Job sharing
• Child care
• Family leave
• More adjustable benefits package

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Age

• Age of the workforce is increasing
• Older Americans keep working longer
• Better health
• Social Security and Medicare Benefits
• Special Needs
• Better lighting
• Larger print
• Equipment requiring less dexterity and strength

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Culture

• Majority of workforce is white non-Hispanic
• 1994 77
• 2005 73
• African-Americans 11
• Asians and Hispanics will continue to grow

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Physical Ability

• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Organizations are required to make reasonable
  accommodations for in individuals with differing
  physical abilities

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Benefits of Diversity

• Larger pool of potential workers
• Broader variety of viewpoints and ideas
• Experiences can be used to develop products and
  services for diverse markets
• Diversity is good for the bottom line
• Safe work environment
• More responsive to needs of the community it
  serves

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Drawbacks to Diversity

• Xenophobia Fear of strangers
• Employees feel threatened
• Takes time, energy, and money to implement a
  diversity program
• Potential employee losses
• Change may lead to an unpleasant workplace

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Goals of Diversity in the Workplace

• Everyone is a contributing member of the
  organization
• Every person is respectful and respected
• Each individual is treated equally and fairly,
  but also as an individual
• All individuals feel secure enough to speak openly

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Compliance vs. Commitment

• The entire organization should be committed to a
  diversity program
• Equal opportunity and affirmative action
• Compliance to avoid a penalty
• Commitment requires an investment of time, money,
  and self.
• To obtain optimal results, the program must
  belong to everyone!

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Diversity Training

• Individual workers must be aware of their
  prejudices and willing to suppress them in order
  to be sensitive to the needs of their coworkers.
• Awareness leads to tolerance which can foster
  nonjudgmental acceptance of differences

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Diversity Training

• It is the responsibility of management to
  develop and implement programs that explore the
  diversity issues and deal with them in a
  constructive manner.

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How Do You Manage Diversity?

• Scoring
• Usually 2 points, Sometimes 1 points, Rarely 0
  points
• Individual Attitudes and Beliefs
• Items 1, 4, 7, 10, 13
• Managerial Skills and Practices
• Items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14
• Organizational Values and Policies
• Items 3, 6, 9, 12, 15

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Three Arenas for Managing Diversity
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Discussion Questions

• In which arenas do you find your greatest
  strengths in influencing culture change?
• What obstacles do you (or might you) encounter?
• What steps do you need to take to be more
  effective in influencing change?
• What would be an important next step for you to
  take to increase your ability to influence change?