Diversity Initiatives in the Workplace

Work in Progress at the University of Illinois

by Rose Mary Wentling
Demographic change, the global marketplace, greater tolerance for differences, and govern-
ment-sponsored programs are increasing the importance of diversity in the workplace. In the near
future, more women, minorities, and people with different ethnic backgrounds and lifestyles will
enter the workforce. Companies will face the same issues and problems public schools have been
facing in understanding and utilizing the full range of human potential in a diverse population.
Organizations that do not manage diversity effectively will not be able to utilize the full potential
of their workers, nor to survive and grow under increasingly complex and competitive business
conditions.
At the NCRVE site at the University of Illinois, we have been studying the status and trends of
diversity initiatives in the workplace. This article discusses the major findings from our research,
including the barriers to working with diversity, reasons for implementing diversity strategies,
and the most effective initiatives. We conclude with an overview of trends in diversity, of special
interest to human resource professionals.
Our major research method was in-depth, open-ended interviews with a panel of twelve diversity
experts chosen for their experience working with companies on diversity initiatives, and for their
publications and research in the field.
Defining Diversity
The experts we consulted defined diversity broadly. By including everybody as part of the
diversity that should be valued, we recognize that all employees bring their differences,
including group-identity differences, to the workplace. A broad definition moves diversity issues
beyond an "us versus them" struggle to a focus on using diversity to accomplish both individual
and organizational goals.
However, organizations which seek to correct a company bias against a particular group may
define diversity more narrowly, according to their specific needs. Others argue that attempts to
cover all differences may weaken current efforts to reduce racism and sexism in our society. No
single definition can capture the broad range of differences diversity includes, the evolutionary
nature of the process it represents, and the far-reaching impact it has on individuals and
organizations.
Barriers Faced by Minorities
A first step in working with diversity issues is determining what concerns and barriers are the
most critical to the organization's employees. Although the specific barriers to advancement vary
from one company to another, their effect is the same in closing down the full potential of its
workforce.
We found that many barriers continue to restrict the opportunities of diverse groups. These
barriers may be from the environment, such as discrimination or stereotyping, and from
individuals, such as poor career planning or inadequate skill preparation. Both external and
internal barriers can be equally detrimental to the advancement of diverse groups. External
barriers may be more obvious than internal barriers, but minorities need to carefully assess and
identify the barriers they set for themselves and work on resolving them.
Nonetheless, many internal barriers emerge as a result of external barriers. Since both types of
barriers affect each other, it may be difficult to deal with them separately.
Why Organizations Incorporate Diversity
We found that the major reason organizations strive to incorporate diversity is to improve
productivity and to remain competitive. As others have noted, companies do not implement
diversity programs because it is the social, legal, or "in" thing to do. While the need for
incorporating diversity may appear to grow out of notions of social and economic fairness and
morality, the real need is to maintain and increase profits in national and global competition.
The impetus for diversity initiatives must come from awareness of the business implications:
addressing the needs of workers, satisfying the demands of competitiveness, and fulfilling the
requirements of the company's role in the community. Organizations are willing to accept change
related to diversity only if the potential benefits are clear and worthwhile.
Perhaps the strongest rationale for incorporating diversity is to increase productivity among all
workers, especially among groups that have historically been underrepresented and underutilized
(such as women, people of color, people with physical disabilities, older workers, and gay or
lesbian employees).
Best Strategies for Working with Diversity
Organizations must provide employees with skills for operating in a multicultural environment,
so that employees can understand their own as well as other cultures, values, beliefs, attitudes,
behaviors, and strengths and weaknesses.
The experts we consulted said that the six best strategies for working with diversity are:
training and education programs
organizational policies that mandate fairness and equity for all employees
mentoring programs for minority employees
more systematic career guidance and planning programs
performance appraisal systems that are non-discriminatory
outreach programs, such as internship programs, scholarships, targeting recruitment in
the community, and lectures at schools
Training and education, an often used approach, can fill a company's needs in areas such as
awareness-building; skill building, helping employees understand the need for valuing diversity,
educating employees on specific cultural differences, providing the skills necessary for working
in diverse work teams, and providing skills and development activities necessary for diverse
groups to do their job and have the opportunity for advancement.
Training and education programs vary in style and content from organization to organization,
and are heavily influenced by the organization's definition of diversity. All forms of training
should include awareness-building, skill development, application, and support. Support is
especially important, as numerous authors have acknowledged that potential benefits of training
will not be likely to occur unless trainees return to a supportive environment for applying what
they have learned.
No single approach to working with diversity can be recommended for all organizational
situations. However, obtaining top management support, integrating diversity into all company
functions, using a combination of strategies; and creating a corporate culture that supports
diversity can be used with any approach to improve outcomes.
Components of Effective Diversity Training Programs
These components can be used by human resource development (HRD) professionals in
developing diversity training programs in their organizations, or as guidelines for comparison.
Our study confirms previous research that program success depends on many organizational
aspects, especially commitment and support from top management. This raises the important
question of what HRD professionals might do to insure and maintain management support in
firms where training is already being conducted, as well as how they might "sell" diversity
training to management when they feel it is needed. Human resource development professionals
need to make top management aware that productivity and profits depend on full utilization of
the workforce.
An effective diversity training program begins with identifying the specific organizational needs
and culture. Every organization has a culture of its own, shaped by the people who founded it
and staff it. And due to workforce makeup, diversity needs vary greatly; for example, a company
in northern Illinois will have very different needs than a company in Miami, Tucson, or Los
Angeles.
Our study indicates that effective diversity training is:
integrated with the organization's education and training systems
combined with other diversity initiatives within the organization
delivered to all employees (including top-level managers)
planned to include accountability
Ongoing evaluation is critical to the success of any diversity initiative. A clearly focused
evaluation plan can bring the organization to a place where it can see its successes and then
create a "re-vision" for the future, with new goals and implementation initiatives. Without
concrete, long-term information about a program's strengths, weaknesses, and impacts, it is
impossible to improve content and delivery. Evaluation is also a way to fight against critics, and
its results may provide support for continuing with diversity programs.
Trends
The experts we consulted agree that workforce diversity will become an increasingly important
trend for the following reasons:
more globalization of corporations, which will lead to a more global workforce,
marketplace, and economy
diverse work teams will become prevalent in organizations
diversity will become more of a business concern than a social concern, and be more
closely linked to competitive strategies
diverse populations will make and spend more money, and this increase in wealth will
empower diversity
senior managers will become more involved in diversity issues because they will realize
that the diverse workforce needs to be better utilized in order to remain competitive
more training professionals will face the challenge of dealing with backlash
diversity training will be integrated more with other types of training
The task of managing diversity in the future may not be an easy one, especially with the potential
for backlash. History has shown that the struggle for greater inclusiveness of all people has not
been easy. Civil right laws, political events, and wars all attest to this difficulty. Recent attacks
on affirmative action provide new evidence that diversity remains a controversial topic. HRD
professionals need to be prepared to deal with the inevitable possibility that not everyone will
accept diversity as a worthwhile goal.
Organizations of the future must place more emphasis on valuing and managing diversity, or
watch their productivity and competitiveness slip. A long-term perspective on diversity
initiatives, together with integration with other organizational change efforts, will be needed.
Diversity efforts should be linked to organizational needs and objectives through need
assessments and evaluation. These efforts can substantially increase the company's productivity
and profits over the long run.
More information is available from the following individuals at NCRVE, University of Illinois,
345 College of Education, Champaign, IL 61820: Rose Mary Wentling, (217) 333-0807, FAX
(217) 244-5632, rmcwent@uiuc.edu or Mildred Griggs, (217) 333-0960, FAX (217) 333-5847,
m-griggs@uiuc.edu
Rose Mary Wentling is an associate professor of Human Resource Development in the
Department of Human Resource Education at the University of Illinois. She teaches graduate
courses in diversity, strategic planning, and organization development. Her two major areas of
research interest include diversity in education and the workplace and the career development
and aspiration of women in management.
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