Equality and Diversity Training

Nondiverse workplaces are becoming a thing of the past.

The objective of equality and diversity training is to promote mutual respect and equal treatment among groups of people regardless of gender, sexuality, race and religious differences. This training is often provided in an occupational context, by employers to employees or by trade unions to members, but also takes place in other communal settings. The outcome of such training is intended to be "inclusion"--the inclusion of all members of the community in its endeavors.

Reasons for Training: Negative

For some employers, the reason for instituting training is negative. It springs from concern about lawsuits arising from sexual harassment or other discriminatory behavior in the workplace and anxiety that failing to promote, disciplining or even dismissing a woman, gay member of staff or a member of a minority ethnic group may result in legal proceedings and attendant bad publicity. Although these are real issues, there are much more positive reasons for promoting equality and diversity in the workplace.

Reasons for Training: Positive

Promoting equality and diversity can be part of a positive business plan. The workforce in many countries, including the United States, is more diverse than was once the case and is likely to become more diverse in future. In the United States, women constitute a higher proportion of the workforce than in times past, increasing numbers of employees speak a language other than English at home and employees are more likely to be open about sexual orientation. In addition, with the increasingly globalized nature of commerce, including outsourcing functions to overseas vendors, dealing with diversity outside as well as inside the workplace is almost inevitable.

Training Content

Mutual respect promotes teamwork.

Experts say effective diversity training can be a lengthy process. Cris Wildermuth, a diversity effectiveness specialist, identifies four characteristics of effective training. First, it is long-term rather than a topic for a single workshop. What trainees learn requires ongoing reinforcement. Second, it should be customized to the needs of the audience. Some groups are more sophisticated and already more interculturally integrated than others. Third, it should have an experiential component incorporating something such as role-playing exercises. Finally, it should be comprehensive, including training for conflict resolution as well as for everyday workplace communication.

Practical Considerations

Because equality and diversity training can touch on sensitive areas and can have legal implications, it is usually conducted by experienced specialists or "facilitators" able to maintain emotional detachment from the issues raised and listen respectfully to viewpoints that may be contrary to the principles and aims of the course. Facilitators are not necessarily external to the organization; internal trainers, if they are experienced, can bring detailed knowledge of the organization's needs to the training course. Many organizations make training mandatory.

The Context for Training

Training is not the beginning and end of equality and diversity in the workplace. It is less likely to be effective if it takes place in a context where equality and diversity are not valued from recruitment through to promotion and compensation. Training would be meaningless in a workplace where members of one gender or one race make up the overwhelming majority of the workforce because of bias at the recruitment stage. Similarly, training for employees in itself does not ensure management treats promotions, salaries and other issues with appropriate respect for the diversity of their employees.

References

• "Diversity Training"; Chris Wildermuth; 2005
• "Building Workplace Equality"; Nelarine Cornelius; 2002