How to Improve Diversity in the Workplace

Companies large and small benefit from diverse workforces.

Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, accepting, valuing, understanding and celebrating
differences among people. These differences include age, ethnicity, class, physical and mental ability, gender, race, sexual orientation and spiritual practice. The University of Florida says companies must understand that the workplace is changing, evolving and diversifying and will continue to be impacted by a pool of potential hires that is increasingly multicultural. That creates a critical need to expand and improve diversity awareness in the workplace so that all employees value individual differences and everyone is treated with dignity.

Instructions

1. Tell the entire company about the importance of diversity. Schedule mandatory meetings to underscore a renewed or continued commitment to diversity. Establish employee committees to further promote awareness as the company strives to convince the team that diversity provides benefits for everyone.

2. Create a diversity champion. Appoint a senior leader who'll manage the company's overall diversity strategy. Establish and track goals and objectives with regular reports to the employees.

3. Include white males in diversity leadership roles. District of Columbia attorney Jim Sandman, who is white, wrote an article for the Multicultural Advantage stating that the importance of white males in improving diversity is huge. He said their positions, influence and numbers in the organization make them critical to the success in any diversity initiative, and that improvements in diversity will not succeed if they are not engaged, involved and in front.

4. Hire with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion. One major shipping and transportation company, Norfolk Southern, was previously dominated by white males. However, the company said in 2010 that it expected half its workforce to be new by 2020, with more women, middle-age hires and people of color from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. It would lead to four generations of workers working together for the first time.

References

• The University of Florida: Diversity in the Workplace
• Multicultural Advantage: Role of White Males In Diversity
• Norfolk Southern: Diversity
• Multicultural Advantage: The Role of White Males In Improving Diversity