Download Slides - Prof. Emily Block

Diversity
1
What is Workforce Diversity?
Race
Gender
Age
Workforce
diversity
Disability
Ethnicity
Culture
Education
Religion
A Definition of Workforce Diversity

Workforce diversity is the
varied perspectives and
approaches to work that
employees bring into the
workplace.

These differences in
perspective and approach
have many sources,
including:
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Training and Education
Job Function
Past Work Experience
Age
Gender, Race/Ethnicity
Diversity Management versus EEO
Equal employment opportunity
means treating people fairly and
equitably and taking actions
that do not discriminate
against people in
protected classes
on the basis of
some illegal
criterion.
Diversity management
places a much heavier role on
recognizing and appreciating
differences among people at
work and attempting to
accommodate those
differences to the
extent that is
feasible and
possible.
Why We Should Care About Diversity

Legal Reasons

Business Reasons
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Diversity of the Labor Pool
Costs of higher turnover & absenteeism, and discrimination
lawsuits
Inability to attract, retain, and promote diverse employees puts
you at a competitive disadvantage
You’re not mobilizing your best people
Diversity creates organizational value
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Benefits to Managing Diversity Well
Reduced Costs
Talent
Acquisition
(Turnover,
Absenteeism,
Lawsuits)
Creativity
Competitive
advantage
Build Effective
Global
Relationships
Market
Understanding
Problem-solving
Enhanced
Leadership
Effectiveness
6
What are the Causes of Lack of Diversity?


Demand Factors
Assumptions about differences in behaviors as a
function of demographic differences
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Attitudes and behaviors toward “different” others
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Hiring decisions
Compensation decisions
Promotion decisions
Transfer decisions
“Old Boys” Network – women omitted from “informal” structure
Male managers “protect” women
Discrimination
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What are the Causes of Lack of Diversity?
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Supply Factors
Lack of Role Models
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Job Segregation Leaves Some Groups Unprepared
Attitudes and behaviors toward women
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Application and job transfer decisions
Tokenism
Lack of career mentoring opportunities
Discrimination and harassment discourage other’s participation
Work – Life Issues
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Women are more likely to raise children and be care-givers
Failure to accommodate religious / cultural differences
8
Barriers to Selecting a Diverse Workforce

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We like people who are like us (similarity is the single most
important basis of interpersonal attraction and liking)
We all unconsciously rely on cognitive “shortcuts” that can
lead to biased selection decisions:
– Implicit personality theory
– Stereotyping
– Halo effect
These shortcuts are most likely to be activated in situations
where we have to process a lot of new information (e.g.,
interviews)
9
How Do You Manage Diversity?


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Be committed and provide leadership
Create policies and structures that accommodate the
differences between demographically different employees
Invest in training ALL your employees
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Provide training – particularly to demographic minorities
Make employees aware of subtle discrimination
Provide behavioral advice, education, & socialization to minorities
Remove structural barriers
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Assign coaches and mentors
Be aware of how you make job assignments
Pay attention to the numbers and “relative” numbers
Change the social norms.
10
As if it were not complicated enough…

We all have multiple
identities. Some
examples:
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Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Age
Occupation/Major
Organizational Membership
Formal Roles (e.g.,
Manager)
Social Roles (e.g., Son)


At any moment in time
one of these identities is
more salient than the
others.
The situation determines
which of these identities
is most salient.
We All Have Multiple Identities

Because we all have multiple identities, each of
us contains, within ourselves, a diversity of
perspectives and approaches.

Thus, diversity in the workplace comes from both:
– Differences BETWEEN individuals
– Differences WITHIN individuals

Hint: This is why I made you do the exercise twice
Making Differences Matter

The article by Thomas and Ely identifies three
paradigms or models for managing diversity:
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
Discrimination and Fairness
Access and Legitimacy
Learning and Effectiveness
What are each of these paradigms or models?
Three Paradigms for Managing Diversity

Discrimination and Fairness
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The demographic makeup of the organization should
reflect the demographic makeup of society.
All employees should be treated equally and with
respect
An emphasis on sameness (“we are all essentially the
same”)
Three Paradigms for Managing Diversity

Access and Legitimacy
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In order to be successful, we must serve consumers
from many countries and with many demographic
backgrounds
We need a demographically diverse workforce to
serve our diverse markets. Diversity is a critical
business issue.
An emphasis on differences.
Three Paradigms for Managing Diversity

Learning and Effectiveness
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Both fairness and acknowledging differences are
important
The organization needs to do more than acknowledge
differences, it needs to learn and create new
opportunities from them.
We are all on the same team with our differences not
despite them.
Focus on common goals
Three Paradigms and Multiple Identities

Discrimination and Fairness: eliminate or deny
multiple identities

Access and Legitimacy: highlight and focus on a
single identity

Learning and Effectiveness: learn from different
perspectives provided by multiple identities
To Move Toward Learning & Effectiveness:
8 Preconditions for Leadership ….
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
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Understand that a diverse workforce embodies different
perspectives and approaches to work
Be committed to a long process of learning and relearning
Create a culture of an expectation of high standards of
performance for everyone
Create a culture that stimulates personal development
Create a culture that encourages openness
Create a culture that makes workers feel valued
Have a well-articulated and widely understood mission
Have a relatively egalitarian, non-bureaucratic structure