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Human Resource Management
By Laura Portolese Dias
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Chapter 3
Diversity and Multiculturalism
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Learning Objectives
• Define, explain, and identify your own power
and privilege.
• Provide reasoning as to why diversity is
important to maintain profitability.
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• The terms multiculturalism and diversity
are different, although they are often
used interchangeably
• Diversity
– Differences between people such as race,
gender, sexual orientation, religion, background,
and socioeconomic status
– Focus is more on legal compliance and
policies
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Multiculturalism
– Goes deeper than diversity
– Focuses on inclusiveness, understanding, and
respect
– Looks at unequal power in society
– Looks at systems of advantage based on race,
gender, and orientation, called Power and
Privilege
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Challenges with diversity in the
workplace
– Diversity is not well defined or understood
– Focuses too much on compliance
– Places too much emphasis on gender and
ethnicity
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Invisible privilege
– The power and privilege one has and may not
recognize
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Examples of invisible privilege:
– Race privilege. Let’s say you (a Caucasian)
and your friend (an African American) are
having dinner. When the bill comes, the
server gives the check to you. While this may
not seem like a big issue, it assumes you
(being Caucasian) are paying for the meal.
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Examples of invisible privilege (continued):
– Social class privilege. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in
2005, many people outside the storm area wondered why people
stayed in the city, not even thinking that some people couldn’t
afford gas for their cars to leave.
– Gender privilege. Assumption that a female will change her name
to her husband’s when they get married.
– Sexual orientation privilege. If I am heterosexual, I can put a
picture of my partner on my desk and talk about our vacations or
experiences without worrying about what others think.
This is not the case for many gay, lesbian, and
transgendered people and their partners.
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Invisible privilege
– Can be hard to recognize
– Understanding our own stereotypes
– Understanding the struggles of others
– Understanding systems of advantages can
help us become better managers in all areas
of business
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Why Diversity and Multiculturalism?
– It’s the law
– Better serve customers
– Better communicate
– We create better solutions and ideas
– Studies have shown that companies with
more diversity report higher sales revenues
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Learning Objectives
1. Be able to apply strategies to create a
multicultural work environment and
diversity plans.
2. Be able to create an HR plan with
diversity considerations.
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity Plans
• Many companies have formal diversity
policies, such as Zappos:
– The diversity of Zappos’ employees is a tremendous
asset. We are firmly committed to providing equal
opportunity in all aspects of employment and will
not tolerate any illegal discrimination or
harassment. Examples of such behavior include
derogatory comments based on racial or ethnic
characteristics and unwelcome sexual advances.
Please refer to the applicable sections of the
Employee Handbook for further guidance.
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity Plans
• Main steps to creation of diversity plans
– Assessment of diversity
– Development of the diversity plan
– Implementation of the plan
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Diversity Plans
• Considerations in HR functions
– Recruitment and selection
– Testing
– Pay
– Promotion
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Diversity Plans
• Training topics on Multiculturalism
– Build a cultural knowledge about customs, religions, and histories.
– Discuss treatment of people based on them as individuals, rather
than as part of a “group,” which can result in stereotyping.
– Teach employees to listen actively, which can raise cultural awareness.
– Train employees to rethink current policies and how those policies might
be exclusive to a certain group.
– Work on resistance to change. Many employees think, “This is the way
we have always done it, and now we have to change it because we have
a group of ____ working here now.”
– Does your leadership team have a multiculturalism perspective?
Are many ethnic backgrounds and other multicultural traits
represented?
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity Plans
• Do you test your assumptions before acting on them?
• Do you believe there is only one right way of doing
things, or that there are a number of valid ways that
accomplish the same goal? Do you convey that to
staff?
• Do you have honest relationships with each staff
member you supervise? Are you comfortable with
each of them? Do you know what motivates them,
what their goals are, how they like to be recognized?
• Are you able to give negative feedback to
someone who is culturally different from
you?
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity Plans
• When you have open positions, do you insist on a diverse
screening committee and make additional outreach
efforts to ensure that a diverse pool of candidates has
applied?
• When you hire a new employee, do you not only explain
job responsibilities and expectations clearly but orient
the person to the campus and department culture and
unwritten rules?
• Do you rigorously examine your unit’s existing policies,
practices, and procedures to ensure that they
do not differentially impact different
groups? When they do, do you change them?
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity Plans
• Are you willing to listen to constructive feedback from
your staff about ways to improve the work environment?
Do you implement staff suggestions and acknowledge
their contributions?
• Do you take immediate action with people you supervise
when they behave in ways that show disrespect for others
in the workplace, such as inappropriate jokes and
offensive terms?
• Do you make good faith efforts to meet your affirmative
action goals?
• Do you understand institutionalisms such as racism
and sexism and how they manifest in the
workplace?
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Diversity Plans
• Do you ensure that assignments and
opportunities for advancement are
accessible to everyone?
• What policies, practices, and ways of
thinking have differential impact on
different groups?
• What organizational changes should
be made to meet the needs of a
diverse workforce?
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Learning Objectives
1. Define the role of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
2. Explain the various types of laws
covered by the EEOC.
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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Multiculturalism and the Law
• EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission)
– Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
– Age
– Disability
– Equal Pay
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Multiculturalism and the Law
• EEOC
– Genetic Information
– National Origin
– Pregnancy
– Race/Color
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Multiculturalism and the Law
• EEOC
– Religion
– Sex and sexual harassment
– Retaliation
– Military service
© Laura Portolese Dias 2011, published by Flat World Knowledge
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