A Diverse Workplace

Abstract

Workplace diversity is a people issue, focused on the differences, similarities and advantages that people bring to an organization. Here in the United States, we have such a diverse population of races, ethnicities, religions, social classes, physical abilities, and sexual orientations. Diversity is about learning from others who are not the same, about dignity and respect for all, and about creating workplace environments and practices that encourage learning from others and capture the advantage of diverse perspectives. For the most part companies feel that putting forward a strong image of being "diversity conscious” is necessary to attract and retain good employees and or customers. To ignore diversity in the workplace is to ignore the reality of the changing demographics of the current workforce.

The world's increasing globalization requires more interaction among people from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before. People no longer live and work in an insular marketplace; they are now part of a worldwide economy with competition coming from nearly every continent. For this reason, profit and non-profit organizations need diversity to become more creative and open to change. Maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity has become an important issue for management today. Supervisors and managers are the targeted audience because they need to recognize the ways in which the workplace is changing, evolving, and diversifying. Since managing diversity remains a significant organizational challenge, managers must learn the managerial skills needed in a multicultural work environment. Supervisors and managers must be prepared to teach themselves and others within their organizations to value multicultural differences in both associates and customers so that everyone is treated with dignity.

Diversity is defined as the degree of basic