Workplace Diversity Pros and Cons

Is Workplace Diversity Worth It? Here Are A Few Pros and Cons.

Right now the workforce in the United States includes more than 25 million people who are foreign-born. And, in less than 30 years some data suggest that the United States will become a truly pluralistic nation with no single segment of the population holding a majority. This is the face of what is to come, and if you expect to succeed and compete on this new playing field, you and your company need to have a good look at the pros and cons of workplace diversity.

Pro: Financial Results Improvement

Many studies have shown that companies with higher degrees of diversity on their teams tend to show more profitability than others. Publicly traded companies were the focus of a report by consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 2015. Most notable was 35 percent more likelihood of financial success by those companies with the most epic and racial diversity in their management structure. 

Pro: Competitive on a Global Scale

Foreign owned companies employ a large percentage of the overall American workforce. In today’s global economy the Fortune 500 list of companies consistently features foreign owned companies near the top. To effectively compete on the global stage, companies must seek out diverse workforces who mirror the diverse population and points of view they serve. To effectively compete on the global stage, companies must seek out diverse workforces who mirror the diverse population in points of view they serve.

 

Pro: Decision-Making Based on Facts

An often overlooked by-product of diverse organizations is that they tend to focus on facts in their decision making process.  examining and re-examining facts, in order to remain objective, these groups shy away from old ways of thinking. This results in better decision making for their company. Homogeneous groups have more difficulty identifying biases than their non-homogeneous counterparts, who are able to move past bias in the business decision process. 

Pros: Innovation and Creativity

An old saying goes something like repeating the same activity over and over will produce the same results. So, in business the same approaches to management sales products and the like will yield the same results, unless something is done to interrupt the pattern. Believe it or not, this is due to a lack of diversity. when a group of people approach challenges or problems from different perspectives however, more creative solutions will develop. Diversity supports market growth and fosters innovation.

 

Advantage: Cross-Cultural Understanding

While “birds of a feather flock together“ may be all warm and fuzzy, as global diversity increases, cross cultural understanding helps create better working conditions and builds international understanding. Instead of sticking to the prejudice and misconceptions which have been prevalent here for, diverse workforces enhance the working environment and improve outward looking results for their organizations.

 

Con: Transitioning Challenges

If the potential benefit of diversification is just making its way into view for your company, you will certainly encounter challenges when creating your new diverse work environment. Older ideas and entrenched habits will certainly present challenges while bringing conflict and increased tension among the team. Clashing cultures may create instances of misunderstanding of meanings. Something may be highly disrespectful to one culture when it is a joke in another. The most important element to launch your venture into workplace diversity is the buy-in of management and a sound educational approach for the rest of the company, in order to be successful.

 

Con: Financial Impact in the Short-Term 

 

You may already have experience in the area of accommodation in the workplace if you’ve been in business for some time. Similar to the way the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) brought a sea of change to many companies with some financial impact, diversity will also require some flexibility and initial cost outlay. Here’s one example; Muslim workers need a space for daily prayer. Transgender or non-binary employees need their own changing and/or restrooms. Simply, as your diversity increases, there may be unanticipated costs along the way. 

 

Even though the transition to creating a more diverse workplace has its challenges, companies across the country and around the world are still making their moves to diversity. In the long run the effort and investment are proving to show their value, while the results provide both financial and moral rewards.

Opportunities with workplace diversity and inclusion in mind are on our Job Search Engine.

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A Diverse Workforce Is More Than an Idea

A diverse workforce is more than a idea you hear about at human resource training.

 

Workplace diversity isn’t just an image on a flyer or poster in the break room. You know the one showing the happy go lucky team of coworkers, from various ethnic groups and a wide range of ages, all looking like they’ve been best friends for years. It’s an idea, a concept, that you’d likely never be able to fully comprehend independently.

At the same time it’s not an award, like a plaque to hang on the wall in the HR department. It’s a vital and necessary part of your business culture and can actually help your business survive as the world becomes more and more connected. A world where workers of all genders, abilities, races and ages are making monumental achievements not for themselves but as a reflection of their pride in the organizations in which they work. 

When people from a variety of different backgrounds work in a comfortable environment, a natural byproduct is a workplace with a high value on respecting others. People hired into this environment will have an easier time recognizing the talents and strengths of others who are different from themselves.

Another result of this type of environment is the mutual respect needed for conflict resolution and other situations where it is an absolute necessity in order to achieve the most desirable outcome.

Diversity looks good from far away

When you have a workplace with effective conflict resolution and a general atmosphere of mutual respect, chances are your business will garner a decent reputation. When your community connections and recruiting efforts – not just the flyers and posters in the breakroom – show a commitment to diversity, it’s a fair bet that outside organizations will hold yours in much higher regard. When you are hiring, and your business is known for its commitment to having a diverse workforce, your candidate pool will grow, simply from the increased interest in open positions.

Diverse talent pools have taken the lead as priority policy for a variety of companies. During an interview with OneWire, Edith Hunt, former Chief Diversity Officer at Goldman Sachs put it this way:

“We’ve made huge strides in terms of [diversity] numbers, but not as much as we need to get to. So our recruiting efforts, our retention efforts, our career advancement efforts as it relates to women, people from underrepresented racial groups, LGBT people, and people with physical disabilities will continue to be an important pillar of talent management activity at Goldman and of other fine firms.”

 

What are some of the most recognizable effects of diversity?

Organizations with work forces with a high level of diversity, show significant increases in the areas of employee retention and productivity. Likewise, the overall combined experience and know-how of such a diverse workforce can enhance community relationships, improve the company’s abilities in customer relations, have a positive impact on creativity and provide a boost in its ability to adapt and deal with significant changes to the overall organization. What about lasting impact?

Significantly important to any organization’s long-term survival, is its ability to solve problems effectively. The variety of perspectives from a diverse workforce is a primary component of this. As part of OneWire’s CEO interview series, Seán McCarthy, CEO of Build America Mutual, a municipal bond insurer, explained why he sees diversity as a critical element of his business:

“I think it’s important to have a diverse group of talented people that bring different points of view to the table when you’re doing credit analysis. If you have everybody who thinks the same way and has the same background, you’ll miss the same issue every time.”

Workforce diversity needs to be a top priority, especially in today’s market when more people than ever before have access to, as an example, finance jobs like this one and others listed on our Job Search Engine. Keeping diversity in mind when hiring, will help you build a more productive and efficient team.

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Learn Why is Diversity Important

Why is diversity important? And, before that what is it?

When was the last time you took some time to ponder a serious issue that affects you and everyone around you? Hopefully this will encourage you to do just that. When we consider diversity, it is not uncommon to think of how it applies to the workplace. We want to give the greatest opportunity to the broadest segment of the community. So, we put forward the idea of diversity as a way to include as large of a cross-section of that community as possible. The bigger question of diversity though is: What is it?

 

But, more importantly, the question that really begs to be addressed is: Why is it important? What is the benefit of achieving diversity and what happens if we aren’t successful? What happens if we are successful? 

Is diversity really necessary?

The “why” can include: improvements in productivity, relationships and  reducing discrimination. All of these are on a grand scale, and can impact a variety of smaller aspects of everyday life for each and every one of us. With that being said, diversity isn’t just limited to the workplace. What about school, our social relationships and the community around us?  Some applications of diversity are much more philosophical. Like cultural diversity, in the way we celebrate holidays and interact with family. If these questions have you thinking about it, read more here on diversity.social.

If you’re in the market for new, diverse opportunities, check our own Job Search Engine

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