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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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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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Diverse Talent Acquisition Strategies

Workplace diversity has become a heated topic and a top priority for human resource departments. Today, companies are starting to realize that in order to truly attract top talent and run a business that appeals to the greatest amount of people, they need to be proactive about having a diverse talent acquisition plan. Some of them go the extra mile by posting openings on minority specific job boards.

But there are other simple things that any company can do to make sure they appeal to a wider talent pool and eliminate any unconscious biases during their hiring process. By taking intentional action on this front, companies can make sure they have a variety of perspectives contributing to their products — from women to minorities to veterans–and be more successful for it.

What companies can do to hire diversely

Blind Screening

Everyone makes unconscious judgments — often based on something as simple as a name on a resume. And this type of bias is so common that it’s quantifiable. In an age of great technological advancements and ever-increasing digital job applications and resumes, it is possible to filter categories such as name, college, etc. to remove potentially identifiable information about a candidate. This allows for hiring teams to review resumes without bias and the most qualified applicants can then be interviewed.

Having A Diverse Talent-Acquisition Team

Having a variety of people conducting screenings and interviews for a company helps establish checks and balances — as well as showing candidates that they’ll be welcomed and comfortable.

Using Inclusive Language in Job Descriptions

Diverse candidates, and particularly women, often inadvertently removed them from a talent pool before they even apply, due to job ads that include gender-biased wording. For instance, the words “dominate” and “competitive” are masculine-coded words. Other fields, such as teaching, experience the flip side by using feminine-coded words like “supportive”. To avoid this pitfall, focus job postings on company values and criteria that are important to job performance.

Emphasize Value-Based Hiring

Having well-defined company values and emphasizing them during all stages of the hiring process allows companies to create a team where everyone truly cares about the work they’re doing. Value-based hiring means, defining and committing to a set of organizational values and making job descriptions, interview questions, and employee evaluations reflect those values. Humans are inherently drawn to companies and positions where they feel they are valued. This philosophy helps draw out not only the most talented candidates, but also promotes employee retention.

Seek Out Candidates Where They Are

Companies who want to take their diversity search to the next level should think about posting jobs on sites specifically designed to appeal to non-traditional candidates. This requires going beyond posting vacancies on the standard Monster, Indeed and Job Service job boards. For instance, Equality Magazines oversee job boards on Hispanic Today, Black Perspective, Women in Business and Veterans Enterprise.

At the end of the day, diverse hiring comes down to one thing: intention. Companies must recognize the need to change their hiring practices. It is human nature to avoid change, however, in order to attract and build a more diverse work environment, traditional hiring strategies must be reconsidered and changed to attract candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.

 

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