What is diversity?

Introduction

Diversity at the workplace is a relatively recent concept in the UK, not featuring, for example, in good practice guides on equality issues produced as recently as the early 1990s.

Like some of the equal opportunity precepts included in current UK legislation the concept has been influenced by developments in the USA. It could be argued that concerns that arose across the Atlantic about the direction and implementation of affirmative action programmes and the perceptions that surrounded the latter, contributed to the development of the concept of diversity.

Diversity: What is It and Can It Be Managed?

Definitions vary, but it might be useful to start with what most commentators agree it is not.

Managing diversity at the workplace is not simply a question of concerning oneself about the ‘numbers’ of individuals of different groups in the organisation. It should not be a semantic change for ‘equal opportunities’, although attempting to ensure that the latter is implemented at the workplace is integral to valuing diversity.

The focus is not wholly or primarily about groups. This does not mean that organisations with diversity policies should avoid analysing the outcomes of organisational behaviour in terms of how these affect different groups. It is a hard truth that we are still operating in a society where inequalities based on race, sex, age, disability or sexuality remain barriers to the full realisation of individual talent and fulfilment.

In a broad sense managing diversity could be regarded as an organisational response to rapid cultural and sociological changes. Internally managing diversity focuses on encouraging a climate at the workplace where all employees feel that they are valued and that they contribute to the organisation and its development. For organisations externally it would mean being flexible and alert to changes occurring in the wider community in which they operate.

Managing diversity is not something that can simply be announced or integrated by fiat into the culture of the organisation. It is more likely to be a process that encourages and develops an attitude that regards employees as ‘us’ rather than ‘them’. Furthermore successful diversity programmes are likely to result in behaviours that clearly show that difference is an asset, that it is welcomed in the organisations that encompass flexibility and organisational and individual growth.

Different Approaches to Diversity

Research in the United States has shown a number of different approaches to diversity policies. Three such broad approaches are outlined below.

1. Focus on discrimination and fairness

In taking this approach organisations start from the belief that prejudice and discrimination have denied employment opportunities to members of certain demographic groups. Fairness and compliance with legislative and/or regulatory requirements lead to a desire to ensure that organisations more closely reflect that of society. In achieving this objective, managerial processes are needed to ensure that employees are treated equally and with respect, without some given unfair advantage over others.

This approach goes beyond a simple focus on numbers, but nevertheless is not overly concerned with how employees draw on their personal assets and perspectives in carrying out their functions.

2. Focus on the acceptance and celebration of diversity

The approach outlined in 1 above might be regarded as having an underlying belief in a race-and–sex blind conformity. The second believes that in an increasingly multi-cultural society, organisations, particularly those ‘selling’ goods or services, have a business interest in diversity. Placing a value on the need for racial/cultural diversity therefore helps to attract and service markets/sectors which an homogenous workforce might have difficulty in reaching.

The problem is that this approach can fail to examine how the differences actually or potentially affect the way the work is undertaken. The danger is that in emphasising the value of differences and their ‘bottom-line’ usefulness, the organisation overlooks the opportunity to understand the range of capabilities and/or perspectives and how these could be ‘mainstreamed’.

3. Focus on learning from diversity

In this approach the organisation also promotes equality of opportunity and acknowledges and values cultural and other differences among individuals. In addition it encourages a process which results in learning from the differences and which grows because of the differences. Key success factors in this approach appear to include:

• Genuine commitment to allowing different ways of operating at work for achieving common objectives. This means that management understands that there is more than one way of getting results – and helps create a climate which encourages this attitude
• An expectation of high standards from everyone
• Encouragement of personal development
• A culture of openness, with a high tolerance for debate and constructive conflict on work-related issues. Staff would be encouraged to make explicit use of background cultural experience and knowledge gained outside the organisation
• A clear focus on the accomplishment of goals
• A willingness by management to recognise that the learning and change process implicit in this approach is not something that takes place overnight.

Summary

• Adopting a diversity policy is not simply a question of changing the language from "equal opportunity"
• Equality of opportunity is integral to a diversity approach
• All individuals, whatever their race, sex, religion, age, sexuality or disability, are the focus. This does not imply that analysing group outcomes should be ignored, nor that any corrective action suggested by such analysis should be avoided
• Encouraging a climate where differences are not only valued but where the organisation actively seeks to learn from the diverse experiences, background and perceptions of staff, requires sustained support and encouragement from senior management
• Culture change of this type is not achieved overnight
• Adopting the kind of approach outlined in 3 above has implications for training in this field
• Staff need to be involved in the development of the policy if it is to have a real chance of success and become part of the ethos of the organisation.

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