st
Dane M. Partridge, Ph.D.
September 2006




What skills, attitudes, or values do you think should be emphasized in programs designed to prepare managers to manage in a diverse work force?
If you were asked to develop a half-day workshop for managers, what content and activities would you include?
Management’s Idea of Perfect Diversity?







What is the Business Case for Diversity?
What is the Definition of Diversity?
What is the Difference Between a Diversity
Initiative and an Affirmative Action Plan?
What Are the Components of a Successful
Diversity Initiative?
How Should a Diversity Initiative Be Staffed &
Where Should it Reside?
What Criteria Should be Considered when
Selecting a Diversity Consultant?








What is the Value of Diversity Initiative?
What if Your Diversity Training Program is
Unsuccessful?
What are Employee Networks and should they be part of our Initiative?
How can the Results of a Diversity Initiative be
Measured?
What Factors May Predestine a Diversity Initiative for
Failure?
How Should Opposition to a Diversity Initiative be
Handled?
What are Some Strategies for Recruiting and
Retaining a Diverse Workforce?



Diversity initiatives are about creating an inclusive climate. “There must be a place for everyone, even those whose personalities, political parties, religious practices and a host of other variables require accommodation.”
“Diversity is easy when we are all alike. It is really tested when we are forced to be flexible and expand the boundaries of our inclusion.”



“Inclusion, however, does not require changing your values. It is not the organization’s place to tell you how to feel or how to think, but it can legitimately expect you to work with any and all colleagues and coworkers on common tasks.”
“Appreciating fellow employees for their talents and utilizing those talents in pursuit of accomplishing goals and objectives should be the focus of a diversity initiative.”

Gardenswartz and Rowe (1999)


SHRM suggests diversity definitions should include:


Age
Disabilities






Education
Family status
Marital status
Religion
Sexual orientation
Socio-economic status




75% of Fortune 500 organizations have diversity programs
Only 36% of non-Fortune 500 orgs have diversity programs in place

Although 14% plan to start one within the year
Mechanisms for measuring program impact often absent, although believed to be effective



Forty percent of Fortune 500 companies link diversity goals to management compensation a/o performance reviews
Only 16% of non-Fortune 500 companies do so…

(SHRM Survey of Diversity Programs, 1998)



Only 10% of top jobs at largest U.S. companies held by women; only 2.4% of very top managers
Why do orgs want more women in top jobs?

Helps bring more talent in the door, key to longterm profitability


Best women will become harder to attract and retain, so orgs acting now will have edge
Can serve increasingly female customers better

(Business Week, 2/17/97)


What tactics are orgs using?


Set goals and objectives
Modify succession planning

Identify top female/minority candidates, provide opportunities to acquire necessary experience


Pay for diversity management performance
Diversity training

E.g., male/female differences in leadership styles

(Business Week, 2/17/97)





Is top management leading the diversity effort?
Are diversity issues fully integrated with corporate strategic plans?
Is participation in diversity training mandatory and inclusive across all levels?
Is the training comprehensive?




Are the facilitators respectful of all participants?
Do facilitators conduct thorough post-training evaluations? Are multiple indicators of training effectiveness used?
Does the organization recognize and reward progress toward diversity objectives?

(Rynes and Rosen, 1994)




I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time
I can go shopping alone, fairly well assured that I will not be followed or harassed by store detectives
I can turn on television and see people of my race widely and positively represented





I can perform well in challenging situations without being called a credit to my race
I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group
If a traffic cop pulls me over, I can be sure I have not been singled out because of my race
I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers suspect that I got it because of my race

(McIntosh, 1986, in Digh, 1998)



Research indicates that in many cases minorities are
likely than whites to harbor prejudices against other minority groups
Training programs may need to become more sophisticated in addressing employees’ negative stereotypes or other ethnic groups


Research indicates that working w/ individuals who differ in age, gender, or race is
related to org commitment (at least for white males); differences in race had greatest impact

(Issues in HR, 1994)


How to ensure a diverse work force without antagonizing white males, whose support is critical for change, and how to reverse historical discrimination without creating new forms of discrimination?

(“White, Male, and Worried,” Business Week,
1/31/94)




Recent research suggests that having a diverse workforce does little to improve a Co’s business performance or bottom line
Diversity education programs have little impact on performance


Don’t give people skills needed
Need training to deal with group process issues, communicating and problem-solving in diverse teams
Hard metrics for measuring performance results or return on diversity spending are in very short supply

Generally more success in dealing with gender issues than racial/ethnic issues

Source: Workforce, April 2003