Diversity Management at Workplace: Aspects, Challenges, and Strategies
Diversity Management at Workplace: Aspects, Challenges, and Strategies
Diversity Management at Workplace: Aspects, Challenges, and Strategies
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 5, Issue 1
January 2018
Dr. R.Anita
Dean Academics & Associate Professor,
Department of Business Management, St. Joseph’s Degree & PG College
King Koti Road, Hyderabad
&
Dr. V.K. Swamy
Director, Skill Development, TASK
(Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge),
IT, E& C Department, Government of Telangana.
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, diversity has become a key business priority as the world economy has become globalized
since the 1990s and organizations are operating in more than hundred countries with lakhs of employees.
Globalization requires more interaction among people from diverse backgrounds and a diverse workforce is a
reflection of a changing world and marketplace. People no longer live and work in an insular environment;
they are now part of a worldwide economy competing within a global framework. For this reason, profit and
non-profit organizations need to become more diversified to remain competitive in the global market.
Meaning of diversity
Workplace Diversity refers to the similarities and differences between individuals accounting for all aspects of
one’s personality and individual identity in an organization. It means understanding that each individual is
unique, recognizing the individual differences and exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and
nurturing environment. The inclusion of diverse individuals fosters a rich exchange of new ideas among
employees and helps an organization leverage the unique character of its workforce.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, diversity means valuing the characteristics that
make a person unique, such as age, ethnicity, education level and family background. Diversity can be defined
as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, and valuing differences among people with respect to age, class,
race, ethnicity, gender, disabilities, etc. (Esty et al. 1995).
Aspects of Diversity
The aspects of diversity typically include, but are not limited to the following: race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, socio-economic status, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other
ideologies, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, age, colour, national origin, geographic
background, language, lifestyle, life experiences, organization function and level, physical characteristics,
religion and spirituality, sexual orientation, veteran status, greater adaptability and flexibility in a rapidly
changing marketplace etc.. In the most basic of terms Diversity is equal Revenue.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The present study is a descriptive study and secondary sources are used to understand the diversity challenges,
diversity and inclusion policies in select four global companies viz., Google, Infosys, IBM and Deloitte
and suggest strategies accordingly.
IBM was ranked 1 by Diversity Inc in 2015. However, it does not appear in the list of 2017. IBM was
regarded by Forbes survey 2017 as 8th World's Best Employers. The factors that can be attributed are the
following:
IBM creates an environment that visibly encourages and values the contributions and differences of
employees from various backgrounds.
More than 24 percent of IBM’s global executive population is made up of women. It also Mentors women
globally via Web-based mentoring, job shadowing, and group mentoring.
Encourages women workforce: About two-thirds of IBM’s women executives across the world are
working mothers, demonstrating that women can pursue a career and motherhood at the company.
In IBM, 72 Diversity councils, groups of employees across diverse constituencies, were created
specifically to address local or unique diversity issues.
The task forces support and maximize the productivity of the partnership, influence the buying decisions,
and develop a relationship with external organizations.
It increases employee awareness and also management sensitivity to use optimally diverse workforce.
IBM’s strong support from company leaders and maximum Employee engagement.
Management practices are integrated and aligned with the effort, and a strong and well-articulated
business case for action.
IBM has more than 266 Business Resource Groups chapters registered in 46 countries supporting 13
constituencies or focus areas: Asian, Black, Cross-cultural, Cross-generational, Hispanics, LGBT, Men,
Native Americans, New hires, People with disabilities, Veterans, Women, Work/life integration.
Still, IBM needs to overcome the following Diversity issues in the workplace to sustain and enhance their
performance:
Low level of diversity in the senior ranks of the company
Untapped talent pool especially pertaining to talented minorities
Limited minority representation in areas such as computer sciences and engineering
2. INFOSYS
Infosys is the first Indian IT company founded in 1981 (with currently 2,00,364 employees) to set up a
dedicated office for diversity and inclusion. Infosys values diversity and inclusion and is committed to the
principles of equal employment opportunity. Global employee count stands at 1,94,044 as on March 31, 2016,
and covers over 129 nationalities with 35.6% women employees.
They comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination or harassment against any applicant or
employee that includes, without limitation, discrimination based on age, race, colour, gender, national origin,
religion, creed, disability, covered veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity,
pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, citizenship status, ancestry, amnesty, and
any other personal characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all personnel actions,
including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, separation, compensation,
benefits, training, and education. Many resource groups and initiatives were created to offer equal
opportunities to our employees from 34 countries.
The disability inclusion initiative (physical disability, visual, speech and hearing impairment and cerebral
palsy) is an integral part of the Diversity & Inclusion Policy and comprises the following elements:
1. Policies and guidelines:
Focuses on disability and aims to work towards creating an accessible and inclusive workplace
Special Loan policy for employees with special abilities working in India location to purchase assistive
devices
A Practice Guideline for building an inclusive workplace.
2. Accessibility for all:
Providing an accessible workplace both in terms of physical (infrastructure) and digital communication.
Reasonable Accommodations.
The employees with orthopaedic disabilities and hearing impairment are placed in all roles. Employees
with visual impairment are mostly placed in support functions and business roles.
3. Communication/Education:
These include awareness sessions on ‘Disability in the Workplace’, promoting inspiring stories of
employees with disability, information booklets; celebrating International Day for Persons with Disability
to laud accomplishments of persons with disability and efforts to build a disability-friendly ecosystem.
Internal social media campaigns to promote learning on inclusion at the workplace and sensitize
employees on aspects of disability inclusion at the workplace.
4. Employee Resource Group:
Infyability is an Employee Resource Group (ERG) for Infosys employees with disability. Some of the
employee's groups created are Infosys Women's Inclusivity Network (IWIN), Infosys Gay Lesbian
Employees and You (IGLU), Infosys Multicultural ERG (IMG).
5. Collaboration:
With Business Disability International (BDI), a unique global business consortium.
Indians comprise 89% of the employees, 3.8% Asia Pacific employees, 42.8% Americans and 2.9% Europe,
Middle-East and Africa employees. Most of the employees work as full-time, permanent employees.
(Source: https://www.infosys.com/investors/reports-filings/annual-report/annual/Documents/ AR-
2016/enhancing-employee.html).
As listed by Forbes 2017, Infosys is ranked 46 among Top Multinational Performers. Some of the factors
that are attributed can be:
Clear, transparent diversity and inclusive policy
35.6% women employees
Employee resource groups representing diverse backgrounds, affinities and skills facilitate community
participation, networking, cultural enrichment and support, based on gender, affinity, ability and sexual
orientation
They recognize the right to freedom of association through collective bargaining agreements in
accordance with the laws of the land
Believe that providing a flexible work culture helps retain talent and keeps employees motivated and
engaged
Committed to providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment for all our
employees
The Company is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit and
business needs.
However, experts unanimously say that the number mainly reflects women in the junior- to middle-level
positions, and there are very few woman leaders in the industry. Infosys has to still diversify the workforce
and have more effective diversity strategies to optimally use its diverse workforce and perform still better to
achieve good position/rank.
3. DELOITTE
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is a UK-incorporated multinational
professional services network founded in 1845 in London Presently its headquarters are located in New York
City. Deloitte is one of the largest professional services firms and is included in the ‘big four’ along with Price
Waterhouse Coopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG.
Deloitte ranked first out of the big four accounting firms in 2017. It is ranked 12 by Diversity Inc in
2017. Deloitte employed 263,900 members of staff globally in 2016. Diversity and inclusion are core parts of
Deloitte’s network’s business strategy and one of the key values. Deloitte believes in fostering an inclusive
culture and unleashes the power of the diversity. Gender and Diversity management at Deloitte addresses the
needs of a diverse workforce in regards to gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity and national
origin by offering programs to that specifically support these groups both internally and externally.
Deloitte has created a national Diversity council which meets ten times a year to set goals and assesses the
progress of current policies and practices at the firm. One of Deloitte’s most recognized and progressive steps
towards diversity management have been the appointment of their Chief Diversity Officer. Some key diversity
practices within the firm include; the creation of people networks, diversity calendar, the Diversity Matters
blog, their Diversity Roundtable, a bias awareness toolkit as well as corporate sponsorship and partnerships.
Deloitte’s people networks aim to connect like-minded people within the firm to act as mentors and support
networks. The creation of the Diversity Calendar was a part of a firm-wide communications campaign to
communicate the diversity visions and goals for the year. For Women: Deloitte supports female employees
through Women’s Initiative Network (Win), for Parents: Deloitte’s parental leave guide, for those with
Disabilities: Deloitte is partnered with the Progress Place community organization and for Aboriginals:
Deloitte is a member of the Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council. Deloitte has created a guidebook for
employers on hiring immigrants.
Deloitte is recognized as best management consulting firm and 295 America's Best Employers by Forbes
survey 2017. Deloitte still need to go a long way in diversity management as men still make up 80% of the
pool of senior employees. Presently Deloitte is planning to phase out groups like the Women's Initiative
(WIN) and LGBT group Globe and replace them with "inclusion councils" that include people who used to be
a part of single-identity groups. They also will include white men.
4.GOOGLE
Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services
and products founded on 4 September 1998, Menlo Park, California, United States. In 2016, the American
multinational internet company, headquartered in Mountain View, California, had 72,053 full-time
employees. The diversity of employees comprises 69% percent of its employees’ male, while 31% are female,
Women hold 24% of leadership positions in the company and 19% of Google’s technical roles occupied by
women. That is Women hold one in four leadership roles at the company. 59% of Google employees are
white, while 32% are Asian, 3% are Hispanic, and 2% are black. 70% percent of Google leadership roles and
57% of tech positions are held by white employees. (Source: http://time.com/4391031/google-diversity-
statistics-2016/).
Increased Tension: People from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds can have very different views
concerning lifestyle, religion, and politics that can lead to tension and conflict when these concepts are
introduced into a work environment.
Learning Curve: Businesses that have difficulty adapting to a more diverse culture may require diversity
training.
Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies - This can be the overriding challenge to all
diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build
and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their
particular organization.
Fairness: One of the key challenges in dealing with diversity is ensuring each worker is treated fairly.
This does not mean we can treat everyone the same, as different individuals have different needs.
Inclusion: Inclusion of all employees is often a challenging part of diversity management. People often
segregate themselves into groups in which they are comfortable. It is the job of the manager to help
workers integrate so that the company and its individuals profit through associations.
Internal Obstacles
Difficulty in changing the existing culture of the organization
Lack of internal expertise or experience
Lack of understanding of the business benefits of a diverse workforce
Difficulty in quantifying the benefit to sustain investment
External Obstacles
Legal restrictions on holding sensitive data
Historic gaps in anti-discrimination legislation
Differences in national social attitudes and cultural values
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
Business may need to build a diverse organization —one that is inclusive of varying groups and lifestyles,
promoting an attitude of acceptance internally to the employees and externally as a brand. Global companies
need to implement effective diversity management strategies to enhance their effectiveness in the market.
The following guidelines can be implemented in the global organizations to increase the impact of diversity
in a positive direction.
1. Companies need to clearly define “diversity” and the workforce should reflect the community it serves.
2. Be realistic in setting goals (set short and long-term quantifiable goals), embed diversity goals in talent
management and manage expectations of employees. Should Link diversity goals to business goals and
Engage employees as partners.
3. Build in metrics to measure them – Use multiple sourcing tactics and create and maintain a diverse
culture. Companies need to make assessing and evaluating the diversity process an integral part of their
management system by conducting a customizable employee satisfaction survey and the impact of
diversity on the performance.
4. Plan and organize resources to achieve your goals and arrange talent acquisition to attract the best talent
from a diverse pool of resources.
5. Educate and train the managers to take diversity initiatives. Regardless of the role or title employees
need to commit to eliminating barriers in the workplace. Cross-cultural training needs to give on a
regular basis by assessing the need in the organizations.
6. Senior executives to Demonstrate leadership support to implement it successfully. To ward off change
resistance with an inclusion by involving every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity
initiatives in the workplace.
7. Make diversity a part of branding and let the world know that the company embraces and welcomes all.
The following strategies can be implemented to optimally utilize the diverse workforce.
Integrating diversity and inclusion strategies with all the management practices like recruitment,
performance management, leadership assessment, and training. For example, Building diversity that is
Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines into the hiring process.
Creating an internal and externally visible scorecard to measure progress in all areas. Such scorecards
include metrics for recruiting, promotion rates, compensation levels, participation in coaching programs,
turnover, participation in ERGs, supplier diversity, and much more and assess their impact on the
performance and productivity of the organization.
Policy Review: To embrace a more diverse workplace, companies must review policies on holidays, time
off and employee communication.
Foster an attitude of openness in an organization by encouraging employees to express their ideas and
opinions and attribute a sense of equal value to all.
Creating a top-level focus and strategy at the CEO/COO/CHRO level and promote diversity in
leadership positions. Creating behavioural standards, diversity metrics, and holding leaders accountable
for results.
To build tools and training to remove bias, measure diversity openly, and make sure everyone is
evaluated based on performance and results, not position or tenure. Make the process more transparent,
data-driven, and fair. Hold quarterly training for the entire staff on the benefits of diversity in the
workplace.
Respect: Mandate that all workers treat their peers respectfully and announce that any rude behaviour will
subject the offender to disciplinary measures. Conduct staff meetings to address how employees should
show respect for their fellow workers. Encourage discussions at these meetings on how the company can
better manage workplace diversity.
Promote collaboration between diverse individuals so the participants can learn to relate to one another.
Translate differences into uniqueness. More multi-culturalism that attempts to spread a broad
understanding of many cultures/ lifestyle, or which helps diverse people get grounded in their own diverse
cultures, not as superior to others, but as intensely valid and their own.
Connect differences to create synergy to deal with strengths and weaknesses and use differences to
increase understanding of complex issues and resolve the conflict for social benefit.
Communicate the Diversity Plan: Once the diversity plan is in place, it is to be communicated to its
desired marketplace.
Establish Open Door Policy: Inform the employees that the top management is available to discuss
diversity and workplace issues, productivity concerns and relevant issues. Allowing employees to express
their concerns when they need to will result in happier, more productive individuals.
Hence, the organisations need to recognise the value of differences by developing Diversity Competence in
the four areas viz: Awareness: Recognize differences and similarities, Knowledge: Learn factual information
about other cultures and groups with different backgrounds, Skills: Take personal responsibility to respond to
difference and Action or Behaviour: Develop a mentoring relationship with someone from a different culture
or identity group.
Building a diverse organization requires a significant amount of effort and commitment. Leaders should be
prepared to put a continuous focus on diversity for the long haul and reap the benefits—both financially and
ethically, by creating an organization representative of the customers it serves.
V.CONCLUSION
Sourcing and recruiting diverse candidates is not an easy task, but at the same time, it is proven to increase
talent pool, performance and employees’ satisfaction. It is not just enough to understand the importance of
diversity but companies need to put efforts to implement it as part of their culture. Organizations should
design and support an organizational culture that maximizes the benefits of diversity and use that culture to
manage various groups of organizational members, project teams, business start-up teams, customer service
response teams, and top management. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and hence, diversity needs to be
defined for every organization and accordingly implemented.
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