Why Diversity?
The challenge of diversity
Diversity is a much vaunted word meaning different things to different people. Diversity in the organizational sense is essentially about valuing differences among people and rejecting discriminatory practices which may have existed the past. Hence it sits side by side with equality and the equality legislation.
Market leaders are recognizing the competitive advantage that having a more diverse workforce represented throughout their organization can bring - increased creativity, more satisfied workforce, closer to client bases, less employee turnover, better retention of key staff, enhanced corporate image.
Good diversity management is good people management. Inclusion is about creating an environment where diversity flourishes. Culture is now acknowledged as being the key to successful integration of diversity policies. Understanding the way organizational cultures work is as vital as implementing policies.
Creating a culture of inclusion
Culture change and leadership is the key to implementing diversity successfully. This requires:
- Ridding the organization of discriminatory practices and harassment
- Attracting the best talent and retaining it
- Understanding and meeting the needs of diverse customer
bases and new markets - Integrating diversity into product development and marketing
- Making diversity a core part of business strategy
The benefits to organizations are better people management, brand enhancement, access to markets, client and customer reward as well as protection against reputational risk.
