What is Workplace Diversity?
Workplace diversity relates to the differences that people bring to a workplace. It is differentiated between two dimensions of diversity which are the primary dimension of diversity and the secondary dimension of diversity. The primary dimension of diversity includes differences that are visible like race, gender and age. On the other hand, the secondary dimension of diversity includes differences that are invisible like sexual orientation, economic status and geographic origin. As alternative terms, surface-level diversity is also used to describe the visible differences and deep-level diversity to describe the more hidden differences.
Is the Degree of Workplace Diversity within Organizations Increasing?
The degree of workplace diversity is definitely increasing within organizations. Looking at today’s economy, two trends that stand out are globalization and organizational mergers. Globalization is stimulated by treaties such as the North American Free Trade Alliance (NAFTA) and structures such as the European Union (EU) which are breaking barriers among nations. Besides, the technology development facilitates communication across geographic borders and also stimulates workplace diversity. Many companies are following this trend and operate internationally nowadays. Organizational mergers also lead to workplace diversity because every time two organizations are merging, their different cultures, technologies, and ways of working need to be blended which results in the task to effectively manage the differences existing between the two organizations. Another instigator of workplace diversity is the discrimination legislation we have implemented in our society because it requires employers to include more minorities in their workforce.
What is the Inclusion-Exclusion Continuum?
Inclusion is defined as the degree to which employees that have a diverse background actually are allowed to function and thrive within an organization. In an inclusive workplace, the degree of inclusion is high and diversity is valued and honored. On the other side of the continuum is exclusion which occurs when distinct employees feel left out of social and informational networks and barred from the organization's decision-making process.
What are Colorblindness and Multiculturalism?
Colorblindness and multiculturalism are the two basic approaches to diversity that organizations can take. Using a colorblind approach, an organization tries to ignore individual differences and treats each employee as if everybody has the same background. The multicultural approach to diversity on the other hand explicitly recognizes employee differences and emphasizes the benefits of a diverse workplace.
Workplace diversity relates to the differences that people bring to a workplace. It is differentiated between two dimensions of diversity which are the primary dimension of diversity and the secondary dimension of diversity. The primary dimension of diversity includes differences that are visible like race, gender and age. On the other hand, the secondary dimension of diversity includes differences that are invisible like sexual orientation, economic status and geographic origin. As alternative terms, surface-level diversity is also used to describe the visible differences and deep-level diversity to describe the more hidden differences.
Is the Degree of Workplace Diversity within Organizations Increasing?
The degree of workplace diversity is definitely increasing within organizations. Looking at today’s economy, two trends that stand out are globalization and organizational mergers. Globalization is stimulated by treaties such as the North American Free Trade Alliance (NAFTA) and structures such as the European Union (EU) which are breaking barriers among nations. Besides, the technology development facilitates communication across geographic borders and also stimulates workplace diversity. Many companies are following this trend and operate internationally nowadays. Organizational mergers also lead to workplace diversity because every time two organizations are merging, their different cultures, technologies, and ways of working need to be blended which results in the task to effectively manage the differences existing between the two organizations. Another instigator of workplace diversity is the discrimination legislation we have implemented in our society because it requires employers to include more minorities in their workforce.
What is the Inclusion-Exclusion Continuum?
Inclusion is defined as the degree to which employees that have a diverse background actually are allowed to function and thrive within an organization. In an inclusive workplace, the degree of inclusion is high and diversity is valued and honored. On the other side of the continuum is exclusion which occurs when distinct employees feel left out of social and informational networks and barred from the organization's decision-making process.
What are Colorblindness and Multiculturalism?
Colorblindness and multiculturalism are the two basic approaches to diversity that organizations can take. Using a colorblind approach, an organization tries to ignore individual differences and treats each employee as if everybody has the same background. The multicultural approach to diversity on the other hand explicitly recognizes employee differences and emphasizes the benefits of a diverse workplace.