Challenges in Diversity

Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace

Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges. Some of those challenges are:

Communication - Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale.

Resistance to change - There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The “we’ve always done it this way” mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress.

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.

Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace - Diversity training alone is not sufficient for your organization’s diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity that permeates every department and function of the organization.

Does Diversity matter?

People are the most important asset of any company or organization. For companies to succeed in the global marketplace, they must make the most of the full range of their people. Companies must attract and retain the right skills, the best minds, all the required resources – and that means diversity.

With demographic shifts, advances in technology and communications, and globalization, diversity is quickly becoming a driver of growth around the world.

Maximizing the potential of a diverse workforce is not only a social imperative, but is also a competitive advantage. From a business vantage point, to best serve the market one must “employ the market.”

Diversity is about:

• Acknowledging and leveraging similarities and differences
• Increased creativity and innovation
• Recruitment and retention of top talent
• Access to a changed marketplace
• Leveraging our resources to outperform our competitors,
• Enabling people to unlock their potential so they achieve their aspirations
• How we lead teams

 

Physically Challenged in the workforce

The physically disabled have made much progress in the workplace since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990. Experts say that discrimination has decreased and that employers generally are willing to provide the special accommodations needed by employees with physical impairments. Fear and ignorance of people with disabilities exists, and such individuals are often stigmatized. Even if job applicants elect not to disclose their disabilities, they may exhibit odd mannerisms that put off employers. For example, people with autism, a neurological disorder usually present at birth, often have poor social and communication skills and shun personal contact. Many government and private organizations for the mentally disabled focus on treatment but not on job training and placement. And those programs that are employment-oriented are often geared toward finding minimum-wage and sub minimum-wage jobs.