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7.SocialEquityandDiversityManagement.pptxSocial Equity and Diversity Management
Dr. James R. Welsh
Barry University
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Man is the most composite of all creatures....
“Well, as in the old burning of the Temple at Corinth, by the melting and intermixture of silver and gold and other metals a new compound more precious than any, called Corinthian brass, was formed; so in this continent,--asylum of all nations,--the energy of Irish, Germans, Swedes, Poles, and Cossacks, and all the European tribes,--of the Africans, and of the Polynesians,--will construct a new race, a new religion, a new state, a new literature, which will be as vigorous as the new Europe which came out of the smelting-pot of the Dark Ages, or that which earlier emerged from the Pelagic and Etruscan barbarism.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, journal entry, 1845,
The Metaphor of the Melting Pot…
Because of a continuous mass immigration that was a feature of the United States economy and society since the first half of the 19th century, ethnic diversity is common in both rural and urban areas.
The absorption of the stream of immigrants became, in itself, a prominent feature of America's national myth.
The idea of the melting pot is a metaphor that implies that all the immigrant cultures are mixed and amalgamated without state intervention.
The melting pot theory implied that each individual immigrant, and each group of immigrants, assimilated into American society at their own pace.
Today the United States can easily be considered one of the most diverse nations in the world.
Recent estimates show that one in three U.S. residents is a member of an ethic minority.
The melting pot tradition co-exists with a belief in national unity, dating from the American founding fathers:
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Social Equity… a Series of Different Opinions
Social equity is the orphaned element of sustainable development.
In 1996 the United States President's Council on Sustainable Development defined social equity as "equal opportunity, in a safe and healthy environment."
Social equity is the least defined and least understood element of the triad that is sustainable development yet is integral in creating sustainability - balancing economic, environmental and social equity
In terms of conservation,
"Social Equity implies fair access to livelihood, education, and resources; full participation in the political and cultural life of the Community; and self-determination in meeting Fundamental Needs.
As Martin Luther King observed,
"where there is injustice for one, there is injustice for all." Social Equity is the cornerstone of Social Capital, which cannot be maintained for a few at the expense of the many. Increased equity results in decreased spending on prisons, security enforcement, welfare, and social services. It also creates new potential markets.“
Because many colleges and universities consider the term social equity as synonymous with social equality, it is perceived as the value of the individual, organization, or brand of reputation.
The National Academy of Public Administration defines the term as:
The fair, just and equitable management of all institutions serving the public directly or by contract;
the fair, just and equitable distribution of public services and implementation of public policy;
and the commitment to promote fairness, justice, and equity in the formation of public policy.
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Equal Employment Opportunity …(EEO)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to assist in the protection of US employees from discrimination.
The law was the first federal law designed to protect most US employees from employment discrimination based upon that employee's (or applicant's) race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Equal employment opportunity was further enhanced when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed an Executive Order on September 24, 1965, created to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, sex, creed, religion, color, or national origin.
Along with those five protected classes, more recent statutes have listed other traits as "protected classes," including the following:
The Age Discrimination Act has protected those aged 40 and over but does not protect those under the age of 40.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 protects individuals who possess, or are thought to possess, a wide range of disabilities, ranging from paraplegia to Down Syndrome to autism.
However, it does not force an employer to employ a worker whose disability would create an "undue hardship" onto his business (for example, a paraplegic cannot work on a construction site, and a blind person cannot be a chauffeur).
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 forbids discrimination on the basis of family history and genetic information.
The Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 forbids discrimination on the grounds of a worker's military history, including any effects that the battlefield might have had on the worker's psyche.
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Affirmative Action in the United States
Affirmative action in the United States tends to focus on issues such as education and employment, specifically granting special consideration to racial minorities and women who have been historically excluded groups in America.
Affirmative action policies were developed in order to correct decades of discrimination stemming from the Reconstruction era by granting disadvantaged minorities opportunities.
Reports have shown that minorities and women have faced discrimination in schools and businesses for many years and this discrimination produced unfair advantages for white males in education and employment.
The impetus toward affirmative action is redressing the disadvantages[ associated with past and present discrimination.
Further impetus is a desire to ensure public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.
Affirmative action is a subject of controversy. Some policies adopted as affirmative action, such as racial quotas or gender quotas for collegiate admission, have been criticized as a form of reverse discrimination, and such implementation of affirmative action has been ruled unconstitutional by the majority opinion of Gratz v. Bollinger.
Many believe that the diversity of current American society suggests that affirmative action policies succeeded and are no longer required.
Opponents of affirmative action argue that these policies are outdated and lead to reverse discrimination which entails favoring one group over another based upon racial preference rather than achievement
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Affirmative Action Compliance
Despite the rhetoric about “force” compliance and “mandatory hiring quotas.” It is important to remember that most affirmative action compliance is voluntary, and mandatory measures are only used as a last resort when agencies will not otherwise comply with the law.
Generally, a voluntary affirmative action program is permissible if: 1. The purpose is to remedy old patterns of discrimination. 2. The program does not unnecessarily infringe upon the rights of employees not included in the program (for example, it does not require the termination of employees not covered by the program to be replaced by covered employees). 3. The program does not prevent advancement by employees not covered under the program. 4. The program is a temporary measure to remedy past discrimination rather than designed to ensure a continuing balance in the workforce.
Court-Ordered Plans Courts may require employers to adopt affirmative action plans as a remedy for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Court-ordered affirmative action is an appropriate remedy in cases involving "foot-dragging, egregious noncompliance, or widespread and persistent discrimination." The affirmative action order must be narrowly tailored to the government's compelling interests. Accordingly, the court-ordered plan generally: 1. May not be overly burdensome on third parties (for example by requiring discharge or layoffs). 2. May not require the hiring or promotion of unqualified individuals 3. Must be temporary, lasting only until the plan's goals are achieve.
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The Road to Diversity Management …
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The Melting Pot
Equal Employment Opportunity
Cultural Diversity
Open Immigration Policy
Management of Diverse People
In the beginning: asylum of all nations
Social Equity
Affirmative Action
Organizational Culture
The Role of Diversity Management …
Diversity management requires changes in the organization’s culture, to wit:
the values, assumptions, and communication patterns that characterize interaction among employees.
These patterns are invented, discovered, developed by members of the organization as responses to problems or sensitivity to client needs;
they become part of the culture as they are taught to new members as the way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to these problems or needs.
Viewed from this perspective, diversity management represents a change in the way organizations do business,
rather than just an adaptation of existing personnel policies and programs to meet the specialized needs of minorities and women.
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The Big Five that can Change Organizational Effectiveness…
Recruitment and Retention…
Job Design…
Education and Training…
Benefits and Rewards…
Performance measurement and Improvement…
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