Assignment 83

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6: Diversity and Equality in the Workplace

Dr. Mirna Safi

Introduction

Diversity within organizations and labour markets is becoming the norm. Examples of trends in this area include:

An increasingly ageing population in developed countries

Higher labour market participation by women

A growth in population in Africa in contrast to a falling population in developed areas such as Western Europe

A generation of ‘millennials’ who expect to work internationally.

Trends such as these present both opportunities and challenges for society and organizations.

Organizations are increasingly operating in global markets and often find that norms may exist in some countries of operation that may not be acceptable in their home country.

What is diversity?

Diversity as a concept refers to the ‘difference' between people. Kirton and Greene (2016) differentiate between:

Collective diversity - mostly associated with social groups (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation).

and

Individual or 'deep level diversity' - such as education, personality, lifestyle and personal interests.

What is diversity?

A key area of debate is whether employees should be treated equally regardless of their differences or whether organizations should recognise diversity and adapt to take account of difference.

Two perspectives are identified as follows:

Social justice - Organizations have a moral and legal obligation to recognise diversity and to develop policies and procedures to ensure that people are treated in a fair manner.

Diversity management - Organizations should recognise difference as a positive organizational factor and should foster, value and utilise this difference for the benefit of the organization.

Diversity in an organizational context

The benefits and challenges of a diverse workforce

Benefits of a diverse workforce

Having a more diverse workforce can have a positive effect on:

Financial performance

Group performance

Innovation : creating something new

Ways of viewing problems

Turnover: number of pple leaving the organization

Productivity

Enable organizations to stay in touch with what appeals to a broad customer base.

Challenges of a diverse workforce

Some of the challenges of having a diverse workforce include:

Possible increases in training and development costs

The potential for increased conflict between employees

Claims of reverse discrimination.

Farndale et al (2015) highlight language and cultural differences in globally staffed multinational corporations as a potential area for conflict as well as a potential source of innovative thinking.

Equality and discrimination in the workplace and beyond

Inequalities continue to persist in the workplace and individuals continue to experience discriminatory practices and attitudes.

Research has shown that unequal treatment in the workplace often stems from discrimination in wider society. Take for example:

A woman who may not be offered a job because an employer worries about her commitment to the organization as she has a number of children to care for.

Why is equality an important issue?

Those suffering most from difficulties in gaining employment, confinement to low-paid jobs and unequal treatment in the workplace include:

Women

Young, unskilled workers

Low-skilled workers in general

Older workers

People with a disability

Ethnic minorities

Lone parents

People living in marginalized communities.

Why is equality an important issue?

Equality and equal treatment in the work situation cannot be viewed in isolation.

Key questions are:

Why do certain groups find themselves disproportionately disadvantaged in the labour market?

Who are these groups?

What can be done to change the situation?

Human capital explanations of inequality in the workplace

Based on an analysis of the combination of qualifications, skills, competencies and relevant work experience a person possesses.

People with a higher level of human capital would be expected to compete more successfully in the labour market than those with a lower level.

We need to examine why some people possess less human capital than others.

Inequality as a reflection of social and cultural attitudes and norms

According to this view, unfairness in the allocation of jobs and promotions occurs as a consequence of the way opportunity has been embedded in societal norms.

Dominant or accepted beliefs in society with respect to various groups of people may then be translated into the workplace.

For example, the view that older people may not be open to learning new skills or may not be able to cope with new technology has been shown to affect access to employment and promotion for older workers.

Geographical variation and the combined effects of inequality

It must be acknowledged that the effects of the various factors on equality vary across countries.

Taking Ireland as an example, there is an absence of state support for childcare in comparison to most other European countries. This is a significant contemporary barrier for lone parents.

Victimization

In many countries, employers are prohibited ( not allowed) from victimizing people who make a complaint or take an equality case against an employer in good faith.

For instance, if an employee makes a formal complaint for discrimination in a promotions process and they are subsequently fired, they would have a clear case for victimization.

The concept of victimization should not be overlooked by employers.

Tribunals and courts can actually add a significant amount to a basic discrimination award on the basis of stress and trauma caused by victimization.

The positive discrimination/positive action debates

Positive discrimination posits that certain groups of people have suffered such levels of disadvantage that employers need to positively discriminate in their favour if we are ever to have equality in the workplace.

This would mean that an employer could, effectively, discriminate against other applicants in order to recruit people who are disproportionately underrepresented in the workplace.

Positive action seeks to enhance the employability and labour market competitiveness of certain groups in particular national contexts.

HRM, the workplace and equality

HR has an integral role to play in ensuring that all employees and prospective employees are treated fairly and treat their co-workers in a fair and equitable manner.

This can be achieved through:

The creation and dissemination of development

Awareness programmes, clear statements and policies regarding equal treatment of employees

Ensuring all organization members are aware of the consequences of discriminatory behaviour towards employees.

Thank you for listening!