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Management 515

Managing a Diverse Workforce

Diversity

Common definition. Dissimilarities and differences among people in age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, skin tone, physical appearance, and socioeconomic background

Common definition fails to address differences in experience, education, knowledge, skills, abilities, personality type, political views, and thought

Common belief is that firms must manage diversity to improve organizational effectiveness

Terms sex and gender

The word diversity is a buzzword that is used by those with a progressive political viewpoint to refer to a state of “fairness” is employment, political representation, housing, etc.

Proponents, mostly politicians who use the debate for political gain, will argue that businesses have an obligation to ensure that the demographic makeup of its labor force must be identical, or nearly identical at least, to the demographic makeup of some reference group—usually the local labor pool.

Sadly, this viewpoint has permeated into the law in the United States. The current yardstick the U.S. government uses to measure discrimination in the workplace is the variance between the workforce and local labor pool. The assumption is that if your demographics are identical, then unfair labor practices do not exist in your firm. If it is not identical, then you are obviously discriminating.

The terms sex and gender have distinct meanings. Sex is a biological term (male versus female) and gender is a grammatical term (masculine, feminine, neuter). However, through repeated misuse, the terms have become synonymous meaning a biological difference.

U. S. Equal Opportunity Laws

Major Equal Employment Opportunity Laws Affecting Human Resource Management
Year	Law	Description
1963	Equal Pay Act	Requires that men and women be paid equally if they are performing equal work
1964	Civil Rights Act of 1964	Prohibits discrimination in employment decisions on the basis of race, religion, sex, color, or national origin
1967	Age Discrimination in Employment Act	Prohibits discrimination against workers over the age of 40 and restricts mandatory retirement
1978	Pregnancy Discrimination Act	Prohibits discrimination against women in employment decisions on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical decisions
1990	Americans with Disabilities Act	Prohibits discrimination against disabled individuals in employment decision and requires employers make reasonable accommodations for disabled workers to enable them to perform their jobs
1991	Civil Rights Act of 1991	Strengthens CRA of 1964 by adding provisions for punitive and compensatory damages for intentional discrimination
1993	Family & Medical Leave Act	Requires that employers provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical and family reasons, including paternity and family illness

Here is a list of the major labor laws that have been passed in the United States in the last 50 years.

View this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALCPMgJYCfM

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) deals with protected classes:

Age

Disability

Pregnancy

National Origin

Race or color

Ethnic Background

Religious Beliefs

Genetic Information

The EEOC subscribes to philosophy of post hoc ergo propter hoc, if a variance exists then discrimination must exists. This viewpoint discounts the concept of self-selection.

While the EEOC has enforced the legitimate rights of many workers, in my view, it tends to consider employers guilty until proven innocent.

Workforce Demographics

Age. Median age in the United States is 36.9 years, by 2030, 20% of the population will be over 65

Sex.

U.S. workforce is 46.7% percent female (50.8% of population)

Women hold only 14.1% of corporate officer positions

Women’s median weekly earnings are $688 compared to $843 for men. The 70% myth.

I am certain that you have heard politicians and activists lambast the “gender wage gap,” claiming that women earn 70% of what men earn for the same work. Here is the typical position http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/04/08/3424043/gender-wage-gap-myth/

The author of this article, in my view, is not only wrong, but fallaciously using facts.

The Equal Pay Act has been in force for over 50 years. It is illegal to pay a women less than a man for the same work. If it were happening, you would see the lawsuits.

Women tend to self-select into jobs that are more nurturing, such as child care, teaching, and nursing. Sadly, these jobs tend to pay less than plumbers, carpenters, and oil drillers.

Women's work-life patterns and their occupational preferences are significant factors in determining wages. Rather than being "funneled" into low-wage, low-prestige and part-time positions, women often choose these occupations because of the flexibility they offer. After adjusting for these factors, scholars find that the difference between men's and women's earnings across all industries is less than one percent (not statistically significant at 95% confidence).

Very recent studies show that unmarried women with no children between the age of 25 and 35 actually earn 3% more than men. According to Pew Research, in 17 of the 20 largest cities in the US, women actually make 8% more than their male counterparts when the women are single, childless, and have the same educational background.

Those who still cite women's 70 cents for every male dollar as evidence of sexism and discrimination fail to take into account the underlying role of personal choice. The "wage gap" is not so much about employers discriminating against women as about women making discriminating choices in the labor market.

See: “An Analysis of Reasons for the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women” in Moodle

Different choices

The purpose is to demonstrate that women dominate fields that demand interpersonal relationships.

Is this a consequence of personal choice or evidence of discrimination?

Different levels of danger

Danger

Compensation

Doctors 33%

Teacher 82%

Maids & Hotel Housekeeping 97%

Hellfighter 1%

Security Guards 20%

Issues

Glass Ceiling. Alludes to the perceived invisible barriers that prevents minorities and women from being promoted to top corporate positions

Does it exist at your workplace?

Good-ole-boy Network

Accommodations for religious practices

Scheduling critical meetings

Time off for religious holidays

Keep in mind that 70% of U.S. population is of Judeo-Christian background

The glass ceiling is a term used to describe a purported unseen and unbreakable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements.

The metaphor has been applied by feminists in reference to barriers in the careers of high achieving women.

I question whether it really exists today. Yes, the good-old-boy network (a loose collective of senior men who conspire to keep those different from them from entering their group) may still exist, but social pressures are reducing that incidence. As an example, at my work site, eight of the nine management roles are filled by women. Is this proof of a good-old-girl network?

Historically, men have dominated the management and ownership roles in business. This was traditional. Also, men tend to be more task oriented than women, who are more nurturing. Roles in industry tend to favor task-oriented personalities.

I believe that, as the United States becomes a more services-oriented economy, the need for collaborative and democratic leaders and managers will increase. Women tend to better fill these roles (due to their nurturing nature). I predict that in the next 50 years, women will equal or exceed the number of men in leadership roles in the United States.

More Issues

Disability Issues

Providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities (ADA)

Promoting a nondiscriminatory workplace environment

Challenges of employees with communicable diseases, e.g., AIDS

Sexual orientation

Significant taboos still exist in the United States

Benefits for same-sex partners

Read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990

Wikipedia is a much easier read than the Department of Labor cite.

Note that sexual orientation is not yet a protected class. An employer can still discriminate (choose not to hire someone) solely for reasons of sexual orientation. I suspect new laws will be passed soon. Short of that, public pressure can be quite formidable.

Still More Issues

Physical appearance. Whether individuals are attractive or unattractive, thin or overweight, in most cases has no bearing on job performance

Sometimes, appearance meets a legitimate business purpose

Appearance has always been a discriminator at the human level

Socioeconomic background. Is most often manifest in other discriminators, e.g., education, experience, language, or skills

An employer can choose not to hire someone if the applicants appearance does not meet a standard that serves a legitimate business purpose.

For example, many years ago, the airline industry only hired thin, attractive women as stewardesses. The claim was that airlines were forced to hire only thin women because of the costs of fuel. This was challenged in court and the courts concluded since the industry did not have the same standards for pilots and passengers, the claim was specious.

On the other hand, the restaurant Hooters only hires women with a specific body type. The courts have agreed that such is consistent with the corporate image and serves a legitimate business need.

Recently a Muslim women sued Abercrombie and Fitch (A&B) for not hiring her because she insisted on wearing a head scarf. A&B claimed that the company had to maintain a specific image that was trendy and youthful. They claimed that a woman in a headscarf was not consistent with that image. The courts disagreed and forced A&B to hire the women and allow her to wear a headscarf. I believe the courts got this totally wrong and further clouded the intent of the law.

Matters of Race

The following definitions applied to the 2000 U.S. census

White. Having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa, such as Irish, German, English, Scottish, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish

Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, such as Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian

More Definitions

American Indian and Alaska Native. Having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment

Asian. Having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes 'Asian Indian,' 'Chinese', 'Filipino', 'Korean', 'Japanese', 'Vietnamese', and 'Other Asian'

Still More

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. Having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands, such as 'Native Hawaiian', 'Guamanian or Chamorro', 'Samoan', and 'Other Pacific Islander‘

Some other race. All other responses not included in the 'White', 'Black or African American', 'American Indian and Alaska Native', 'Asian' and 'Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander' race categories described above, such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, We-Sort, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban)

Finally

Two or more races. Self-identified as two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses

Anthropologists recognize three races

Caucazoid

Negroid

Mongoloid

Ethnicity usually refers to whether a person is Hispanic or not Hispanic. Most Hispanics prefer to identify by country or origin

Technically, the word Hispanic only applies to people from Hispania (Andorra, Portugal, Spain, and Gibraltar, yet the United States has codified this word to mean people of Spanish or South American ancestry.

The word Latino, from the word Latin, is often incorrectly used interchangeably with Hispanic.

Critical Managerial Roles

Remain cognizant of the ongoing demographic makeup of their organizations

Ex post demographics are arguably irrelevant because they do not prove causal effects

However, the EEOC uses them in legal actions

Take advantage of the contributions of employees with diverse viewpoints, experiences, and personalities

Prevent employees from being treated unfairly

It is imperative that you take allegations seriously

Just as important to document unfounded allegations

Ensure top management understands the concepts of equal opportunity laws and the legal consequences of violating them

Strive to increase the accuracy of perceptions

Establish a formal equal opportunity policy and ensure the workforce is aware of it

Pay attention to how workforce members are evaluated

Pay attention to the numbers and investigate anomalies

Managing Diversity

A Diverse Workforce Can Provide

A variety of points of view and approaches to problems and opportunities can improve managerial decision making

Groupthink can kill an organization

Lack of conflict can ensure substandard approaches

A wider range of creative ideas

Employees can be more attuned to the needs of customers with common backgrounds

The argument that “only women know women” or “only blacks can represent blacks” is specious

However, deep cultural roots can be informative

Perception

The process through which people select, organize, and interpret what they see, hear, touch, smell, and taste to give meaning and order to the world around them

Perceptions can be inaccurate causing managers to make bad decisions and take inappropriate actions

Perceptions are formed through filters (biases) that are created over time, e.g., education, upbringing, culture

Perception can be the basis for inappropriate prejudices

Bad decisions based on prejudice include not hiring or promoting the right people or promoting the wrong people (poorly performing managers) because they “look like me”

Perception

Stereotype. Simplistic and often inaccurate beliefs about the typical characteristics of particular groups of people

Not all people in a group are like, however

Stereotypes are typically useful because people tend to act stereotypically, e.g., conform to group norms

Bias. The systematic tendency to use information about others in ways that result in inaccurate perceptions

Similar-to-me effect. Others who are similar to me are more positively perceived

Social status effect. Those with higher social status are more positively perceived

Salience effect. Focus on those who are different

Discrimination

Discriminate, v.

Recognize a distinction

Differentiate

However, the word has taken on an inaccurate connotation, “an action that denies social participation or human rights to categories of people based on prejudice”

Illegal Discrimination. Knowingly and willingly denying individuals access to opportunities and outcomes in an organization based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, familial status, disability, veteran status, or genetic information (protected classes)

Note that unfair does not imply illegal. I would also suggest that most people who use say, “that’s unfair”:

Cannot define that word to my satisfaction

Really mean “that’s not what I want.”

Sexual Harassment

Bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors

Quid pro quo. Asking for or forcing an employee to perform sexual favors in exchange for receiving some reward or avoiding negative consequences

Hostile work environment Telling lewd jokes, displaying pornography, making sexually oriented remarks about someone’s personal appearance, and other sex-related actions that make the work environment unpleasant to the point that it interferes with their ability to perform the job effectively

What Management Must Do

Develop and clearly communicate a sexual harassment prevention policy that is endorsed by top management

Use a fair and open complaint procedure to seriously investigate all charges of sexual harassment

When it has been determined that sexual harassment has taken place, take corrective action as soon as possible

Provide sexual harassment prevention education and training to all organizational members, including managers

Managers should provide employees with alternative ways to report incidents of sexual harassment

Employees who report sexual harassment must have their rights and privacy protected

Allegations of sexual harassment should be kept confidential

Actions taken for proven sexual harassment should be well publicized

More of What Management Must Do

To protect itself, a firm must do the following, without fail:

Have a set of policies that addresses sexual harassment.

Ensure every employee is aware of the policy. The best way is to simply have the employee sign a statement to that affect.

Do something whenever a change of sexual harassment is made. Companies loose court cases and suffer financial losses , not because incidents of sexual harassment occur, they loose because they choose to ignore the situation and hope it goes away. If the firm can show that it investigated the charge and decided to do this or that, the courts tend to look favorably on those actions.