6.3: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

Diversity and inclusion in the workforce is important to understand as you prepare for your future career. Diversity is not simply a box to be checked but rather is an approach to business that unites ethical management and high performance. Business leaders in the global economy recognize the benefits of a diverse workforce as an organizational strength, not as a mere slogan or a form of regulatory compliance with the law. They recognize that diversity can enhance performance and drive innovation; conversely, adhering to the traditional business practices of the past can cost them talented employees and loyal customers (Byers & Stanberry, 2020).

A study by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company indicates that businesses with gender and ethnic diversity outperform others. According to Mike Dillon, chief diversity and inclusion officer for PwC in San Francisco, “attracting, retaining and developing a diverse group of professionals stirs innovation and drives growth.”

Living this goal means not only recruiting, hiring, and training talent from a wide demographic spectrum but also including all employees in every aspect of the organization (Byers & Stanberry, 2020).

Workplace Diversity

The twenty-first century workplace features much greater diversity than was common even a couple of generations ago. Individuals who might once have faced employment challenges because of religious beliefs, ability differences, or sexual orientation now regularly join their peers in interview pools and on the job. Each may bring a new outlook and different information to the table, and employees no longer can take for granted that their coworkers think the same way they do. This change pushes employers to question their own assumptions, expand their understanding and appreciate alternate viewpoints. The result is more creative ideas, approaches, and solutions. Thus, diversity may also enhance corporate decision-making (Byers & Stanberry, 2020).

Communicating with those who differ from us may require us to make an extra effort and even change our viewpoint, but that communication leads to better collaboration and more favorable outcomes overall, according to David Rock, director of the Neuro-Leadership Institute in New York City, who says diverse coworkers “challenge their own and others’ thinking.”

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), organizational diversity now includes more than just racial, gender, and religious differences. Organizational diversity also encompasses different thinking styles and personality types, as well as factors such as physical and cognitive abilities and sexual orientation, all of which influence the way people perceive the world. “Finding the right mix of individuals to work on teams, and creating the conditions in which they can excel, are key business goals for today’s leaders, given that collaboration has become a paradigm of the twenty-first century workplace,” according to an SHRM article.

Attracting workers who are not all alike is an important first step in the process of achieving greater diversity. However, managers also must have goals encompassing inclusion, or the engagement of all employees in the corporate culture. “The far bigger challenge is how people interact with each other once they’re on the job,” says Howard J. Ross, founder and chief learning officer at Cook Ross, a consulting firm specializing in diversity. “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance. Diversity is about the ingredients, the mix of people and perspectives. Inclusion is about the container—the place that allows employees to feel they belong, to feel both accepted and different” (Byers & Stanberry, 2020).

The origins of workplace diversity date back to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA) or before. Census figures show that women made up less than 29 percent of the civilian workforce when Congress passed Title VII of the CRA prohibiting workplace discrimination. After passage of the law, gender diversity in the workplace expanded significantly. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the percentage of women in the labor force increased from 48 percent in 1977 to a peak of 60 percent in 1999. Over the past forty years, the total number of women in the labor force has risen from 41 million in 1977 to 71 million in 2017. The BLS projects the number of women in the U.S. labor force will reach 92 million in 2050, an increase that far outstrips population growth.

The statistical data show a similar trend for African American, Asian American, and Hispanic workers (see Figure 6.1 below). Just before passage of the CRA in 1964, the percentages of minorities in official workforce statistics were relatively small compared with their representation in the total population. In 1966, Asians accounted for just 0.5 percent of private-sector employment, with Hispanics at 2.5 percent and African Americans at 8.2 percent.

However, Hispanic employment numbers have increased significantly since the CRA became law; they are expected to more than double from 15 percent in 2010 to 30 percent of the labor force in 2050. Similarly, Asian Americans are projected to increase their share of employment from 5 to 8 percent between 2010 and 2050 (Byers & Stanberry, 2020).

Figure 6.1 There is a distinct contrast in workforce demographics between 2010 and projected numbers for 2050. (Image by OpenStax is licensed under CC BY 4.0)

Much more progress remains to be made, however, in workplace diversity. For example, many people think of the technology sector as the workplace of open-minded Millennials. Yet Google revealed in recent diversity statistics that progress toward a more inclusive workforce may be steady but is very slow. Men still account for the great majority of employees at the corporation; only about 30 percent are women, and women fill fewer than 20 percent of Google’s technical roles (see Figure 6.2 below). The company has shown a similar lack of gender diversity in leadership roles, where women hold fewer than 25 percent of positions. Despite modest progress, an ocean-sized gap remains to be narrowed. In terms of ethnicity, approximately 56 percent of Google employees are white. About 35 percent are Asian, 3.5 percent are Latino, and 2.4 percent are Black, and of the company’s management and leadership roles, 68 percent are held by whites (Byers & Stanberry, 2020).

Figure 6.2 Google is emblematic of the technology sector, and this graphic shows just how far from equality and diversity the industry remains. (Image by OpenStax is licensed under CC BY 4.0)

Diversity and inclusion are positive steps for business organizations, and despite their sometimes slow pace, the majority of employers are moving in the right direction. Diversity strengthens the company’s internal relationships with employees and improves employee morale, as well as strengthening external relationships with customer groups. Communication, a core value of most successful businesses, becomes more effective with a diverse workforce. Performance improves for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that acknowledging diversity and respecting differences is the ethical thing to do (OpenStax, 2020).

Generational Differences in the Workforce

Today we have five different generations in the workforce, and each generation differs in terms of values, communication style, and life experiences. Each group brings valuable contributions to the workplace.

Each generation is a subculture with a sense of reality based on formative world and national events, technological innovations and socio-cultural values. To understand how that experience impacts communication, we need to consider how the different generations view technology and communications media. The following examples are based on an analysis of generational differences (Lumen Learning, 2022):

Table 6.2 Examples of Generational Differences

	Traditionalists	Baby Boomers	Generation X	Millennials	Generation Z
Technology is	Hoover Dam	The microwave	Internet	Hand-held devices	Virtual
Communicate via	Rotary phones	Four-tone phones	Cell phones	Internet & Text	Social Media

Every generation develops expertise with communication formats and media that reflect their situational reality. For example, Traditionalists tend to have a more formal communication style, with a strict adherence to written grammatical rules and a strong cultural structure. Baby Boomers tend to prefer a more informal and collaborative approach. Gen X communications tend to be more blunt and direct: just the facts. Millennial and Gen Z communication is technology-dependent. As an Ad Council article notes, these generations are driving a truncation of the English language, shortening words (e.g., “totally” becomes “totes”) and abbreviating phrases into one or two-syllable words or acronyms which may or may not be spoken aloud (e.g., “FOMO” for “fear of missing out” and “TIL” for “today I learned”) (Lumen Learning, 2022).

Bridging the Generation Gap

Each generation brings not only a frame of reference but also a set of competencies—and expectations—based on how they view the world and their place in it. The challenge for both businesses and individuals is that we now have five generations in the workforce. Differences in generational communication style and media are, effectively, language barriers. To the extent that individuals can’t translate, the communication gaps are a hindrance to effective collaboration and, by extension, achievement of critical goals and objectives. The communication disconnect can also affect employee morale and productivity.

The opportunity in this situation is to leverage specific generational strengths and decrease points of friction. The best case scenario is to create a culture and opportunities that encourage cross-generational sharing and mentoring. As Nora Zelevansky wrote in a piece for Coca-Cola: “In order to master intergenerational communication, it is necessary to understand some broad generalizations about the generations and then move beyond those to connect as individuals” (Zelevansky, 2014).

In a related trend, the model of talent management is changing. As discussed in a Sodexo report on 2017 Workplace Trends, global companies are moving to a model of shared learning, where workers of all ages contribute to each other’s growth and development. Indeed, the researchers identified “intergenerational agility” as a critical aspect of the employee and employer value proposition (Sodexo, 2017). Business benefits of intergenerational learning include increased efficiency, productivity and competitive positioning. Two statistics that suggest the culture and communication gaps can be bridged are listed below (The Hartford, 2014).

• 96 percent of Millennials believe that Boomers bring substantial experience and knowledge to the workplace
• 90 percent of Baby Boomers believe that Millennials bring new skills and ideas to the workplace.

The diversity of the intergenerational workplace is not just a development or trend; instead, that diversity is a creative opportunity for businesses and organizations (The Hartford, 2014).

Professor Mariano Sánchez of the University of Granada in Spain sees the opportunity in cultivating ”generational intelligence;” specifically, “organizing activities that raise generational awareness, connect generations and help them work better together—exchanging knowledge, ideas, skills and more to enhance the broad skill sets everyone needs in today’s jobs” (Sodexo, 2017).

According to Jason Dorsey, Millennial and Gen Z researcher and co-founder of The Center for Generational Kinetics, “the key is getting each person to recognize that everyone has different communication skills that can be harnessed to best support the organization” (Zelevansky, 2014). Incorporating multiple communication media in meetings and to facilitate ongoing discussion/collaboration allows members of different generations to share expertise and demonstrate the value of a particular medium. Selecting technology that supports multiple ways of communicating and collaborating can also leverage collective strengths and create fertile ground. For example, using a videoconferencing platform such as Zoom allows for participants to connect visually and participate virtually, with audio, screen sharing and recording capabilities.

Activity 6.1

Generational Differences

After reading the section on generational differences in the workforce, reflect on your experiences at school, work and in your community and answer the following questions:

With which generation do you identify?

How closely do you resemble some of the descriptors used to describe this generation? Explain and give examples.

Why is understanding generational differences in the workplace important? Explain and give examples.

Please note that being aware of broad generalizations about generations is important to help understand different work styles and preferences, but moving beyond generalizations is important to connect as individuals and colleagues.