Challenges in implementing common equality and

diversity policies and practices in China

A wider meaning of diversity, according to Mercer (2014) goes from contrasts in character and
one’s style of thought process, to the entirety of the various multi-dimensional personal
characteristics like sex, age, or nationality, to more obvious impacts of one’s origin and ancestry
like culture, religion, sexual orientation, class and disability. Any distinction that exists in the
public eye and needs better portrayal in associations, organizations, institution and government
and politics itself can be coined under the umbrella idea of diversity. Inclusion however is a
different ball game. This notion sets the idea and practice of diversity in motion by establishing a
climate of inclusion, acceptance, and celebration - where the richness of thoughts, cultures or
communities (like root, age, physical appearance, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation,
inabilities, and so forth), and viewpoints are acknowledged, invited, similarly treated, and
valued.
When inspecting the populous of the People’s Republic of China under the same ideas, diverse
ethnicities, cultures, and geography are commonly in the country. The predominant ideology is
largely dominated by Confucianism while international migration to China sets forth the function
of diversity to happen. (Wright, 2011)
Diversity and inclusion can be argued to be pertinent and important to the existence of the
Chinese society and a shrewd functioning of its economy. Like every country, globalization,
urbanization, individualism and technology revolution have increased people coming into the
country’s geographical boundaries and moving within which have increase diversity in the
society and inevitably the average workplace (Wright, 2011). However, this does not necessarily
translate into the inclusion of this diversity. The Society of Human Resources Management rates
China as “44th out of 47 countries in its Global Diversity Readiness Index, based on national
diversity, workplace inclusion, social inclusion, and government inclusion and legal framework”
in its Global Diversity and Inclusion study. (Prügl, 2011)
This is because the common response to diversity in Chinese linguistics alone is “social
integration/ adaptation". The word inclusion does not itself have an exact translation in the
language. This can be seen translated also into the government policy that does not welcome
massive change and can be seen affecting diversity as well. Coloring minorities to adapt to the
dominant Han culture could be seen as an active effort in the Chinese social dynamics.
Integration thus becomes opposite to inclusion, as it is assimilation of differences rather than
celebrating these very differences, which is what inclusion proposes. (Kumaraswamy, 2013)
The challenge here that China faces is equal opportunity to people which hail from a huge
variety of background and currently fight as breadwinners while sticking to their identities.
Generational diversity grows as 24.4% of the Chinese population, which is one fourth, will be
over 60 years old by 2030. Individualistic people who enter the workforce with higher
expectations as compared to the previous generations of generation Y (born after 1985) find
themselves in a difficult position to be recruited, and promoted. This can be owed to the One-
Child policy imposed by the Chinese government in early 1980’s causing young people to find
difficulty in changing conventional preconceived ideas of any given issue, as a larger part of the
population has a dilution of culture and hierarchy. (Marchant, 2014)
Another challenge faced by the Chinese is the widening gender gap. Females made 47% of the
country’s population in 2011 while make only 67.3% of men’s salaries in urban areas today
while rural females make a 56.3% of the male counterparts’. This is a lower number compared to
the 1990 figure which was 77% of the men’s salaries in urban areas and 79% in the rural. Only
20.7% of females make senior management in MNC’s. This shows that an organizational ‘glass
ceiling’ exists in China. (China National Bureau of Statistics, 2010)
Place of origin is another matter of diversity as the rural urban migration has increased by a
whopping 81% compared to 2000, while ethnic minorities make 8.5% of the Chinese population.
People with disability make 6.3% (China National Bureau of Statistics, 2010) of the Chinese
population which can be argued to be under reported. This is because the global average
continues to be a 15%. The under reporting of this figure can be owed to the social stigma
attached to the people of disabilities. This shows that people struggle to embrace the many
talents peoples of disabilities come with despite the physical challenge they experience. A further
problematic observation with seeing this form of diversity is that many employers pay the fine
associated with not employing the peoples of disability, which is 1.5% of the workforce, than
have them employed. (Kumaraswamy, 2013)
According to the LGBT Diversity Academic research, the LGBT population comprises 3-5%
(Kumaraswamy, 2013). Despite growing activism for the community, the LGBT people continue
to experience discrimination owing to the predominant conventional family-oriented social
values and strong societal pressure to have a child causing the community to remain largely
closeted.
For MNC’s the current structure of the populations growing diversity is both a challenge and an
opportunity. The Economist Intelligence Unit suggests that this could improve efficiency. When
speaking of the females earning lower than a man, being payed equal to one can present itself as
a motivational factor. (Economist Intelligence Unit Country Reports, 2016) Opening the doors of
higher corporate sectors for females, minorities, the LGBTQ, the disabled as well as young
people can welcome newer ideas which can prove to be beneficial for evolving the current
business dynamics of any organization and contribute to an organizational structure welcoming
change in an ever-changing world for better efficiency. Due to an enriched background of the
current organizational structure, businesses can grow their clientele thus increasing profits
(MacDonald, 2017). These MNC’s can be more attractive in labor markets if they are open to
diversity and inclusion at workplace and thus have an automatic competitive advantage owing to
enriched talent. In an international space, this brings company a good image and opens doors for
better public relations.
Organizations can adapt the change of becoming more diverse and inclusive through a mindset
change. This can be implemented. This is because the drivers for Diversity and Inclusion are
more than being a vigilant citizen with an active conscience, but in fact can be targeted actively
as a business strategy to attract the best talent across the country, irrespective of their social
background. This drives innovation, as a varied workforce can adapt to the need of a varying
consumer market in terms of its social dynamics. (Bapna, 2020)

Reference list

Bapna, S. (2020). How Young Companies Can Build Online Communities. Entrepreneur and
Innovation Exchange.

China National Bureau of Statistics. (2010).

Economist Intelligence Unit Country Reports. (2016). Choice Reviews Online, 53(07), pp.53–
290453–2904.

Kumaraswamy, P.R. (2013). Introduction. China Report, 49(1), pp.1–3.

MacDonald, G. (2017). Strengths and Challenges of Diversity. AAG Newsletter.

Marchant, J. (2014). Social Inclusion Strategies. The International Journal of Community

Diversity, 13(3), pp.13–23.

Mercer (2014). Mercer When Women Thrive Research -- World Economic Forum 2015.
YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62r3cuMH0MI.

Prügl, E. (2011). Diversity Management and Gender Mainstreaming as Technologies of

Government. Politics & Gender, 7(01), pp.71–89.

Wright, M. (2011). Diversity and the Imagined Community: Immigrant Diversity and
Conceptions of National Identity. Political Psychology, 32(5), pp.837–862.