Diversity, Equity and Inclusion I:

Diversity management and inclusive leadership

Diversity and Inclusion

https://youtu.be/cR1pfBcR_tw
 Overview
• What is workplace diversity
• Why do we care about workplace diversity
• Types of diversity
• How to manage diversity effectively
 What is diversity
– Broad term used to refer to all
kinds of differences
– Race/ethnicity, age, sex, religion,
sexual orientation, knowledge,
values, attitudes, physical abilities,
aggressiveness, extroversion
– Members of different groups share
common values, attitudes, and
perceptions
– There is still much diversity within
each group
 Diversity – A pressing concern
• Ethical imperative
– Distributive justice
• Equal work should provide
individuals with an equal outcome
in terms of goods acquired or the
ability to acquire goods
– Procedural justice
• Fairness in the processes that resolve
disputes and allocate resources
Diversity – A pressing concern
• Contributes to organisational effectiveness
• Contributes to better managerial decision-making
• Increases customer satisfaction
• Contributes to the retention of valued employees
• But… an unfortunate reality exists:
– Biases, stereotypes and overt discrimination are
prevalent
 Reality
• Age

– Ageing population
– Australia
 Older people more likely to be laid off and unemployed
 Over a quarter of Australians aged 50 years and over report that they had
experienced age discrimination in the last two years.
 Reality
• Gender
– The difference between salaries of men and women has persisted at levels
above 15% for about two decades, and the most significant variation is
between public (12.9%) and private sector (20.8%).
Examples: Hollywood (Natalie Portman; Jennifer Lawrence)
Gender issues on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley
Motherhood penalty and fatherhood bump;
Reality
• Race and ethnicity
 There was an anti-immigration sentiment during and after US election in
2016.

 A recent Australian study sent out 4,000 identical resumes but with
different names of candidates to employers in response to job
advertisement in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. They found that:

“To get the same number of interviews as an applicant with an Anglo-Saxon

name, a Chinese applicant must submit 68 per cent more applications, a Middle
Eastern applicant must submit 64 per cent more applications, an Indigenous
applicant must submit 35 per cent more applications, and an Italian applicant
must submit 12 per cent more applications.”
 Reality
• Religion
– In France, a “burkini ban” was implemented to stop Muslim women from
wearing full-body swimwear (2016)
– In Switzerland, a court ruled that Muslim girls must swim with boys after
parents refused to send their daughter to gender-mixed swimming classes (2017)
– A key lesson for managers when it comes to religious diversity: recognising and
being sensitive to different religions and their belief systems, with particular
attention being paid to when religious holidays fall.
– When managers acknowledge, respect and make even small accommodations
for religious diversity, employee loyalty is often enhanced.
– Good news:
• IBM’s “Cultural Diversity Networking Group” and
“Floating Cultural Holiday policy”
• Police officers in New York are able to wear beards and turbans
from the end of 2016
 Reality
• Capabilities or disabilities
– People with a disability can bring skills, talents and abilities to any workforce.
Many are tertiary- or trades-qualified and hold senior managerial positions.
People with a disability who are currently employed work across many
occupations.
– Although most people with a disability want to work, some employers may have
concerns about employing people with disability. People with a disability often
find it hard to break down these barriers to recruitment.
– Sometimes a person with a disability may need a few simple adjustments to the
workplace or a piece of special adaptive equipment to allow them to perform a
job. However, the larger barrier facing many people with a disability is the
attitudes of others.
– Good news:
Justine Clark, the first contestant to compete in the Miss World Australia pageant
in a wheelchair
Reality
• Socioeconomic background

– Typically refers to a combination of social class and income-related

factors
– Socioeconomic diversity suggests that managers need to be sensitive and
responsive to the needs and concerns of workers who may be less
fortunate than themselves in terms of income and financial resources,
childcare and eldercare options, housing opportunities and sources of
social and family support.
– Managers should try to provide such individuals with opportunities to
learn, advance and make meaningful contributions to their organisations
while improving their economic well-being.
Reality
• Sexual orientation
– An increasing number of organisations recognise the status of gay and lesbian
employees and affirm their rights to fair and equal treatment.
– Ethically and legally: For many organisations, fair and equal treatment is an
integral part of doing business ethically; and it is often a requirement of
operating legally.
– Economically: To attract and retain valuable employees
– Some useful perspectives:
The real cost of Telstra’s backflip on marriage equality
Homophobia is harmful to workers and businesses
– Diversity Council Australia has developed the Australian Equality Index
which measures the commitment of organisations to LGBT inclusion.
– Wear it Purple Day to support for young people with different sex, sexuality
and gender identities.
 How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Secure top management commitment
– Top management’s commitment to diversity is crucial for the
success of any diversity-related initiatives.
• Strive to increase the accuracy of perceptions
– Managers should consciously attempt to be open to other points
of view and perspectives, seek them out and encourage their
employees to do the same.
– Managers should not be afraid to change their views about a
person, issue or event; moreover, they should encourage their
employees to be open to changing their views.
From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112
How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Increase diversity awareness
– Provide organisational members with accurate information about
diversity
– Uncover personal biases and stereotypes
– Assess personal beliefs, attitudes and values and learn from other
points of view
– Overturn inaccurate stereotypes and beliefs about different groups
– Develop an atmosphere in which people feel free to share their
differing perspectives and viewpoints
– Improve understanding and tolerance of others who are different
from oneself
From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112
 How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Increase diversity skills
– Improve the way managers and staff interact with each other and
improve their ability to work with different kinds of people. Particularly,
learn how to communicate with diversity of employees.
– Organisational members should also feel comfortable enough to clear
the air and solve communication difficulties and misunderstandings as
they occur rather than letting problems grow and fester without
acknowledgement.
– Diversity education can help managers and subordinates gain a better
understanding of how people may interpret certain kinds of comments
and behaviours. It can also help employees learn how to functionally
resolve misunderstanding.
From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112 .
 How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures

• Support flexible work arrangements

– To the extent it is feasible, managers should be flexible enough to incorporate
the differing needs of diverse employees
– E.g., allowing days off for religious leave; flexible work hours, having the option
to work from home
From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112
 How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Pay close attention to how employees are evaluated
– Whenever feasible, it is desirable to rely on objective performance indicators, as
these are less subject to bias;
– When objective indicators are not available or are inappropriate, managers
should ensure that adequate time and attention are focused on the evaluation of
employees’ performance and evaluators are held accountable for their
evaluations;
– Vague standards should be avoided.

From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112 .
How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Measure diversity and inclusion
– One way to check whether an organisation is not managing diversity well is
analyse the percentage of diverse groups within an organisation (age, race,
culture) for imbalance.

– This analysis can be the starting point for improvement and goal setting to
achieve a more balanced and representative organisation.

From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112
How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Empower employees to challenge discriminatory
behaviours, actions and remarks
– Create an organisational culture that has zero tolerance for discrimination.

– Organisational members should feel empowered to challenge discriminatory

behaviour

From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112
How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Reward employees for effectively managing diversity
– Employees should be encouraged and rewarded for their contribution to the objective of effective
diversity management;

– E.g., After settling a major race discrimination court case against them, Coca-Cola company now
ties managers’ pay to their achievement of diversity goals.

• Encourage mentoring of diverse employees

– Develop a high-quality, close and supportive relationship with a mentor

From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112
How to manage diversity effectively:
Organisational measures
• Provide training utilising a multipronged, ongoing approach
– Use films and printed materials supplemented by experiential exercises to
uncover hidden biases and stereotypes;

– Providing a forum for people to learn about and discuss their differing attitudes,
values and experiences

– Role-plays to enact problems resulting from lack of awareness and indicate the
increased understanding that comes from appreciating others’ viewpoints

– Hire external consultants to provide diversity training

From: Jones, George, Barrett, & Honig (2016), Contemporary Management (4e), pp. 109-112
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:
Award-Winning Animation

https://youtu.be/C-uyB5I6WnQ
 References and reading list
• Jones, GR, George, JM, Barrett, M, & Honig, B 2016, ‘
Chapter 4: Managing change and diversity’, in
Contemporary Management, 4th edn, MaGraw Hill,
pp. 96-113.
• News – What is needed to improve diversity and
inclusion in Australia – University of Sydney:
https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2019/03/21/
what-is-needed-to-improve-diversity-and-inclusion-in-
australia.html