Organizational Diversity Processes

1. Chapter 12: Organizational
Diversity Processes
By: Jordyn Bradbury

2. Outline
● W0men and Minorities in Today’s
Organizations
● Stereotyping and Discrimination
● Relational Barriers in
Organizational Systems
● Beyond Women and Minorities
● The Multicultural Organization
● The Diverse Organization:
Opportunities
● The Diverse Orgamization:
Challenges
● Managing (and Celebrating) Cultural
Diversity
● Discussion Questions
(What I will be teaching you!)

3. Terminology
● Using the term White
rather than
Euro-American.
● Using the terms
people of color and
minorities.
○ Might be
misleading since
white is also a
color.

4. FORTUNE: How Having More Women in the
Workplace Benefits Everyone

5. Women and Minorities in Today’s Organizations
● Women and people of color are entering the workforce in increasing
numbers.
● But what are their experiences in the workplace?
○ The consistent answer to this question is that the workplace experiences of
women and people of color are vastly different from that of white men.

6. Women in Today’s Organizations
The Glass Ceiling Phenomenon:
● A concept popularized in the 1980s to
describe a barrier so subtle that it is
transparent, yet so strong that it
prevents women and minorities from
moving up in the management
hierarchy.
○ In 2012, the percentage of women
who were CEOs of Fortune 500
companies was 3.6%.
Equal Pay Act:
● Signed by President Kennedy in 1963.
● In the half century since, women’s pay
has moved from 59 cents for every
dollar a man earns to 77 cents.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
● Signed by Obama to make it easier for
women to sue for pay inequity.
Thus, there has been progress, but it has been limited. Pay fairness also remains difficult for
young women just starting out their careers (Recent analysis notes that “a year out of school,
despite having earned higher college GPAs in every subject, young women will take home, on
average across all professions, just 80% of what their male colleagues do.”

7. Minorities in Today’s Organizations
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:
● Reports that “color discrimination in employment seems to be on the rise.”
○ Example:
■ Black job applicants with lighter skin are more likely to be hired than those with
darker skin, even when identical qualifications were presented.
● Differences in various sectors of the labor market.
○ Example:
■ Discrimination exists in jobs that require more social skills.
■ Black men experienced greater levels of unemployment in the recent recession
than any other demographic group.
Representation of minorities throughout the U.S. labor force is 36%.

8. Women and Minorities in Today’s Organizations
Three aspects defining the experience of
women and minorities in today’s
organizations:
1. Relatively greater difficulty in
getting jobs.
2. Widespread pay inequity.
3. Challenges with representation in
particular sectors and at upper
levels of the organizational
hierarchy.

9. Stereotyping and
Discrimination
One of the most basic ways that the
experiences of women and people of
color differ from those of white men is in
the perceptions and attitudes that many
people have about the two former
groups.

10. Stereotyping and Discrimination
Prejudice:
● Refers to negative attitudes toward an
organization member based on his/her
culture group identity.
Discrimination:
● Refers to observable behavior for the
same reason.
Mexican-
American
workers
are lazy
Japanese-
American
workers
are
unassertive

11. Discussion Question: Have you noticed any
discrimination or stereotyping that has taken
place in the organization you are analyzing for
your consulting report?

12. Relational Barriers in Organizational Systems
Three aspects of organizational relationships and systems that lead to
differential experiences for women and minorities in organizations:
➔ Women and ethnic minorities experience limited access to or exclusion from
informal communication networks.
◆ Minority employee networks (also known as affinity groups): groups in which members of a
particular gender or ethnic background meet.
➔ Establishing mentor-protege relationships.
◆ Mentor: an experienced, productive manager who relates well to a less-experienced
employee and facilitates his or her personal development for the benefit of the individual as
well as that of the organization.
➔ Tokenism.
◆ In many organizations, white males represent the vast majority of employees, especially
among the ranks of management. Thus, women and people of color in managerial positions
are often tokens or highly visible representatives of their gender or ethnic minority.

13. ● Diversity in the workplace also accounts for others who in some way are
different from the norm.
● Co-cultural groups: groups moving beyond issues of race and gender to
consider groups who are in some way different from the norm in the
organizational setting.
○ Ethnic Diversity
○ Gender Diversity
○ Age Diversity
○ Disability Diversity
○ Cultural Diversity
○ Sexual Orientation Diversity
Beyond Women and Minorities

14. Employees with Disabilities and LGBT Employees
Employees with Disabilities:
● The Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA)
○ Enacted in 1990.
○ Prohibits discrimination based on
disability and requires
organizations make “reasonable
accommodations” for disabled
workers.
○ 11% of U.S. population is disabled.
LGBT Employees:
● In 1982 individual states began
instituting antidiscrimination laws
regarding sexual orientation.
● The Employment Non Discrimination
Act (ENDA) was first introduced to
Congress in 1994, but has not passed.
● Over 6% of the U.S. workforce reported
gay or transgender as of 2012.

15. The Multicultural Organization
A multicultural organization is
defined as one that seeks and values
all differences and develops systems
and work practices that support the
success and inclusion of members of
every group.
3 Phases of Workplace Development:
1. First-Generation Affirmative Action
a. The organization is concerned with
meeting legally mandated
requirements for gender and ethnic
diversity.
2. Second-Generation Affirmative Action
a. The firm has met affirmative action
goals in terms of numbers, and the
emphasis shifts to supporting female
and minority groups.
3. Multicultural Organization

16. The Multicultural Organization

17. The Diverse Organization:
Opportunities
Six Important
Competitive
Advantages
Also known as business case for diversity or
the value-in-diversity perspective, suggesting
that an argument for diversity can be made
based on the extent to which a diverse
organization will provide bottom-line
benefits for the company.

18. The Diverse Organization: Challenges
➔ Glass ceiling phenomenon.
➔ The difficulty of managing cultural diversity in a way that values.
➔ Instituting diversity management programs in ways that avoid the negative
consequences associated with these programs.
◆ Affirmative action programs aimed to remedy discrimination and increase representation of
designated disadvantaged groups.
➔ Gender diversity: achieving a balance between work and home.
◆ Institution of family-friendly programs (flextime, onsite day care, job sharing, family leave
policies, and telecommuting).

19. Discussion Question: Through your research
and analysis of the organization for your
consulting report, what challenges have you
found in terms of dealing with diversity?

20. Managing (and Celebrating) Cultural Diversity
➔ How can an organization work to change its culture to embrace diversity as a
core value?
◆ Emphasize the value of various kinds of diversity.
◆ Argue for the importance of interaction.
◆ Caution against stereotyping in the diversity process.
◆ Argue for a continued focus on ability to accompany diversity efforts.

21. Managing Diversity at the Workplace: A Case Study of HP
Abstract:
Diversity and diversity management in multicultural workforce is increasingly becoming an important
issue for the business in the era of globalization. It affects the productivity and efficiency of the
workforce in general. The purpose of the study is to encompass the dimensions of diversity
management in a practical company. Particularly, the study shed light on the diversity management
issue of a multinational organization. We have analyzed the diversity management journey of HP from
the beginning till now giving particular focus on diversity dimensions and strategies. The paper also
highlights the theoretical aspect of ‘paradigms of diversity management’ and its application to HP. We
have analysed HP’s diversity inclusion model and its own way of managing diversity in multicultural
workforce. The findings of the study will be beneficial for the Bangladeshi organization as it provides
some guidelines and recommendations of diversity management. We find strong multicultural
workforce diversity in the HP operation and a variety of workforce diversity within the company.

22. Managing Diversity at the Workplace: A Case Study of HP

23. Managing Diversity at the Workplace: A Case Study of HP
➔ HP Diversity and Inclusion Model
◆ Key drivers for creativity, innovation, and invention.
◆ They are putting their differences to work to connect everyone through the power of
technology.
➔ Dealing with Increasingly Multicultural Workforce
◆ As HP has grown and expanded throughout the world, its workforce has become more
diverse and this diverse work force helps the company realize its full potential.
◆ Recognizing and developing the talents of each individual brings new ideas to HP.
➔ Gender Non Discrimination in HP
◆ Hp non-discrimination policy includes electronic job posting, harassment-free work
environment, domestic partner benefits and employee network groups.

24. Key Take-Aways
● Change the face of organizations by considering the explosion of diversity in
today’s workplace.
● Women and people of color often deal with stereotyping and discrimination,
as well as systemic and relational barriers in the workplace.
● The concept of multicultural organizations and the opportunities and
challenges posed by diversity.
● Steps organizations can take in moving toward multiculturalism.

25. Discussion
Questions
1. This textbook was written a few years
back. Do you believe since then that we
have made progress towards improving
organizational diversity processes?
2. How do you think factors such as
disability and sexual orientation make a
difference in organizational life?
3. What do you think about affirmative
action programs? Have you partaken in
any in your work experience?
4. How do you feel about the challenge of
managing a work-life balance?
5. Have you personally ever experienced
discrimination in the workplace?
Explain.

26. Works Cited
Chr, Natallia. “Managing Diversity at Workplace: a Case Study of HP.” Academia.edu, ASA
University Review, Vol. 3 No. 2, Dec. 2009, https://www.academia.edu/3493066
/Managing_Diversity_at_Workplace_a_Case_Study_of_HP?auto=download.