What is organizational diversity?

Organizational diversity in the workplace refers to the total makeup of the employee
workforce and the amount of diversity included. Diversity refers to differences in various
defining personal traits such as age, gender, race, marital status, ethnic origin, religion,
education and many other secondary qualities.
Diversity involves not only how people perceive themselves but also how they perceive
others. Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a wide assortment of employees to
function effectively as an organization, human resource professionals need to deal effectively
with issues such as communication, adaptability, and change

Why diversity is important in Organizations?

 Diversity in the workplace promotes the individuality within an organisation,
acknowledging that every person can contribute with different, creative and new ideas
and solutions. Employees with different backgrounds and experiences can bring
together a variety of perspectives on matters and thus increase the productivity and
deliver better results. Diversity brings in diverse different talents together working
towards a common goal using different sets of skills that increases their retention and
productivity.
 Diversity within a company helps in building a stronger brand and makes the
company more interesting and desirable employer. With a diversified workforce an
organisation gains even good reputation and image because it is seen as having fair
employment practices.
 A diversified company can attract and retain talents, young and as well
experienced professionals and thus add a competitive edge to the organization.
Possessing different set of skills and having a good command of different and/or
exotic languages and being appreciated for that increases the feeling of belonging.
This enables the company to compete in the international market or to increase its
diverse customer base and market share.
 Workplace diversity increases creativity and problem solving. Having a variety of
different people from various backgrounds together is essential for finding and
implementing creative solutions to business problems. With diverse mindset coming
together many more solutions will arise as every individual brings in their way of
thinking, operating and solving problems and decision making.
 A diversified organisation encourages personal growth and development. Having
expats or persons with international background working for the company can help
employees learn new ideas, perspectives and connect professionally with different
people. That enriches the employees and gives them another point of view on how the
market and the business work.
 Interacting with diversified staff improves their ability to work in a diverse
environment, with different styles, cultures and personalities.

 Diversity in a workforce can optimize an organisation’s ability to meet the needs

of each different market. Representatives of specific country or demographics can
be paired with clients of the similar backgrounds, helping clients feel more
comfortable and in a way to create customer loyalty to the company. For example
 having an employee who is actually part of a specific culture or a region where a
given business is conducted is a great advantage for the organisation.

Challenges in Organizational Diversity:

According to organizational diversity, individuals from diverse backgrounds, religions,
communities, age groups, genders come together on a common platform to work towards a
common goal - i.e. to achieve the objectives and targets of the organization within the
shortest possible time frame. Organizational diversity ensures individuals with varied
experiences; knowledge and expertise form a team and work together as a single unit.

challenges of organizational diversity are as :

The most common challenge of organizational diversity is lack of coordination among

team members. Every individual has his/her own style of working. An individual who has
just passed out of the college and started his career would be more aggressive and
spontaneous than someone who is on the verge of retirement. Young professionals believe in
meeting clients more often whereas the older lot believes in coordinating only through phone.
They prefer sitting at office rather than going out and meeting people. That is where the
problem arises.
A young professional would never understand and approve the working style of someone
who is there in the system for say twenty five years and vice a versa. Difference in working
style, attitude, temperament, belief lead to misunderstandings at the workplace. In such a
situation, the team leader spends half of his day sorting out differences among his team
members. In such organizations, the primary responsibility of a team leader is just to solve
issues among individuals and motivate them to work together. Remember, the role of a team
leader is not just to motivate his team members to adjust with each other and sort out their
problems. It is much more.

Female employees appointed for marketing profiles have to move out for client meetings,
product demonstrations, presentations and so on. You cannot always call the client to your
office. Yes, superiors need to take care of the safety of female colleagues but sometimes it
does also affect the overall productivity of the team and eventually organization.
Male employees are generally preferred over female employees especially in marketing and
sales department as they do not have problems moving out or going alone even to the
remotest locations. Bosses also have an additional responsibility of taking care of their female
employees.
Organizational diversity also sometimes leads to cultural differences leading to stress
and frustration among team members. Frustrated employees can never deliver their level
best or perform as per the expectations of the seniors. A female employee among all male
employees finds it difficult to adjust with them and go out for parties or get - togethers.Male
employees also do not feel comfortable with their female counterparts. They are extra careful
while interacting with them. Though misbehaving at workplace is absolutely unethical and
unacceptable, but if you are extra cautious while dealing with colleagues of opposite gender,
you would never be able to enjoy your work. Nurturing such negative feeling not only spoils
the ambience of the workplace but also demotivates employees. Individuals from absolutely
different backgrounds find it extremely difficult to adjust and hence the overall productivity
of the organization is affected.

How to Manage Diversity in the Workplace:

Managing diversity in the workplace presents a set of unique challenges for HR
professionals. These challenges can be mitigated if an organization makes a concerted
effort to encourage a more heterogeneous environment through promoting a culture of
tolerance, open communication and creating conflict management strategies to address
issues that may arise
For leadership to effectively manage diversity in the workplace, they need to understand
their backgrounds and how their behaviour and beliefs can affect their decis ion-making
within a diverse environment.

Tips for managing diversity in the workplace:

 Prioritize communication:

To manage a diverse workplace, organizations need to ensure that they effectively

communicate with employees. Policies, procedures, safety rules and other important
information should be designed to overcome language and cultural barriers by translating
materials and using pictures and symbols whenever applicable.

 Treat each employee as an individual:

Avoid making assumptions about employees from different backgrounds. Instead, look at
each employee as an individual and judge successes and failures on the individual’s merit
rather than attributing actions to their background.

 Encourage employees to work in diverse groups:

Diverse work teams let employees get to know and value one another on an individual
basis and can help break down preconceived notions and cultural misunderstandings.

 Base standards on objective criteria:

Set one standard of rules for all groups of employees regardless of background. Ensure
that all employment actions, including discipline, follow this standardized criteria to make
sure each employee is treated the same.

 Be open-minded:
Recognize, and encourage employees to recognize, that one’s own experience,
background, and culture are not the only with value to the organization. Look for ways to
incorporate a diverse range of perspectives and talents into efforts to achieve
organizational goals.
 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY LAWS:

Equal employment opportunity

Equal opportunity employment means not discriminating against employees or job applicants
because of their age, race, gender, religion, nationality and similar protected characteristics. If
an employee can prove you treat your staff unequally, you might have to pay out to settle the
case.

Equal employment opportunity Act:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 is the act which gives the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) authority to sue in federal courts when it
finds reasonable cause to believe that there has been employment discrimination based on
race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In the case of public employment, the EEOC
refers the matter to the United States Attorney General to bring the lawsuit.

The Act prohibits employment discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status.
Added as an amendment to Title VII , it expands the protection of Title VII to public and
private employers with 15 or more employees, both public and private labor organizations
with at least 15 members, and employment agencies.
Equal employment opportunity law bans several types of discrimination:
 Race
 Colour
 Religion
 Sex, including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation
 National origin
 Age, if an employee is 40 or older
 Disability
 Genetic information
Policy Objective:
The overall policy objective for the employment discrimination laws we will be examining is
summed up by the phrase equal opportunity. These laws generally do not aim to create equal
outcomes, but rather seek to ensure that all employees or job applicants have an equal
opportunity to engage in the employment market. In other words, these laws try to level the
playing field so that certain classes of people who have been discriminated against in the past
are not subjected to adverse treatment based upon certain characteristics that have nothing to
do with being a qualified job applicant or employee.

Enforcing the Law:

Just because equal opportunity is the law doesn't mean all employers obey it. The EEOC has
the authority to investigate employee claims that their employer discriminates. If the EEOC
finds a complaint has merit, it tries to settle the charge; if that doesn't work, the commission
can sue. State agencies do the same for state-level equal-employment laws, which may cover
cases federal law does not.

Even a company committed to nondiscrimination may have employees who harass female
employees, bully Latinos or insult Muslims. If one of your employees complains they're the
target of discrimination, the smartest thing to do is take it seriously. Gather information,
investigate the facts and make a fair decision even if you have to discipline a respected
manager. If you can handle the complaint to the victim's satisfaction, there's less chance
you'll face a lawsuit later.

Differences between Equal employment opportunity and

organizational diversity:

Equal Employment Organizational Diversity

Opportunity

Def: equal employment opportunity is a Def: Organizational diversity in the

term used by federal government to refer to
employment practices that ensure
nondiscrimination based on race, color,
national origin physical or mental ability or
age.
workplace refers to the total makeup of the
employee workforce and the amount of
diversity included.

The goal of EO approach is to present social The goal of organizational diversity is to

justice, human right and correct errors that treat employees as individuals, acknowledge
have been made previously in the past: “to that each individual has unique needs and
correct an imbalance, an injustice, a hence will need different sorts of assistance
mistake” in order to succeed.
Targets employee that belongs to particular Inclusive of all groups.
groups.

Equal opportunity is external initiated and Organizational diversity is internal initiated

driven by legislation and society ethnic like and driven by business-needs. Organisations
sfairness, justice and group parity and focus on increasing effectiveness by fully
human right. utilisation of employee’s skill and potential

Eliminates discrimination in human Focuses on developing an environment

resource policies and practices. maximizing the potential of all employees
by valuing diversity.

Provides equal access and opportunity-no Business necessity given trends, broader
one excluded from participation. than ethnicity , race and gender.

Organizational diversity is changing Equal opportunity is changing systems and

company’s philosophy. practices.
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
ASSIGNMENT NO.1
TOPIC: ORGANIZATIONAL DIVERSITY AND EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY LAWS AND DIFFERNCES
BETWEEN EEOC & ORGANIZATIONAL DIVERSITSY

SUBMITTED TO: Ms. NADIA NOOR

SUBMITTED BY: AROOJ SHAHID (61651006)
FATIMA RIAZ (61651011)
BBA (6TH SMESTER)
SESSION (2016-2020)

LAHORE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN UNIVERSITY,

LAHORE.