Diversity as a noun means differences and in HRM diversity refers to the

workforce different aspects and how they affect the business.

These differences include but are not restricted to: single parents , working
mothers , age , sex , religion , specialty , race (ethnicity) , geographic origin ,
sexual orientation .

Age is a sensitive matter in the interaction between employees and employers,

while younger people are generally preferred for work, sometimes, older persons
are favored due to their general higher experience in the line of work. One
problem occurs when a certain employee is laid off so a new younger one
replaces him or her; this is discrimination and it lead to several legal battles
resulting in big payoffs to the affected individuals therefore businesses incurred
very heavy losses.

Sex is another fiery subject that caused billions in losses due to sexual harassment
cases and continues to be a problem until present times. Furthermore sex can be
a matter of defining selector in certain communities for the job choices , as an
example we can remark that several communities don’t accept women to work in
some jobs as they consider these to be men only , and vice versa , jobs in the
military field are a perfect example of this case.

The communities that are facing problems with sexual discrimination also have a
similar problem with religion, as these two topics tend to coexist since several
religions bans each gender from doing certain jobs or eliminates the possibility for
the job altogether , this creates the need to recruit people from specific religions
to do such jobs.

All these issues and several others are what make diversity a pressing issue in
every business. A successful HR manager successfully uses it and creates a force
for his business rather than making it a liability , by truly grasping different
cultural variations and being able to avoid social taboos while having a good
understanding of the current legislations and customs one can find a tremendous
amount of positive resource in diversity and use it to enhance his workforce
capabilities and results , thus making diversity a source of strength to achieve
organizational goals.

Diversity initiatives advantages:

• Improves corporate culture

• Improves employee morale

• Higher retention of employees

• Easier recruitment of employees

• Decreases complaints & litigation

• Enables the organization to move into emerging markets

• Decreased interpersonal conflict among employees

• Improves client relations

• Increases productivity

• Improves the organization`s bottom line

• Maximizes brand identity

• Increases creativity

Elements of diversity:
 • AGE

• RACE

• GENDER

• SEXUAL ORIENTATION

• PHYSICAL ABILITIES

• PARENTAL STATUS

• EDUCATION

• GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

• RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

• MILITARY EXPERIENCE

• CLASS/INCOME

• ETHNICITY

Top Ten Reasons Why Organizations Need To MANAGE Diversity

• When I look at a person of color,I don`t see color, I just see the person

• Other employees may need diversity training, but I don`t, because I don`t
have any prejudices

• I think employing a handicapped person is fine for our organization, as

long as we can find something for them to do

• I`m not insensitive to differences of diversity, because I treat everyone

the same

• I treat female employees with respect and dignity, because that`s what a
gentleman should do
 • Women make good managers,because they are more sensitive to the
needs of their employees

• I think recruiting minority employees to achieve diversity goals is a good

thing for our company, as long as they are qualified to perform the job

• I think it is more difficult to get superior performance out of older

workers,because they tend to be less productive with age

• I think class/caste differences in our organization have little, if anything to

do with managing diversity.

• I believe that in order to lead a diverse workforce, we must first value

diversity within our own leadership group

Why Manage Diversity?

• The changes in the employee market suggest most employers will need to
develop their recruitment & retention strategies to achieve their
organizational goals.

• The changes in the domestic and global market suggest that companies
need to understand diversity to succeed in their business and meet their
customers needs

• Valuing diversity creates an environment where EVERYONE is respected

and valued for their contributions to the organization`s success

Suggested Strategies to Strengthen a Diverse Workforce

• Gain senior leadership commitment

• Engage employees in the process

• Support local/community diversity groups

• Provide diversity training , not as the destination but as part of the

journey

• Promote open communication and dialogue to overcome behavioral

resistance, improve understanding and gain acceptance of diversity as a
cultural norm