BSBLDR804

Influence and shape diversity

management
Case Study

Paul Lee

0000011137
 Table of Content 

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………12

Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………13
 Introduction

In the past two decades, armed forces around the world have witnessed an increase in gender
integration, and women play a more important role in national defence. Despite the United
Nations efforts to encourage women’s participation in all aspects of peace operations,
women’s participation in peacekeeping remains restricted. Military institutions restrict
women's participation in combat mainly because of concerns about combat effectiveness, and
the integration of female personnel in peacekeeping operations of the Ghanaian Armed
Forces is limited. There is a disagreement between how women’s abilities in peacekeeping
are considered advantageous, and the actual participation of women in peacekeeping is
restricted.

Besides the recruitment procedures for the armed forces are strict and it is proved that anyone
accepted into the army is capable of performing military tasks in a peacekeeping
environment. It has been believed that the capabilities of both men and women should be
incorporated into the peace process. Despite the UN’s efforts to eliminate gender inequality
in the peacekeeping system, most participating agencies, especially the military, are still
dominated by men. People often argue about restricting women’s participation in military
operations. This reflects the functionalists’ argument that for society to work effectively,
roles and functions must be distinguished on the basis of gender because men and women
have completely different abilities. Although women serve in many armed forces, women’s
roles are very different to a large extent, it has been limited to sedentary invisible roles, (such
as providing nursing, clerical and administrative services). Unfortunately, over time, women
also face discrimination, harassment and frustration when serving in the military.

Although the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees equal rights and opportunities for all
citizens, there are still problems with the implementation of women in the armed forces of
Ghana due to the particularity, responsibilities and culture of the organization. Changing
norms and legal standards, labour market demands, technology, and the reconstruction of
women’s social roles have contributed to the increase in the female population. Ongoing
efforts to mainstream gender into global and Ghanaian socio-economic development are
promoting increased access to armed forces, etc. Opportunities for non-traditional women’s
careers, but they are not without challenges.
Statistics and information on diversity collected in the Ghana Armed Forces

In the last 10 years, the Ghana Armed Forces have experienced exponential growth in the
population of women joining its ranks; with the population increasing from four per cent
(4%) in 1980 to about nine per cent (9%) in 2008.

However, according to data from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping

Operations, the proportion of women in peacekeeping military personnel dropped from 3% in
2000 to 1.2% in 2005 and 1% in early 2006.

Due to constant changes in norms and legal standards, the demands of the labour market, and
the reconstruction of women’s social roles, the female population in the global armed forces
is increasing. The army has always been a patriarchal organization, because it is worried that
doing so will weaken cohesion, weaken the lingering team and weaken combat effectiveness,
so women who join the organization are not satisfied. Although it is widely recognized that
women play a key role in the development of the country, the armed forces continue to
restrict women’s full participation in their duties in order to argue about the limitations of
physical strength, women’s emotional inclinations and their adaptability to the armed forces.

http://www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh/. pdf p.1

Stakeholders Consulted

In the case study of the Armed Forces of Ghana, the study specifically tried to outline the
level of concern for operational effectiveness, indicating the limited integration of female
personnel in peacekeeping operations of the Armed Forces of Ghana. The study used various
data sources, including general surveys of randomly selected experienced peacekeepers, in-
depth interviews with Ghanaian armed forces officials, personal observations, United Nations
data, peacekeeping journals of the Ghanaian armed forces, and other supporting documents.
But research has found that there is a disagreement between how women’s abilities in
peacekeeping are considered advantageous and how women’s actual participation in
peacekeeping is restricted. To some extent, the limited integration of women in peacekeeping
operations may also be the result of observation and learning by military institutions.

(The case of the Ghana Armed Forces.pdf - Adobe Reader) p.8

Key diversity issues identified in the Ghana Armed Forces

Due to the constant changes in norms and legal standards, the demands of the labour market
and the reconstruction of women’s social roles, the female population in the armed forces
worldwide is increasing. The army has always been a patriarchal organization because it is
worried that doing so will weaken cohesion, weaken the lingering team and weaken combat
effectiveness, so women who join the organization are not satisfied. Although it is widely
recognized that women play a key role in the development of the country, the armed forces
continue to restrict women's full participation in their duties to argue the limitations of
physical strength. Women’s emotions and their adaptability to the armed forces, as well as
women are perceived impact on team dynamics and operational efficiency.

Ghanaian soldiers use their protected powers to formulate measures and norms to enable
people to be selected into the army, make progress, isolate themselves or resign from military
assistance. Since the fully equipped government began to operate, the Ghanaian military has
established certain rules based on certain attributes (such as race, gender, and sexual
orientation). The authoritative work in the later period focused on improving the disclosure of
departmental diversity information to recruit, maintain and promote management personnel.
Establish and improve procedures to supervise, specify, and respond to identification and
isolation; and supervise women's reconciliation into combat occupations and unit tasks.

http://www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh/bitstream/.pdf P.4

Benefits of embracing diversity for our organization

Diversity management can have positive spillover effects in the workplace. Diversity deemed
valuable in the organization is considered qualified to hire women for the jobs they held;
however, regardless of the type of work, the affirmative action label will stigmatize women.

According to “diversity in the workplace”, diversity is defined as “recognizing,

understanding, accepting, cherishing and celebrating people among people in age, class, race,
gender, physical and mental abilities, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public
assistance situation.

If the workplace diversity plan is implemented correctly, this will bring multiple benefits to
employers and employees. These benefits can be summarized as follows: Perspectives:
Organizations that employ a diverse workforce can bring multiple perspectives to any project.
Employees from different backgrounds bring personal talents and experience, which will help
the company adapt to changing markets and customer needs.

The main step taken by the Government of Ghana in reintroducing democratic rule in the
1990s was to lay a legal foundation for the promotion of gender equality in the National
Constitution. Article (17)(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana stipulates that "everyone is
equal before the law". Paragraph (2) further stipulates that "No one shall be discriminated
against on the grounds of sex." Paragraph (3) of the same article explains the use of
"discrimination" in the Constitution, which refers to the situation where different people are
treated differently. This treatment is only or mainly attributable to "State institutions,
including the armed forces, are guided by the Ghanaian Constitution in matters related to
women’s rights and status.

The Diversity Plan’s Vision, Mission, Objectives & Targets

The vision, mission, goals and targets of the diversity plan

The diversity plan of the armed forces of Ghana is as follows:

Vision-The Ghana Armed Forces needs to establish a link between equal opportunity coherence
exercises and diversity efforts.

Mission-The Ghana Armed Forces needs to create and implement effective methods for the
diversity vision of its internal and external partners, and achieve a complete diversity plan
and meet the requirements of the force

Goal-The Ghana Armed Forces not only needs to establish formal coordination between the
associations responsible for the different parts of personnel arrangements and practices, in
order to continue the effort required to accomplish the mission in a sustained manner.

Target - The Ghana Armed Forces needs to achieve the goals of the plan within 3 years. The
plan includes Equal Employment Opportunity Management Plan. Full implementation of the
diversity plan in the first year; reach 80% of the plan in the second and third year
respectively.

Diversity Policies needed

Gender equality and gender integration are critical to the idea of expanding women’s
participation in peace operations.

Create a more diverse and inclusive organizational culture

In order to implement a successful strategy, the Ghanaian army should organize activities that
can be achieved quickly and lay the foundation for long-term activities. Prioritization of
activities and coordination between partners is an essential part of the effective
implementation of key arrangements.

It is necessary to understand the current state of the army. First, establish the most relevant
KPIs to measure the military’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) status, and analyze the
current status and what it hopes to achieve in the short, medium and long term.
Recognize and avoid recruitment bias, provide diverse training for the military to use new
recruitment methods to limit the visibility of data that may hinder inclusive recruitment, from
conventional diversity indicators (such as age and gender) to the representation of different
ethnic minorities by sector and wage distribution among different groups.

The settings ensure the use of a powerful analysis tool that allows to customize reports as
needed and automatically share reports with relevant stakeholders so that can adjust strategies
in real-time.

The diversity policies and procedures must comply with the vision, mission, goals and targets
of the Ghanaian Armed Forces.

Relevant Legislation for the Diversity Plan

The status of gender diversity regulation and legal framework in Ghana In the past two
decades, the importance of gender diversity in Ghana’s socio-economic transformation has
received extensive attention. Therefore, attempts have been made to incorporate it into
national laws and provide a framework for addressing gender inequality. For example, The
Ghanaian Government and Gender Equality I) a major step the Government of Ghana has
taken to promote gender equality was that it has set the legislative basis for it in the National
Constitution. Article (17) clause (1) of The 1992 Ghanaian Constitution states that “all
persons shall be equal before the law”. Clause (2) goes further to specify that “a person shall
not be discriminated against on grounds of gender...” ‘Discrimination’ as used in the
constitution is explained in clause (3) of the same article referring to the situation where
different treatment is given to different persons attributable only or mainly to their respective
description by gender…” State institutions, including the Armed Forces, are guided by the
Ghanaian Constitution in matters concerning the rights and status of women. In 2015, the
Ghanaian government formulated the National Gender Policy to re-emphasize its goal of
supporting gender equality. These policies promise to move the country towards
empowerment and livelihood of women, women’s rights and access to justice, women’s
leadership and responsible governance. These enable women and homosexuals to serve
openly, treat same-sex couples as family members, open seabed weapons and combat
missions for women, and adjust strategies to identify transgender forces. While all
occupational fields apply to women, however, the Ghanaian Army has not yet passed
regulations that allow or require women to enlist.

(The case of the Ghana Armed Forces.pdf - Adobe Reader) p.34

Key Performance Indicators to measure the success of the Diversity Plan

1. Recruitment – Take a brief look at the individuals recruited by the army and those who
have been fired. Taking into account the occupation in the Department of Defence, the
Department of Defence has increased the proportion of communities from different
backgrounds. The Ministry of National Defence has increased the recruitment performance
among different target groups, and must attract and recruit the required share of the available
talent pool in quantity and quality, while retaining personnel critical to national defence
capabilities

2. Training - Evaluate the time and energy invested in the preparation of the diversity of the
work environment and the current level of military cooperation.

3. External diversity - The government must have confidence that the Ministry of Defence
will provide the required personnel capabilities on a continuous, sustainable and affordable
basis. External diversity can include but is not limited to gender, age, race, and sometimes
even religion.

4. Increase gender balance in management - To measure KPIs, the goal is to increase the
gender balance of senior management. The indicators of employment decision-making
include: the gender balance of the determined successor, the gender balance of mid-career
employees (enhancing talent channels) and the gender balance role of expatriates. In order to
ensure the gender balance of mid-career employees, the key is to study this process more
deeply. In this case, the focus is on the gender balance of recruitment channels, including:
applicants, resumes and applicants. Gender-balanced candidate channels usually do not
happen by accident, so other KPIs need to be tracked to determine where unconscious bias
exists.

5. Cultural indicators - Does the field of rationality, trust, trustworthiness and attractiveness
exist in the atmosphere of the Ministry of Defence? Hope to enhance the understanding of the
military’s lifestyle and how to view diversity.
Diversity Action Plan

The goal of the Diversity Action Plan of the Ministry of Defence of Ghana is to ensure that
the armed forces of Ghana, regardless of their background or life experience, are inclusive
and culturally encouraging women to participate in peace operations. Everyone in the sector
can play a role in achieving this goal. The action plan clarifies the government’s
commitment. The strategic goal to embrace differences and ensures that the armed forces can
reach their potential by reducing barriers and applying equal employment opportunities. They
also reflect the diverse and inclusive culture that the Ministry of Defence needs to consider,
(including women, indigenous people, people from the Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
(CALD) Foundation, disabled people, lesbian, gay, bisexual, Transgender and bisexual
(LGBTI) people, mature age and intergenerational labour and youth). To ensure that the:

 Contribute to the strategic direction of the Department of Defence through daily work
and support programs.
 Provide an effective recruitment process to support a diverse and talented armed team.
 Provide flexible work practices to get support and replace lifestyle needs.
 Provide training and guidance to support engagement and career development
 Provide leadership development and talent frameworks so that leaders can improve their
abilities and continue to promote an inclusive environment.

The four basic stages of establishing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

1. Measure and benchmark the diversity of the current workforce, establish a diversity
committee to identify areas of concern and track trends over a period of time to review and
change recruitment policies and requirements

2. Identify the areas that need attention and develop management goals and strategic plans.

3. Carry out activities to develop and implement diversity and integration training to ensure
unconscious bias

4. Measurement and Dispatch Results evaluation and review, to support our diversity and
Inclusive

Phase: Collect data

Leaders should first measure the comparison with the current workforce diversity and
determine the situation benchmark, and then conduct advertising. The purpose is to recruit
employees from different backgrounds. This is a clear way to ensure that your organization is
more inclusive. By collecting information about the socioeconomic status of workers,
companies can better understand the diversity of their representatives and distinguish any
areas or patterns of concern. Companies not only need to follow their own information, but
also determine what changes may need to be made. The impact of multiple different
strategies must also be modelled to determine which strategies can be best combined.

Distinguish between labour diversity needs and focus areas

After collecting the information, please distinguish areas with insufficient labour diversity.
Organizations should start by reviewing socioeconomics (e.g. age, gender, and race), and
then implement various strategies in areas that are insufficient, offices, positions, etc.
Evidence that distinguishes underrepresented areas can include queries such as:

Are there more experienced whites among the executives?

Does the department only recruit women?

Are the current armed forces of the Ministry of Defence more diverse?

Address policies or practices that affect diversity

The Department of Defence must determine whether there are obstacles preventing the
gathering of personnel from various departments and create a culture that encourages open
dialogue. The diversity committee should consider whether to respond to or balance any
arrangements or practices

 Policies and procedures that support a diverse workforce to ensure consistency in the
workplace,
 Implement management responsibility system
 Employee Referral Program
 Unconscious bias training
 Company multicultural training.

Measurement and scheduling result evaluation and review

Measuring, reviewing, and adjusting diversity and consideration activities are not static. It is
essential that employees are constantly reviewed and reacted to changing needs. The
Department of Defence must establish methods for occasionally investigating diversity and
considering activities and goals, and gather information to integrate its diversity and
consolidation plans.

The following Diversity initiatives are aligned to our five priorities and we will build on the
work completed in the Diversity Action Plan.

Diversity & Inclusion area

Initiative to support the Diversity & Inclusion focus area

1. Age / Life Stages

Diversity education to ensure our employees can make informed decisions at career and life
milestones

- Department of Defence education workshops

- Diversity & Inclusion Committee to review and propose initiatives through a consultation
process

Flexible work arrangements

- Continue to provide an inclusive and supportive workplace through flexible working

arrangements

- Diversity & Inclusion Committee to review and propose initiatives through a consultation
process

2. Gender

Parental leave

- Parental leave support

- Diversity & Inclusion Committee to review and propose initiatives through a consultation
process

Mentoring and Career Resilience

- Mentor program

- Career resilience education

- Learning & Development plans

3. Culture & Community

- Reconciliation Action Plan

- Department of Defence foundation

- Community days
4. Leadership

- Leadership Fundamentals program

- Leading plan at the armed forces of Ghana

- Talent & Succession planning framework

- Graduate program

- Recruitment and selection process

5. Mental Health

- Mental Health workshops

- Wellbeing initiatives

To measure the success of the action plan, the Ministry of Defence of Ghana continued:

-Ensure that all senior leaders participate in leadership plans to support their personal
development plans.

-Strengthen our talents and succession process to ensure that it is done once a year and
consider diversity when establishing talent pipelines.

-Improve our recruitment and selection progress by focusing on talent recruitment, ensuring
that we have a variety of candidates and successful appointments.

-Eliminate barriers and support career development through graduate and mentor programs.

-Through inclusivity, improve employee alignment and engagement results in workshops and
initiatives.

-Provide examples and encourage flexible work practices

-Maintain and increase the number of female employees in senior positions in the
organization

And focus on increasing the number of women engaged in peace operations.

-Maintain and increase the number of Ghanaian armed forces in the Ministry of Defence.

-As it gradually develops into a culture of learning and feedback, pay more attention to
development plans
Embrace the personal and collective talents of our employees.

-Collect diverse data for the entire armed forces and consider how to use knowledge and the
ability to better provide services.

-Implement a settlement action plan

Diversity Plan Implementation

1. Involve the entire senior management team

Senior leaders of the Ministry of Defence of Ghana must be involved in the entire diversity
project. In seminars, training programs, and Q&A sessions on diversity, senior leaders should
demonstrate how to achieve diversity.

2. Adjust the organizational structure

The Department of Defence must support diversity efforts. This can be done by creating a
diversity office and appointing a chief diversity officer (CDO). If the organizational structure
supports diversity and embraces differences, it is likely that multiculturalism will be taken
seriously throughout the force.

3. Continuous communication initiative

Communicate why diversity is critical to the success of the entire force diversity action plan.
Communication must be sufficient and include various channels, such as social media,
newsletters, intranet, seminars, conferences, posters, etc.

4. Develop a formal project plan

Develop a formal diversity action plan to support a diversity strategy with measurable goals
and integrate it with the company’s other strategic goals and operations. This plan should
consider the time to develop a mindset that recognizes diversity as part of the overall strategy.
The project should also include a performance evaluation plan as an accountability
mechanism.

5. Change all human resource plans to include diversity

The Department of Defence should consider how to expand the talent pool through the
following measures:

Including the diversity of human resources

Learn more about diversity management

The strategic goal of reducing barriers and providing equal employment opportunities to
realize its potential.

Conclusion

This study shows that the full inclusion of women in GAF is considered to have a negative
impact on operational efficiency. The idea that women can complement the efforts of men in
the military is not fully understood, which strengthens the functionalist interpretation of male
domination and role stratification. The research found many problems. The first is about the
extent to which the Ghanaian armed forces integrate female personnel. It was found that in
terms of digital representation, efforts are being made to improve the situation, but in this
regard, the armed forces lag behind other security services in this regard, which may be due
to the combat nature of their work. Regarding women’s employment and leadership roles, the
prevailing view is that women with equal training can behave like men. Studies have shown
that there are male-dominated or gender-stratified roles in the Ghanaian armed forces. This is
based on the notion that due to physical and physiological limitations, fear and lack of
motivation; women will not live up to expectations when asked. However, although many
men do not want frontline women to participate, they are not opposed to deploying it in the
information system business, which is groundbreaking. Based on the above, I infer that
although people have expressed concerns about women’s impact on the effectiveness of
operations, the Global Women’s Fund is enthusiastic about the idea of expanding the role of
women due to its experience in international peacekeeping operations.

Recommendations

The importance of each research lies in its ability to contribute to theory, policy making and
social development. This research aims to promote the development of women in the armed
forces of Ghana. In view of the above situation, the following suggestions are made:

Legislation

Legislation is needed to force the Ghanaian armed forces to be gender-sensitive. This will
align the agency with other mainstream state organizations; however, due to the special role
of the armed forces, it must be subsidized.

Gender equality policy

The Ghanaian Armed Forces also need a women-friendly policy framework, consistent with
the 1992 Constitution and the United Nations resolution, which promotes the equality and
deployment of women in peacekeeping operations.

Consideration should also be given to providing women with special allowances in terms of
recruitment, training, benefits and mobility.

Institutional structure

Relevant institutional structures are needed to promote gender integration in the framework
of gender equality. In view of this, a gender desk is needed to monitor and advance the
concerns of women in the armed forces. This should work with the required qualified
personnel to effectively run the office.

Logistics and infrastructure support must pay attention to improving facilities to

accommodate women’s exclusive use in barracks and the field. Currently, GAF cannot recruit
more women due to lack of such facilities.

Budget allocations must pay attention to such needs to ensure proportionality.

Skill building

Women in GAF should receive more training and responsibilities to improve their abilities.
Women must be encouraged to continue participating in international action so that they can
have a new style.

Attitude change

Men and men must be encouraged to participate in peacekeeping exercises and operations, so
that men can understand women’s abilities, so as to help establish a positive attitude and
facilitate women’s accommodation.
 Case Study Resources
A few website sites which might be useful to review include:-

YAW AFFRAM, Robert, 2006. Statistics and Information On Diversity. 1st ed. PDF, p.1,4,8
Available at: http://www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh/bitstream/ > [Accessed 29 November 2020].

Abraham T. Afrim-Narh, A., 2006. GENDER INTEGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL

PEACEKEEPING. 1st ed. PDF,p.34. [Accessed 29 November 2020]

Greenberg, J. (2004). Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, challenges and solutions.

Retrieved [Accessed 29 November 2020].

Australian Government Department of Defence (AGDOD) 2014, Defence Diversity and

Inclusion Strategy 2012-2017, Defence Publishing Service, June, Publication ID
DPS:JUL022/13.

Australian Government Fair Work Ombudsman (AGFWO) 2013, Fair Work Ombudsman
Workplace Diversity & Inclusion Strategy 2013-2016, April.