Davon Cooke

Professor Lindsay Ferrara

ENG 1010

15 December 2023

Diversity in the workplace

I feel like there is a lack of diversity in today’s work sector and this stems from people

being biased and not accepting different races, ages, and gender. While diversity can be a

communication barrier which make productivity more challenging, diversity in the workplace is

very important because it promotes greater innovation and creativity, it will also improve cultural

awareness, and it provides a wider range of skills that will improve decision making and increase

revenue.

Companies with a diverse workforce make better decisions faster, which gives them a

serious advantage over their competitors (Zojceska). As a result, companies with diversity

achieve better business results and reap more profits. Different minds from different parts of the

world working together will bring forth better and more solutions to problems in a workplace

therefore increasing the revenue. According to Yana SELIVERSTOVA “research by McKinsey

& Company (2018) shows that companies with a diverse workforce have 35% higher financial

returns than the industry average. Another potential financial gain related to diversity is cost

savings. Specifically, this detrimental impact contributes to increased turnover costs for workers,

greater truancy rates, and trials for gender, age and ethnicity distinction (O’Donovan, 2017)”

(Cross-Cultural Management Journal,2021). Different races working together will wider range of

skills that will improve decision making. “A white paper from the online decision-making
platform Cloverpop has found a direct link between workplace diversity and decision-making.

Researchers found that when diverse teams made a business decision, they outperformed

individual decision-makers up to 87% of the time” (Top 10 Benefits of Diversity in the

Workplace, Zojceska Anja). This shows that when employees with different backgrounds and

perspectives come together, they come up with more solutions, which leads to more informed

and improved decision-making processes and results.

In addition to having a variety of different perspectives from people with different

backgrounds, the exposure to a such variety leads to increased creativity and innovation.

Companies that embrace diversity are making a lot of money and their businesses are growing

rapidly. According to Roberta A. Neault “Diversity in the workplace is beneficial to everyone

involved: employees, employers, and in many cases, clients/customers. Having a diverse team

provides access to a multitude of perspectives. Whether for projects or problem solving, a

diverse team can provide opportunities to share knowledge and creativity, in turn enhancing

performance and productivity. Studies have demonstrated that investing in diversity management

also reduces absenteeism and creates an environment in which employees are more likely to

enjoy their work (Barrile, 2003)”.

A lot of jobs these days are still discriminate against races as this has been an ongoing

problem for a long time and a lot of this stems from the appearances of individuals. For instance,

a lot of jobs these days won’t accept you if you have dreadlocks because they think it’s

unprofessional because they are not educated about the cultural background behind it. This is

why we need diversity in the workplace as this will improve cultural awareness and this will

provide more job opportunities for different races. Companies can improve cultural awareness by

asking each other questions about their culture in a respectful manner. In today’s generation a lot
of people are basis and are not open minded due to them not being educated about the different

cultures so having diversity in the workplace will welcome people of all backgrounds so

everyone will meet and engage with each other and get the opportunity to learn about the

different cultures this will make them more accepting of the different cultures. As Michael

Blanding mentioned in his article “In today's global work environment, it's a given that

companies need culturally diverse teams to succeed. Both scientific studies and common sense

tell us that having people with different viewpoints onboard increases the creativity that teams

will employ in solving problems. Of course, that's assuming all members of the team are pulling

in the same direction” (How Cultural Conflict Undermines Workplace Creativity, Forbes 2013)

Although diversity is important in the workplace, we have to acknowledge that some

individuals may disagree with the outcomes of having a diverse workspace. Diversity can lead to

cultural clashes and misunderstandings among team members from different backgrounds. Some

teams may face challenges in communication too due to language differences and they may have

problems understanding each other which could slow down decision-making processes and

reduce overall productivity. While there are many challenges that might cause an individual to

disagree with the outcomes of having diversity in the workplace there are solutions to these

problems. If we acknowledge the communication challenges, we can take the time to learn how

to communicate in a way that others with different languages can understand so we can learn

each other’s languages. Diversity can lead to cultural clashes but if we learn about the different

cultures we will understand and be more accepting of each other’s cultures.

In conclusion, having diversity in the workplace matters as it is a fundamental aspect of

building successful and sustainable organizations, it drives innovation, enhances problem-

solving, improve cultural awareness, and contributes to overall success of a company.

Individuals have been complaining to employers about the lack of diversity in their workplace

for a long time but there have yet to be any major changes. Companies that tend to embrace

diversity seem to be more successful and have higher profits than those who fail to.
 Work Cited

SELIVERSTOVA, Yana "A THEORETICAL STUDY ON GLOBAL WORKFORCE DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT, ITS

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES." Cross-Cultural Management Journal XXIII.1 (2021): 117. Web. Accessed on

10 December. 2023

Neault, Roberta A. "Supporting Workplace Diversity: Emerging Roles for Employment Counselors."

Journal of Employment Counseling 48.2 (2011): 72-80. Web. Accessed on 10 December. 2023

Gross-Gołacka, Elwira"Towards a Better Workplace Environment-Empirical Measurement to

Manage Diversity in the Workplace." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

Health 19.23 (2022): 15851. Web. Accessed on 10 December. 2023

Ilmakunnas, Pekka "Diversity at the Workplace: Whom Does It Benefit?" De Economist

(Netherlands) 159.2 (2011): 223-55. Web. Accessed on 10 December. 2023

Lindsay Hamm. "Production Teams and Producing Racial Diversity in Workplace Relationships."

Sociological Forum (Randolph, N.J.) 28.2 (2013): 326-49

Zojceska, Anja. “Top 10 Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace.” Blog, 24 Jan. 2022,

www.talentlyft.com/en/blog/article/244/top-10-benefits-of-diversity-in-the-workplace.

McKibbon, Heather. "Diversity As A Competitive Advantage: Why a More Diverse and Inclusive

Workplace Is Good for Business." Talent Management Excellence Essentials (2016): Talent

Management Excellence Essentials, 2016. Web.

Blanding, Michael “How Cultural Conflict Undermines Workplace Creativity.” Forbes, Forbes

Magazine, 9 Dec. 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2013/12/09/how-cultural-

conflict-undermines-workplace-creativity/?sh=6ec292b1214f.