Essay about Diversity: Discrimination and Diversity

Submitted By 1procrastinator
Words: 1606
Pages: 7

While researching Human Resource (HR) disciplines, I chose to focus on the discipline of diversity. For the most part, diversity deals with what makes an individual unique. This could relate to race, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, family status and many more categories to choose from. It also deals with how the organization or company uses these qualities to support itself and the objectives. It has been proven through studies that the companies with great diversity end to do better. This is because they have a broader sense of perspectives and approaches when it comes to business issues, ideas, etc. (SHRM, 2011)
Though diversity has a broad spectrum of definitions, companies will usually adapt diversity to their specific environment. This is because it can be similarities and/or differences of people regarding personality and identity. Some categories of diversity include, but are not limited to race, age, disability, ethnicity, gender, family status, generation, geographic background, language, life experiences, lifestyle, physicality and veteran status. This HR discipline gives the potential for modernization and creativity. (Dressler, G., 2011) The scope of this discipline not only deals with qualities, but equalities. It has a focus on what makes an individual’s work style unique. It touches on federal, state and local employment opportunity laws as well. With the diversity discipline, it concentrates on legal and regulatory issues, technology, communications and outsourcing among other aspects. (SHRM, 2011) In regard to diversity training, there are certain classes and programs that are required. These educational courses prepare employees as well as managers for a diverse and global workplace. They also establish the importance of diversity and inclusion. Generally these courses are delivered in a supportive and non-threatening way. They cover emerging trends as well as establishing the expectations and responsibilities of inclusion efforts. Diversity training is critical for a workforce. It goes beyond legal compliance and management risks. Proper training will help an organization succeed in a global and competitive workplace. It assists individuals in how to support an organization’s diversity efforts as well. Diversity in the workplace means having a group of employees with a wide range of different backgrounds in terms of race, age, gender, and other characteristics. This online diversity training course will teach employees to support diversity in the organization. At the end of the training session, you will be able to identify how we are diverse, understand the challenges and opportunities of workplace diversity, help avoid discrimination, and follow company policy. There are several reasons why diversity training matters. Today’s American workforce contains nearly one-third who are minorities, nearly one-half who are women, and more than 10 percent who are aged 55 or older. By the year 2020, the percentage of minorities in the workforce is projected to go up to more than 40 percent, and the percentage of older workers is expected to go up, as well. Finally, by the year 2050, nearly half of the workforce is expected to be minorities, and the percentage of workers over the age of 55 will increase to almost 20 percent. Training managers in diversity is just as significant, if not more, as training employees. Figures from the most recent U.S. census show that almost a third of the workforce is currently made up of minorities, more than 10% is made up of people aged 55 or over, and almost half is made up of women. The Census Bureau estimates that in 2020 minorities will make up over 40% of the workforce, and older workers will account for a larger percentage. By 2050, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that minorities will approach 50% of the American workforce, and the number of workers age 55 and older will jump to almost 20%.

Diversity respects the dissimilarities among other