Diversity is a topic we want to hear people discuss more, especially our leaders. This is a topic that’s not only important in the workplace, it is significant everywhere humans are concerned.
Diversity encompasses people from various groups, backgrounds, experiences, culture, and perspectives.
What is Diversity?
Diversity is important because it celebrates people for their uniqueness; it doesn’t discriminate, nor have a prejudiced and biased perspective to people that are different from the majority.
Diversity is characterized by these aspects:
Race
Gender
Ethnicity
Religion
Age
National origin
Socioeconomic status
Education
Occupation
Language,
Culture, etc. If you understand what diversity represents, then you would realise that accepting people irrespective of what they appear to be, can foster creativity and innovation. It further provides an opportunity where everyone’s ability is uitilised for problem solving.
Diversity promotes an inclusive environment where everyone is given a sense of belonging, respect, and value.
Diverse Meaning
Having discussed diversity in our introduction, you are curious what diverse means.
Let’s delve a bit into the English language to solidify our topic on diversity. While diversity is mainly a noun, it basically means the state of being diverse. However, ‘diverse’ primarily plays the role of description.
It is an adjective that describes something that consists of different elements; include varied backgrounds and perspectives; and show a range of differences.
Diverse can be replaced with other words, such as: mixed, varied, multifaceted, heterogeneous, etc. So, it is possible you hear people refer to an organisation as multifaceted or heterogeneous in practice.
That being said, when ‘diverse’ is not present, the outcome can either be uniform, homogeneous, monotonous, identical, or similar. Diverse, like diversity signifies inclusivity, meaning each one contributes to the development of the whole. It is a means of encouraging talent, resilience and growth for the benefit of all.
Diversity in the Workplace
Diversity, as we previously identified, is not restricted to a setting alone, it is also necessary in the workplace. When diversity exists in the workplace, there is a lot to gain in terms of talent engagement and talent retention.
Simply put, diversity in the workplace is the inclusion of diverse groups of people, backgrounds, perspectives, cultures, and experiences within an organisation.
It embraces unique viewpoints, skills, ideas, and cognitive differences.
Types of Workplace Diversity
Workplace diversity can take the form of age diversity; disability diversity; religious diversity; gender diversity; cultural diversity; religious diversity, socioeconomic diversity, and so on. Organisations can benefit from diversity through competitive advantage in attracting top talents and enhanced decision making.
Diversity Strategies in the Workplace
In promoting effective diversity and inclusion strategies, recruitment and hiring practices, mentorship programs, leadership commitment, and inclusive policies must be adopted.
Fortunately, diversity can be tracked and measured through metrics that include diversity demographics; employee engagement; retention rates; inclusion indexes, and customer feedback.
For organisations who embrace diversity in their workplace, the expectations should be an innovative, vibrant, and productive work environment where talents are best utilised.
What is your take on diversity and its benefits? Don’t forget to share them with us in the comment box.
