DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS 2

Diversity in Organizations

Organizations are increasingly embracing diversity not just as a means of complying
with various government regulations but also as a means of gaining competitive advantage
over rivals. There are multiple ways that organizations can use to increase diversity within
themselves. They include encouraging more women and members of minority groups to apply
for jobs at the organization, establishing an inclusive environment that makes every employee
feel valued regardless of their background, and establishing employment quotas to be filled by
underrepresented groups (Coleman & Urich, 2019).
Establishing diversity through these ways is important because it improves an
organization’s performance in both labor and consumer market. With regards to the labor
market, having a diverse workforce helps attract talent from minority groups because they will
feel comfortable working in a place where there are many people who share their racial,
gender, ethnic, or cultural background (Coleman & Urich, 2019). As for consumers, diverse
organizations are often better at providing services to their customers and clients that are
culturally competent.
Achieving workplace diversity is, therefore, a goal of many organizations because of
its benefits. For an organization to achieve this goal, it is important for it to find a way of
measuring and rewarding compliance with company policies promoting diversity.
Organizations can determine whether or not they are complying with diversity policies by
counting all employees and categorizing them based on their racial, ethnic, religious, gender,
and cultural background (Mensi-Klabarch & Risberg, 2019). Another way is to categorize
employees based on their titles or levels in the organization and then taking their demographic
data (Mensi-Klabarch & Risberg, 2019). Unlike the former method which just gives raw

DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS 3
numbers, the latter lets the organization know the relative power and influence that various
groups hold in an organization. Departments that score high on diversity measures can be
rewarded using methods such as providing the heads of those departments with higher
bonuses. Such rewards encourage further compliance with diversity policies and helps
organizations to avoid diversity related lawsuits which such compliance helps to reduce.
In conclusion, organizations have a lot to gain by improving diversity of their
workplaces and developing an environment that allows employees from different backgrounds
to succeed. Placing diversity at the core of recruitment policy is among the many ways that
organizations can become diverse and reap the benefits of having a diverse workforce.

DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS 4

References

Coleman, L., & Ulrich, J. A. (2019). It Starts with a Plan: How to Embed Inclusive
Diversity into the Fabric of your Organization. Diversity Business
Review, 1(INL/JOU-19-55525-Rev000).
Mensi-Klarbach, H., & Risberg, A. (Eds.). (2019). Diversity in Organizations: Concepts
and Practices. Macmillan International Higher Education.