Is Accommodating Workplace Diversity a Luxury or a Necessity?
Tim Adams
Saint Leo

Diversity in the workplace encompasses characteristics of individuals that affect the way they think, act, and perform. “Dimensions of diversity include but are not limited to: age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, work experience, ethnicity, physical abilities/qualities, educational background, geographic locations, income, marital status, military experience, parental status and job classification.” (Parvis, 2003) Diversity improves your company's ability to relate to its customer base, leading to better relationships. Diverse staffs with different backgrounds bring a wider range of ideas and creativity. Businesses which utilize diverse staffs will often find working solutions faster due to the vast array of knowledge and skill of their employees. The mere presence of diversity in a group creates awkwardness, and the need to diffuse this tension leads to better group problem solving, says Katherine Phillips, an associate professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management. (Philips, 2010) In her study she found that, diverse groups outperformed more homogeneous groups not because of an influx of new ideas, but because diversity triggered more careful information processing that is absent in homogeneous groups. (Philips, 2010) “A company that is capable of managing a diverse population of employees most often attracts a diverse range of customers. (Curry, 2011) Businesses today must face an ever changing consumer demographic. For example buying power of racial minorities in the us ( African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans) will increase over fifty percent, roughly half a trillion dollars, from 2010 to 2015. Armed with this knowledge having a diverse workplace that contains an adequate amount of cultural variation would be a “smart” marketing strategy. (Fahmy, 2010) In addition to smart business strategies, diversity is also mandated by law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act states that any form of workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and other personal characteristics or beliefs is illegal. This law applies to all federal agencies and all businesses with at least 15 employees. (EEOC 35th Anniversary, 2007) Affirmative action policies were put in place requiring that all government employers and their subcontractors not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, sex, creed, color, or national origin. (Executive Order 10925, 2007) It is important to note that women who make up a large portion of the workplace are also protected further by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibiting employers from discriminating against a woman on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. In conclusion, I feel that there is no question accommodating diversity in the workplace is a necessity. There are many reasons to support this first of all I feel it is a social responsibility for businesses to mimic the society in which they operate. We live in a country known as “The Great Melting Pot”. Our society is built on the belief that all men are created equal and that everyone has the ability to contribute something. Secondly there are numerous laws demanding such integration. The law bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and other personal characteristics. Finally, diverse work forces bring high value to businesses. Combining individuals with diverse differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive edge, helping understand the consumer needs and wants, innovating new ideas, attracting new customers, and increasing productivity.

References
EEOC 35th Anniversary. (2007). Retrieved from www.eeoc.gov.
Executive Order 10925. (2007). Retrieved from www.eeoc.gov.
Curry, M. (2011). Diversity: No Longer Just Black and White. Retrieved from www.business-marketing.com.
Fahmy, S. (2010, november 4). University of Georgia Terry College of Business. Retrieved from www.terry.uga.edu.
Parvis, L. (2003). Diversity and effective leadership in multicultural workplaces. . Journal of Environmental Health, 37,38.
Philips, K. (2010, October). Better Deciscions Through Diversity. Retrieved from www.insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu.