The broad topic of diversity – gender, race, religion, creed, disability, sexual preference, and nationality – shapes who we are and how we perceive the world. It influences us as much as the historical factors that define our generations. The diversity of the emerging workforce creates both challenges and opportunities for organizations and their employees.
America has always been a melting pot and this will not change in the future. What will change, however, is the diversity of the mix. If the shades in the melting pot of the past came from a box of eight colors, the shades of the future will come from a box of sixty-four. What will change, too, are the demands upon companies to reflect this increasingly broad range of shades. But the labor pool itself is becoming so blended, so ‘colorful,’ that employers of the future, simply by filling their ranks, will be hiring a more diverse workforce. Quite simply, there will be no way to avoid it.
The workforce can be seen as a collection of different peoples working together toward common goals, yet each bringing his or her own perspective and abilities.
According to the US Census Bureau, for the first time since the early 1930s, one of every ten Americans is foreign-born. By the year 2050, the country’s racial/ethnic makeup is projected to be: 55 percent White, 21 percent Hispanic, 14 percent Black, 9 percent Asian, and 1 percent American Indian.
Among all immigrants to the United States between 1996 and 2002, 25 percent came to California, the most diverse state in the union. By 2025, an estimated 34 percent of California residents will be white. In comparison, Maine, the least diverse state, is expected to be more than 97 percent white in 2025.
In another fifty years, it won’t matter if your grandmother’s grandmother came from Puerto Rico or Africa, Germany or Ireland, you will just be American. Remembering heritage is important; having prejudice because of it does not make sense.
In his book, The Global Me: New Cosmopolitans and the Competitive Edge: Picking Globalisms Winners and Losers, G. Pascal Zachary expresses his positive views about the blending population. He sees the mixing of races, ethnic groups, and nationalities happening at unprecedented levels that are only just beginning. These blends of people will have a positive impact on the places where they live and work. They tend to be more inclusive, fair-minded, flexible and open, making them attractive to employers.
The point is that the labor pool is becoming less and less of a menu where companies can hire one from Column A and one from Column B to fill predetermined quotas. For one thing, the workforce in a blender makes it too easy. (I can’t help but recall a certain unenlightened manager I once knew who exclaimed "If I can hire one candidate who’s a half-black, half-Hispanic female, I’ll have finished my quota for the year!")
Diversity in the future will be evolutionary, not revolutionary. It will have more to do with acceptance, flexibility, and respect. It will be about hiring someone different because it will broaden our perspective, open up new views, and better reflect our markets, not because it will get us a check mark in the affirmative action box on a review form.
Diversity is a phenomenon that is moving along a continuum. Initially, when people all strived for the comfort of sameness, variety was a threat. So, diversity was cause for segregation. Then, thanks to inspirational leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, we slowly moved toward tolerance. People didn’t necessarily change their views. We just learned to "put up and shut up" about things and other people that were different. The next stage along the continuum is acceptance, which not only recognizes and tolerates differences, but also respects and welcomes them. Ultimately, the continuum celebrates diversity.
Diversity challenges us to move from segregation, through tolerance, then acceptance, to celebration.
People are generally at different places on the continuum relative to different groups. Where we are on the continuum at any given time with regard to a particular group is shaped by any number of factors, such as where we live, how we were reared, and what is happening in the world. Certainly the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America are a dramatic example of this. In the United States, anyone of Arab descent became immediately suspect, and many Americans slid instantly from acceptance to fear of anyone who even looked Middle Eastern.
Industry also plays an important role. In some industries, the need for employees with specialized skills is so great that employers, eager to find enough employees, have been forced to reach out to a more diverse labor pool. For example, the dramatic shortage of nurses in the United States (and worldwide) has led to a major exodus of qualified workers from poorer nations to wealthier ones. Thousands of nurses have left South Africa, Ghana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago to come and work in the United States and other more developed countries.
Yet another example is the dearth of high-tech professionals. Congress has authorized several increases in H-1B visas for highly skilled international workers. At the same time, many American companies have moved various technical functions to other nations. Intel has a chip-processing plant in Costa Rica, and China, with more college students graduating than ever before, is becoming a ripe resource for global research and development.
With a committed leader at the top, you then choose employees based on a different screening process. Real diversity not only accepts variety, it seeks it out. Rewarding people for making sure there is a diversity of thinking in the organization is diversity at its best. Real diversity is mental diversity.
Movement along this continuum will be critical for employers of the future. I believe that the ultimate goal here goes beyond even the celebration of difference – to a place where differences are irrelevant. Moving forward must include working through tolerance to celebration in the face of diversity, even though this continues to highlight differences. Individuals who work for and run companies will need this kind of priority and coaxing toward celebration before they can move to the point where diversity is a non-issue.
At the root of a successful organization will be a corporate culture that does not simply have diversity as a policy but that embraces and embodies a diverse workforce as a way to have a productive structure.
As the competitive landscape intensifies, companies that pay attention to diversity and structure their organizations around it will find that they have far greater access to the best talent pool. This includes men and women, members of different religions, people of many races, disabled persons, and individuals of varying sexual orientation. Truly diverse companies will see opportunities for meaningful contribution from older and younger workers alike, from the disabled, and from those of varying life needs. As organizations move to embrace diversity, they will find that they are ahead of the curve on every measurable front – from recruiting and retaining the best employees to higher profit margins and productivity levels, from better reflecting their marketplace to finally insuring a more satisfying workplace.
America has always been a melting pot and this will not change in the future. What will change, however, is the diversity of the mix. If the shades in the melting pot of the past came from a box of eight colors, the shades of the future will come from a box of sixty-four. What will change, too, are the demands upon companies to reflect this increasingly broad range of shades. But the labor pool itself is becoming so blended, so ‘colorful,’ that employers of the future, simply by filling their ranks, will be hiring a more diverse workforce. Quite simply, there will be no way to avoid it.The workforce can be seen as a collection of different peoples working together toward common goals, yet each bringing his or her own perspective and abilities.
According to the US Census Bureau, for the first time since the early 1930s, one of every ten Americans is foreign-born. By the year 2050, the country’s racial/ethnic makeup is projected to be: 55 percent White, 21 percent Hispanic, 14 percent Black, 9 percent Asian, and 1 percent American Indian.
Among all immigrants to the United States between 1996 and 2002, 25 percent came to California, the most diverse state in the union. By 2025, an estimated 34 percent of California residents will be white. In comparison, Maine, the least diverse state, is expected to be more than 97 percent white in 2025.
In another fifty years, it won’t matter if your grandmother’s grandmother came from Puerto Rico or Africa, Germany or Ireland, you will just be American. Remembering heritage is important; having prejudice because of it does not make sense.
In his book, The Global Me: New Cosmopolitans and the Competitive Edge: Picking Globalisms Winners and Losers, G. Pascal Zachary expresses his positive views about the blending population. He sees the mixing of races, ethnic groups, and nationalities happening at unprecedented levels that are only just beginning. These blends of people will have a positive impact on the places where they live and work. They tend to be more inclusive, fair-minded, flexible and open, making them attractive to employers.
The point is that the labor pool is becoming less and less of a menu where companies can hire one from Column A and one from Column B to fill predetermined quotas. For one thing, the workforce in a blender makes it too easy. (I can’t help but recall a certain unenlightened manager I once knew who exclaimed "If I can hire one candidate who’s a half-black, half-Hispanic female, I’ll have finished my quota for the year!")
Diversity in the future will be evolutionary, not revolutionary. It will have more to do with acceptance, flexibility, and respect. It will be about hiring someone different because it will broaden our perspective, open up new views, and better reflect our markets, not because it will get us a check mark in the affirmative action box on a review form.
Acceptance and Respect
Just hiring a diverse group of employees will not be enough. Acceptance and respect of the differences among employees will also be key. Often I see diversity linked to the term tolerance. I am not a big fan of this association. I view tolerance as similar to hiring quotas – a concept that once served a purpose that is now becoming obsolete. In the workforce of the future, employers will not merely tolerate differences among employees; they will embrace them. The diversity of their workforces will make companies stronger in every area, and employers who recognize this fact today will have a leg up on future success.The Diversity Continuum
Diversity is a phenomenon that is moving along a continuum. Initially, when people all strived for the comfort of sameness, variety was a threat. So, diversity was cause for segregation. Then, thanks to inspirational leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, we slowly moved toward tolerance. People didn’t necessarily change their views. We just learned to "put up and shut up" about things and other people that were different. The next stage along the continuum is acceptance, which not only recognizes and tolerates differences, but also respects and welcomes them. Ultimately, the continuum celebrates diversity.Diversity challenges us to move from segregation, through tolerance, then acceptance, to celebration.
People are generally at different places on the continuum relative to different groups. Where we are on the continuum at any given time with regard to a particular group is shaped by any number of factors, such as where we live, how we were reared, and what is happening in the world. Certainly the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America are a dramatic example of this. In the United States, anyone of Arab descent became immediately suspect, and many Americans slid instantly from acceptance to fear of anyone who even looked Middle Eastern.
Companies on the Continuum
Most of corporate America is somewhere around ‘tolerate.’ Whether closer to ‘putting up with’ or closer to ‘acceptance’ varies according to influencers such as company size, location and industry. By and large, a company moves further and faster along the continuum toward acceptance when: 1) it is forced to, or 2) its leaders accept and encourage diversity. For example, companies become more accepting of diversity either when they are located where the population is more diverse, or when they operate in an industry whose employment needs can be met only by accepting diverse employees. Geography is an obvious factor. A company hiring from the labor pool in California, the most diverse state in the country, sees people of all backgrounds when interviewing for a position. In Maine, however, the opposite is true.Industry also plays an important role. In some industries, the need for employees with specialized skills is so great that employers, eager to find enough employees, have been forced to reach out to a more diverse labor pool. For example, the dramatic shortage of nurses in the United States (and worldwide) has led to a major exodus of qualified workers from poorer nations to wealthier ones. Thousands of nurses have left South Africa, Ghana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago to come and work in the United States and other more developed countries.
Yet another example is the dearth of high-tech professionals. Congress has authorized several increases in H-1B visas for highly skilled international workers. At the same time, many American companies have moved various technical functions to other nations. Intel has a chip-processing plant in Costa Rica, and China, with more college students graduating than ever before, is becoming a ripe resource for global research and development.
Awareness at the Top
Beyond being ‘forced’ into diversity by demographics, geography, or industry, companies move along the diversity continuum when diversity is embraced at the top of the organization. According to Suzanne F. Kaplan, a diversity consultant to corporations, "Many CEOs understand the business case for diversity – their company’s workforce has to look and think like the world at large if they are to be successful in this era of globalization." However, a diversity initiative can also result "when there’s a change of heart at the top."With a committed leader at the top, you then choose employees based on a different screening process. Real diversity not only accepts variety, it seeks it out. Rewarding people for making sure there is a diversity of thinking in the organization is diversity at its best. Real diversity is mental diversity.
Movement along this continuum will be critical for employers of the future. I believe that the ultimate goal here goes beyond even the celebration of difference – to a place where differences are irrelevant. Moving forward must include working through tolerance to celebration in the face of diversity, even though this continues to highlight differences. Individuals who work for and run companies will need this kind of priority and coaxing toward celebration before they can move to the point where diversity is a non-issue.Ahead of the Curve
I believe that the more diverse corporations will be the more successful ones in the future. Ultimately, diversity programs aim to change a corporation’s culture, a challenge requiring a comprehensive solution. For example, companies with a large, dispersed workforce will need a multilayered, multifaceted approach to implement a diversity strategy. Companies need to realize that diversity is strength, not weakness.At the root of a successful organization will be a corporate culture that does not simply have diversity as a policy but that embraces and embodies a diverse workforce as a way to have a productive structure.
As the competitive landscape intensifies, companies that pay attention to diversity and structure their organizations around it will find that they have far greater access to the best talent pool. This includes men and women, members of different religions, people of many races, disabled persons, and individuals of varying sexual orientation. Truly diverse companies will see opportunities for meaningful contribution from older and younger workers alike, from the disabled, and from those of varying life needs. As organizations move to embrace diversity, they will find that they are ahead of the curve on every measurable front – from recruiting and retaining the best employees to higher profit margins and productivity levels, from better reflecting their marketplace to finally insuring a more satisfying workplace.
Excerpted from THE NEW WORKFORCE Five Sweeping Trends That Will Shape Your Company’s Future by Harriet Hankin (Amacom, 2004). For more information or to order, go to amanet.org/books.
