Diversity and Inclusion in the Global Workplace

Diversity management is growing steadily as the Internet and global communications have been clearly increasing the role of multicultural factors in many environments. Awareness and appreciation of diversity vary according to cultural milieu. What is effective in one culture can be counterproductive in another. Understanding diversity parameters and developing effectiveness with them can help individuals and organizations create strategies that support culturally appropriate diversity and enhance productivity. This chapter will explore co-cultural diversity in terms of continental specifics with contributions from residents in Germany, South Africa, Mexico, India, and African Americans and Asians living in the USA. Understanding of, respect for, and positive incorporation of ideas from diverse cultures around the world, while remaining flexible in approach and oriented toward people, can support improved workplace and social dynamics.

Age diversity is a key component of diversity management‚ since the current workforce offers a unique generational mix. Organizational leaders face numerous challenges in today’s dynamic workplace that require experiential, technical, and analytical skills that are only achieved with an age-diverse workforce. A combination of life span development theories and perceptions of generational differences presents the challenges faced by HR personnel and organizational leaders in order to manage varying age groups at work. This chapter explores the perceptual, as well as evidenced-based information regarding workplace age diversity and the practical applications for managing an age-diverse workforce.

Given an increasingly racially, ethnically, and religiously diverse workforce in the United States and internationally and the globalization of business and industry initiatives, governmental and organizational leaders and managers must be proactive, not just reactive, in creating and implementing strategies to recruit, manage, retain, and promote workers of diverse races, ethnicities, and religions. An equally important imperative is providing equal access and opportunity for racial, ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups heretofore underrepresented in the workforce. This chapter has a global focus, highlighting demographic changes, challenges, and successful policy and strategic initiatives to support a racially, ethnically, and religiously diverse workforce in the UK/Europe, Asia, North America, and elsewhere.

To be more inclusive and affirming of diverse identities within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community, it is imperative for the workplace to evolve and align with contemporary schools of thought around language that more accurately captures those who identify as part of the community. In their efforts to remain inclusive and consistent, NIH suggests considering “sexual and gender minority” (SGM) as an umbrella phrase that encompasses lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations as well as those whose sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, or reproductive development varies from traditional, societal, cultural, or physiological norms. This chapter discusses issues related to the inclusion of SGM, as well as the barriers that still exist in the workplace, despite the rapid social advancements for this community.

The relatively recent emergence of spirituality in the workplace suggests an innovative alternative to understanding and managing diversity in Corporate America. On the one hand, research has demonstrated that business corporations have served as effective agents of positive social change. On the other hand, many of the social ideals emerging from religious and spiritual movements have historically managed to unmask institutional abuses and reclaim the value, wholeness, and dignity of the human person. This chapter discusses the many performance indicators influenced by the voices of spiritual communities living within the organization capable of identifying structural biases and promoting a more balanced view of corporate performance, both relational and operational.

Numerous studies have been conducted on changing corporate, nonprofit, educational, and other workplace cultures over the last two decades. However, even as the need for change is recognized, the question arises how are strategic decisions made in order to have transformative alterations in management decisions to promote new innovative products, solutions, and resources? This chapter will define, highlight, and discuss through interactive case studies and exercises, Design Thinking implementation in the corporate, educational, governmental, and nonprofit workplaces. Through practical scenarios, readers will be guided through the wonderful, human-centered ventures of Design Thinking principles for problem-solving, the implementation and planning of transforming recommendations revealed through the process.

As learning organizations, companies want to have a learning environment for their employees. Inside them, learning transpires not only within educational opportunities (e.g., online, classroom, on-the-job) but within the totality of the business experience. Within the business environment, among a host of other diversities, one finds three types of learning diversity: how employees learn, what environmental relations they have experienced, and varied theoretical learning foundations. This chapter furnishes a look at the types of diversity present within a business by taking these three types of employee diversity in business and subdividing them into components. Furthermore, the chapter details instructional tasks that can be delivered to a diverse clientele (the employees) by providing a variety of learning exercises that can be adapted by supervisors and trainers alike.

Managers, leaders, and change agents in the workplace must be knowledgeable and sensitive to the issues and challenges faced by persons with disabilities. Specific laws govern how employers ensure equality in the workforce for persons with disabilities. This chapter will outline the scope of the nation’s disability protection laws while also highlighting the issues and challenges facing workers with disabilities. Notable corporate, educational, and governmental policy efforts to recruit, mentor, and maintain workers with disabilities will be discussed along with the value and benefits of inclusion in the workforce. The focus on progressive corporate, educational, and governmental policy efforts and strategies will reinforce existing workable solutions for consistent employment opportunities for workers with disabilities

The perspective of diversity and inclusion is the next step in the evolution of Leadership. Leaders who demonstrate cultural competence in D&I will ascend toward the next level of transforming the global marketplace. The interdependent nature of diverse global relationships will also require leadership perspectives that include awareness of current global challenges, strategies, and initiatives. This chapter will explore another level of diversity and inclusion, including different leadership characteristics described as “inclusive leadership behavior,” “inclusive influence,” and “inclusive organizational behavior.” The combination of these diverse leadership characteristics builds the foundation for an “Inclusion Leadership Model” that will support the vision for diversity and inclusion in the twenty-first century.

The diversity found in the classrooms of most higher education programs is a consequence of the globalized marketplace and worldwide immigration, with different nationalities coming together in a classroom environment to learn how to better perform in a market that is similarly multicultural and ethnically diverse. This learning environment now mandates that students develop a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of different cultures and ways of doing business in different parts of the world compared to earlier decades. This chapter discusses how educational institutions are addressing global awareness and citizenship, leading to a consequent employability improvement as well as providing the global community with future leaders and effective problem-solvers.

Numerous research studies reveal when leadership includes diversity and inclusion in the business ethics of the organization, it can have a positive effect on the health and well-being of all stakeholders. Work-life balance (WLB) in the workplace provides a new ethical construct being pursued by developed nations and public and private organizations around the world. The effectiveness of some WLB benefits is questionable because supervisors found a ‘one-size-fits-all’ WLB policy complicated to manage in a diverse workforce. This chapter explores broadening the ‘one-size-fits-all’ policies to a ‘create for implementation’ design. Practical applications will be shared to help diversify one’s hidden biases that might help mitigate unfavorable attitudes and behaviors of non-supporting WLB supervisors.

Today, in the marketplace, it is almost impossible to be part of a company’s workforce that is not characterized by a strong diversity in its demographics. Employees belong to different age groups, races, and ethnicities, are of different genders and have different sexual orientation, besides leading, managing, thinking, and learning in diverse ways. If managed effectively, by embracing differences and exercising inclusive processes and procedures, diversity can not only booster performance, but also promote creativity and innovation. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss a viable way to address diversity and inclusion, through the development of a FRAMEWORK that could be tailored to attend specific needs of companies and organizations in different industries.