Diversity Management Today
Diversity management has been a human resource issue that has captured the headlines for some times in the recent few years. With the world tending to a global village, labor mobility has intensified and the labor market has diversified such that organizations have found themselves with the responsibility of dealing with workforce diversity. Diversity may be in form of race, gender, age, religion and education. All these people need to have fair treatment in the job market otherwise there will be biasness. According to Business Week (September 2008) diversity hiring, and especially related to race and gender, has been a case of concern in America for some time. Indeed, the recently witnessed financial crisis has not only led to job losses, but also widening the gap between the white Americans and the minority groups representation.
In today’s world, diversity is not only important in job market, but also in every part of the economy including government representation, schools and colleges admission, and social and healthcare relations. However, despite the many criticisms of inadequate diversity management, a significant advancement in diversity management is evident compared to the earlier years. Stereotypes related to cultural background have subsided significantly; and there are many more women representatives in almost every point of interaction including the very top positions. This paper will analyze the issue of diversity management in the current job market.
In the US job market; there has been inequity in diversity management for a long time, with the minority groups including the blacks and the Hispanics bearing the brunt of biasness. Numerous campaigns have been going on to persuade firms to afford equal treatment to all irrespective of their diversity background. Actually, the difference in representation in the workforce does not mean that the minority groups are less qualified to take up the jobs, but it is the inherent stereotype that the minority have no voice in the society. Indeed, most of the highly qualified and most competent doctors, teachers, and other specialists have come from the minority groups yet their representation remains worrying. Generally, the report as per the Business Week indicates that the representation of blacks and the Hispanics in the total US workforce in 2006 was 13.1% and 7.6% respectively. Although this may have been a slight improvement compared to the previous years, the fact remains that the figures reflect a significant proportionate disparity with the white Americans. The history of America indicates presence of undercurrent of multiculturalism with no homogeneous or fully assimilated society to an extent that women and the minority groups have been pushed to the low-wage jobs in the job market.
The economic crisis that has affected the world in the recent time has sparked one of the greatest employee layoffs as some companies have collapsed while others have downsized, the effect of which has been asymmetrically reflected in diversity. Judging from the past trend where any issue that affects the society is more skewed towards the minority groups, the biggest losers in this financial crisis has definitely been the blacks, the Hispanics and other minority groups in the job market. Moreover, given that most of the job seekers have been the minority any subsequent layoff will heighten competition in the job market and the winners will always be those with a voice, may it be on experience, age or race. The situation is not different in other areas; for instance, in sports, most of the leaders (coaches, directors, managers and trainers) are representatives from groups other than the minority groups.
Hiring has witnessed the greatest diversity problem especially when it comes to management or leadership positions. Initial lack of endowment of the blacks, the Hispanics and the natives has made them lag behind in leadership of many corporations. In addition, the historical prejudice that women are better off in home affairs and family nurturing has been a major detriment to the development of women professionals. A better evidence of this can be found when one looks at the bigger picture of the world’s economies and realizes that out of all the heads of state, only a handful are women; the case is even worse when it comes to other leadership positions.
Despite the faults of diversity management in the job market, significant advancements have been evident. The intensive competition in the global market has seen firms adjusting to accommodate diversity management as a way of gaining competitive advantage. In addition, various advocates of diversity have been very vocal in matters appertaining to the plight of the minority. According to the Business Week, various foundations have been influential in bridging the gap of diversity by assisting the minority groups especially students on how to adjustment and cope with the diversity problem, including training them on diversity leadership. In addition the foundations have been spearheading the relationship between the employers and the minority groups through corporate sponsorship programs where companies are encouraged to embrace diversity management in their corporate portfolio.
A significant increase in women representation in the leadership and in general labor market has been witnessed in the last few years. For instance, many companies have embraced diversity programs that have seen the number of women in corporate level rise, with women of color representing 6.3%. However, unless the companies reinforce these diversity programs, the financial crisis, according to Business Week, will erode the slight improvement diversity management.
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