Diversity brings with it a host of unforeseen advantages. When staff accurately reflect the company's society and customer base, inevitably, a better thought process will result about what a company sells and about its strategic initiatives. These goals will not only improve the company's culture and problem-solving; they will enhance profitability and reflect upon the global nature of business in general, an imperative in the modern world.
Diversity programs lead to increased innovation, improved service to clients, increased job retention, improved recruiting, improved human resource practices, and higher company morale. Alternately, a lack of diversity can lead to glass ceilings, high turnover, recruiting difficulties, low productivity, and poor morale.
No End to Diversity
The traditional categories of diversity initiatives are those which spring immediately to mind, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, and disability. These are generally factors that are unchangeable, and do not reflect a person's choices. A company must also diversify when it comes to nontraditional categories of diversity, such as education, wealth, religion, work experience, life experience, location, marital status, work diversities, and experience in the armed forces.
The goals for creating a diversity initiative in a workplace can be measured. A diversity initiative ought to help a company maximize workplace satisfaction, retain a world-class workforce, and maintain an environment that fosters learning and understanding. In order to do this, a company should first obtain an executive commitment to diversity, assess the climate, needs, and issues of their business, and then link the goal of diversity to future business plans.
A diversity initiative should:
- Communicate the mission
- Assess the efforts of employees
- Train the workforce in appropriate behaviors
- Establish an oversight council
- Reward managers for success
"We value the diversity of our employees and the unique perspectives that they bring to our company. Diversity at our company includes functional roles within the company, the markets and industries we serve, our length of service, geographic location, educational background, age, race, gender, ethnicity, and whether employees joined our company independently or through an acquisition. By valuing differences, we demonstrate our commitment to treat everyone with fairness and respect."
Diversity vs. Equal Treatment
Achieving diversity without infringing on some individuals' rights can be a tricky proposition. Ironically, and unfortunately, employers who implement well-intentioned diversity initiatives often find themselves exposed to liability in the form of "reverse" discrimination lawsuits.
Preferential treatment may be necessary to remedy past discrimination, but keep in mind that Title VII protects all individuals, not just people in a minority category. Therefore, it is important to keep treatment fair in order to minimize discrimination against people in a majority position.
Conventional discrimination claims involve someone who belongs to a protected group and is qualified for the job but who is a victim of an adverse employment action or unequal treatment. Discrimination can also occur, however, if an employer discriminates against the majority.
If an employer deviates from its established hiring process in order to hire someone who is not objectively the most qualified candidate, there may be exposure to discrimination claims, no matter who they are hiring. While this can seem like a Catch-22, best practices for avoiding claims of "reverse" discrimination can be simple enough to implement:
- Review and expand recruitment efforts to ensure everyone has a fair opportunity to be hired
- Promote inclusiveness and ensure that everyone feels welcome upon being hired
- Emphasize the importance of objective decision-making, and be consistent and logical when it comes to employment decisions
No discrimination was found, however, because the complaining police officer had less experience, more documented reprimands, and documented problems working with the African-American community. In this case, the policies of the city of Plainfield were consistent and logical, and they held to them in order to promote the best qualified candidate for the job.
Diversity in action
Employers should seek to increase diversity through creative recruitment strategies, networking and mentoring programs, family-friendly policies and the like. With respect to particular employment decisions, such as hiring, promotion and termination, employers would be wise to ensure that all such decisions are based on objective standards, that they are reviewed by disinterested levels of management, and that the policies on which they are based are consistently applied.
By implementing such policies, not only does a company take major steps to shield itself from discrimination lawsuits, but it grows more humane and flexible, becoming a global business with an inclusive, profitable future.
About the Author
A. Martin Wickliff, Jr., is the managing partner of Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall, P.C.'s Houston Office and leads the Labor & Employment practice. Mr. Wickliff's experience includes litigation and trials of a wide range of employment and labor issues in state and federal courts, including class actions and multiple plaintiff lawsuits. He can be reached at mwickliff@ebglaw.com or 713-750-3100.
About Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Founded in 1973, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., is a law firm with more than 380 attorneys practicing in 11 offices throughout the U.S. including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, San Francisco, Stamford, and Washington, D.C., and with affiliations worldwide. The firm's size, diversity, and global affiliations allow our attorneys to address the needs of both small entrepreneurial ventures and large multinational corporations on a worldwide basis. EBG focuses on Business Law, Health Care and Life Sciences, Labor and Employment, Litigation, and Real Estate.
