Types Of Diversity In The Workplace To Be Aware Of
The topic of diversity in the workplace is quite broad.
It’s important to keep in mind that diversity doesn’t only cover the visible difference we can identify from the surface, diversity goes deeper to address invisible and cognitive differences that may not be easy to pick up.
In this article, we will discuss:
Organizational Dimensions of Diversity
When looking at diversity, it’s helpful to think about it from the perspective of two common spheres.
First, the inner embedded sphere includes elements you have limited or no control over.
These include: age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race and physical/mental ability.
Second, the outer sphere features elements you have more influence over and can change.
These include: income, religion, education, work experience, personal appearance, point of view, personal values, political beliefs and perspective.
While there are different types of diversity, it is worth identifying and understanding all of them to create a more innovative and inclusive environment.
The ability to identify different diversities also allows the organization to measure them; thus, allowing easy identification of gaps and how to address the problem.
The Four Types of Diversity In The Workplace
It’s important to identify diversity differences that are more than just racial, ethnic, gender, age, or sexual orientation-based.
For example: distinctions shouldn't only be limited to someone who is White and someone who is Black. Even if they both have an equal net worth or have the same position in the company, their experiences will be extremely different.
Thus, their perspective and contribution to the company will most definitely vary. To make better sense of this perspective, it’s important to first look at the different types of diversity.
Internal Diversity
Internal Diversity refers to the components that one can't control - age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, and physical/mental ability.
It is important to note that when race and ethnicity are introduced, they don't just refer the color of the skin. They also can refer to one's cultural background and national origin or place of birth/upbringing.
2. External Diversity
External diversity on the other end covers components one can and cannot control - income, religion, education, work experience, personal appearance, point of view, personal values, political beliefs, and perspective.
Others include citizenship, geographical location, and marital status. Similar to internal diversity components, external ones are quite closely related to an individual. However, an individual can control, change or influence most of them.
3. Organizational Diversity
While internal and external diversity impact an individual beyond their workplace, organizational diversity is somewhat limited within the workplace.
For example, one’s gender or sexual orientation is part of their everyday life. However, their seniority at work will affect them within the confines of the organization or other work-related environments. Some of the key components that cover this type of diversity include job functions, status at work, work location, seniority, and union affiliations.
4. World View Diversity
World view diversity covers our experiences outside work – our cultural perspective, politics, historical knowledge, and travel knowledge, just to mention a few.
An individual’s entire life experience is important when it comes to diversity. Yet, this type of diversity is normally fitted within the other types as it may be difficult to solely focus on it or measure it – unless, it is necessary.
Why is it Important to Recognize Different Types of Diversity?
Recognizing the different types of diversities doesn’t only allow you to clearly categorize them. This information comes in handy when an organization wants to effect actual change. Let’s look at the state of unemployment in America.
According to Forbes, unemployment rates in the US were unevenly distributed during the COVID pandemic.
In the post-pandemic “return to norm”, unemployment rates rose to15.4% for African Americans while unemployment rates for their White counterparts improved to 10.1%. This is recent data again highlighting the importance of recognizing diversity.
When putting together a strategy to reduce the unemployment rate in the US it is very important to include race in the conversation, because what keeps a White person poor is very different from what keeps a Black person poor. While the outcome of lowering the unemployment rate looks the same, the way to achieve it is not.
Merely creating more jobs may help a White population, but it will not help the Black population at the same advantage when there is systematic bias in all hiring processes that make it more difficult for Black people to find a job. Bias in the hiring process includes things such as racial name bias.
In fact, a study by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan on labor market discrimination, states that individuals with "Black sounding" names receive fewer callbacks than their White counterparts with more 'White names".
Additionally, minority groups are likely to experience pervasive bias during the hiring process even when hiring managers are unaware. The National Bureau of Economic research reported that “Job applicants with White names need to send about 10 resumes to get one callback; those with African-American names needed to send around 15 resumes to get one callback”.
This is the same in your workplace, as the reasons that prevent a Black people from getting promoted in the workplace is not always the same reason that prevents White people or other races. Most importantly, it is crucial to recognize how different diversity demographics interact with each other. This is called Intersectionality.
There is a significant need for intersectionality when looking at diversity. You want to look at the whole picture and understand the many different traits/experiences one has that impacts the way they see and walk through life.
Previously we talked about the differences of what keeps Black people unemployed compared to white people, but what about a Black woman? Not only might they face racial biases when looking for work, but what about gender biases?
As you continue to look at additional diversity demographics they all interact and with each other in different ways.
Diversity is what makes us special!
Understanding Diversity Types In Your Organization
Recognizing the demographic representation in your workplace and identifying where you have underrepresentation is essential to running a successful Diversity and Inclusion program. It’s also important to be aware of all the types of diversity in the workplace and how it interacts with each other to create an effective D&I program.
Plainly looking at the representational demographics will only be useful to a certain extent. However, it is very helpful in raising red flags and identifying where you should look deeper. If you notice that you are not receiving a diverse representation of applications, candidates in your pipeline, etc.
Ask yourself questions such as:
Is our application process a fair one?
Does the job description use pro-diversity language?
Does the application focus on identifying data that can yield bias?
Have our HR staff received proper training in D&I?
Is our HR and managerial team diverse?
What is our goal in hiring diverse talent?
Want some help with your DEI Survey?
Example to Benchmark Diversity in Your Organization
In this example, we assume you want to focus on making your organization more accessible.
Maybe you see the industry available talent for people in a wheelchair is 2%, but your organization only has a representation of 0.1%.
This can be a helpful indicator that there may be bias in your hiring processes, or you have difficulty retaining this talent.
In this case, ask yourself:
Is our building accessible for people in wheelchairs?
Are our teams and the way we work inclusive for people in wheelchairs?
Do we offer remote options for those who prefer not to travel to work?
Are our insurance coverage and company policies inclusive?
Are all of our employees in wheelchairs below a managerial level, making our company less appealing to potential recruits?
Furthermore, beyond hiring and talent retention, being able to recognize the different types of diversity allows you to easily track the progress of your company and what strategies need to be implemented in the future.
When it comes to implementing the D&I program of your organization, being able to identify and measure different types of diversity allows the company to gauge whether or not their programs are effective.
Breaking Down Diversity Data
For any organization, when it comes to addressing the issues of D&I, it is important to start looking at your representation. Identifying and being able to measure different types of diversity is important for collecting key data.
Learning perspectives from different backgrounds and how the intersectionality of different demographics interact with each other will not be an easy journey. The key is openness.
Whilst some may simply look at the race, they may fail to identify deeper issues such as colorism.
Therefore, being able to break down differences in diversity and understanding how they interact to develop sustainable D&I solutions is key.
You must remember that the data should be treated sensitively with respect, after all, all experiences lived and shared by the employees – positive or negative – are what form the true dynamics of the organization. Therefore, to truly effect change, they must be respected and included.
In addition to creating KPIs to measure diversity, organizations can:
Use surveys and segment questionnaires based on different minority groups
Raise awareness amongst employees and management about the different types of diversity
Widen the scope of the organization’s recruitment
Focus on retention by creating a more culturally diverse and friendly environment
Promote and create policies that encourage organizational inclusivity culture
Offer diversity training for staff
Promote diversity across all levels of the organization - not just in recruitment
If possible, allow for a more flexible work schedule to attract a wider selection of candidates and talent
To encourage a workplace culture that promotes this practice, an organization must implement ways to improve D&I in the workplace and remember that diversity and inclusion in the workplace is an ongoing and everyday process.
