The challenges of workplace diversity

I had a sobering discussion with an HR Executive recently.

Workplace diversity was the issue on the table. ‘Senior managers need to be made aware that their approach to work, their hiring and management decisions and preferences are fraught with prejudices and bias,’ she said.

‘Transformation and Employment Equity legislation are impossible to implement without "conscious" executives and managers who value diversity of workers in the organisation.’ She added. It is even harder if you consider that executives and managers are where they are in their careers directly, and in-directly, because of the prejudicial and biased workplace practices.

The workplace practices mirror the socio-economic arrangement bordering on various ills such as racism, patriarchy, looking down upon, or feeling sorry for, people with disability. There are other issues which perpetuate discrimination and prejudices. The HR Executive concluded by saying that ‘It is crucial to work with the senior level of the workforce. They can inspire change if they are willing to re-learn.’

There is a misunderstanding about what workplace diversity entails. In his seminal book (100 Lessons in Diversity), Stanley Bongwe argues that ‘even though we had been taught throughout our upbringing that we should treat others as they would like to be treated, we must also learn, especially in a diverse environment, to treat others as they would like to be treated and not necessarily the way we would like to be treated or to treat them, for what works for us may not work for others.’

Below are some of the workplace diversity elements which top management need to be helped to deal with, and take the conscious lead on them around the workplace:

1. Race

Top management positions are predominantly white, and male. Management decisions on who to hire, promote, and how to evaluate performance, who to include in the succession planning, etc. must consciously open up the opportunities for the equally skilled and qualified individuals from other race groups to thrive;

2. Gender

There are few female managers and executives in South African workforce; even those who make it to the top are induced to perpetrate the prejudice... it is called "competence" and it is wrong. Deciding to hire people on the basis of their gender is discriminatory;

3. Age

The young and old workforce have different approaches to work. Conscious dialogue and deliberate collaboration is crucial;

4. Sexual orientation

Not all people in the workplace have similar sexual orientation. They deserve respect, they have the capability to work and we must suspend our judgement of them;

5. Religion

All the religions deserve recognition and respect; no prejudicial decisions based on religion must be welcomed;

 6. Political views

The political views of workers should not influence management decisions and practices. The attitude towards people based on this borders on prejudice and discrimination.

7. Ethnicity

Decisions and practices based on whether a worker is Afrikaner, Zulu, English, or Venda-speaking means that those decisions and practices are prejudicial and biased;

8. Culture

How a people’s culture finds expression in the workplace is not something for anybody to dictate. Everyone can and should do things the way their social ways require, of course within the ambits of mutual respect, decency, timing and reasonable workplace standards.

9. Marital status

Whether a person is married or single or divorced has no bearing on hiring and people management decisions;

10. Family responsibility

It should not bother anyone that somebody has demanding or no family responsibility. All persons have a right to attend to family responsibility within reasonable parameters and clear policy guidelines.

11. Social status

That certain persons are of this social status, that they can or cannot afford to have this or that; that their hobbies are this and they have social relations with other certain important persons (or not) should not dictate the workplace attitude and decisions about them.

12. Nationality

Denying people of other nationalities employment, or standard privileges and basic rights accorded to the country’s citizens, is discriminatory. Xenophobia finds expression here.

13. People with Disability

Denying people with disability employment and training opportunities, ignoring to make the workplace environment conducive for them to work and socialise effectively, thinking that those persons need our mercy and help (they will not cope with work)... all these things are unacceptable.

14. Health status

When we make decisions which affect other workers based on their health status, and on whether we think their health or body weight (also confused with the physical looks) bars them from working effectively, we are discriminating. We must distinguish between poor health and incapacity.

15. Conscience

Whether people think that they want to save the planet, to hug the trees to prevent others from destroying forests or whether they want to emancipate women or men, it is not the basis to decide how to treat them. We must respect what they think is important and be open to learning from them and help them to learn from us – without coercion or force.

16. Language

The ability or inability, or refusal, to speak a certain language is not the basis to decide on the treatment of the worker in the workplace.

17. Distance to work

How we make the decisions about what time people must start and stop to work, and on whether they must be involved or excluded from work activities and events of fun and team building, should be mindful of distance to work. The implication of this is when certain persons have to participate in the extended work hours, evening company functions, family responsibility which, often, is unexpected, and so on.

Workplace diversity is about valuing and harnessing the differences amongst people - building on those differences. It is not about ‘You are different from me,’ but ‘You are different like me.’

The downside of valuing workplace diversity is that it can be isolated from ordinary social practices... as if the workplace practices do not mirror the broader societal practices. Secondly, those who deal with diversity may “include” or “assimilate” the outsiders into the dominant group. Doing so perpetuates the stereotypes, sanitises the prejudices and sustains the social inequity.

 

We must have the courage to open ourselves to new lessons and experiences about other people. We must find out from those who are “different like us” how they want to be treated, and we must be willing to express our preferences to them openly.

 

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