Managing diversity a growing challenge

MANAGEMENT of diversity and equality of opportunitiy already provides one of the greatest organisational challenges facing society if we look at the private sector, public sector, thrid sector.

And, with organisation increasingly watching the bottom line, is diversity simply a “need to have” rather than a “want to have”?

Where equal oportunties focuses largely on compliance with legislation, diversity is more about respecting and understanding differences while helping maximise potential.

The two are distinct issues, but neither can be looked at in isolation because one feeds the other.

From that standpoint, it is important to recognise that the incoming Equality Bill remains firmly on the UK Government’s agenda.

The three aspects of measurements that will include:

• Equality of Outcome
• Equality of Process
• Equality of Autonomy

For the most part, it is intended to simplify existing legislation, but will also extend the scope of certain discriminatory grounds.

For example, age will become a ground for challenge in the provision of goods and services, while the public-sector equality duties currently covering gender, race and disability, will be expanded to age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.

Though the private sector is not directly affected by the equality duties, they inevitably have a knock-on effect when private companies are involved in public-sector procurement processes. Organisations will increasingly be asked to produce evidence of their work on equality and diversity.

But the prospect of changes under the Equality Bill is not the only front on which organisations are coming under more pressure to improve their practices.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is about to place the financial services and construction sectors under the spotlight in two formal inquiries.

One will tackle alleged barriers to employment for ethnic minority employees in the construction industry and the other will concentrate on the apparently higher proportion of women working in some areas of financial services that are paid less than their male counterparts and suffer harassment at work.

Given the current downturn, the inquiries will examine whether redundancies are disproportionately affecting women and ethnic minorities.

The cost of getting it wrong, the Price of getting wrong are two different things as the emotional affect on diversity and equality of ingroance, indifference, inaction not only manifests itself in the potential for liagaition, but also in higher staff attrition rates, greater costs and more difficulties when trying to hire the best people.

On the other hand, investing the time to manage workplace diversity effectively can result in the creation of a more committed and loyal workforce, increased productivity and the provision of a better service to custormers and key stakeholders.

• What do you think?
• Does it matter?