Diversity is a concept that’s constantly evolving. It’s not easy to define, and everyone has a different idea of what diversity actually means. Because people have such different ideas about diversity, many myths and misunderstandings about it still exist. Three of the most common myths are that diversity is all about differences of race and gender, that diversity is all about equal opportunities, and that diversity is an HR issue.
In companies that have developed diversity far beyond just equal opportunities, you’ll notice three things:
- people from different backgrounds are helped and encouraged to work together – Diversity in the workplace entails finding ways to help people from different backgrounds – social or economic, for instance – be productive as a team.
- the contribution of a workforce made of diverse individuals is valued – Workplaces must focus on creating a culture that values everyone’s contribution, not just the contributions of a few people or groups.
- monoculture is avoided and differences among individuals are understood, recognized, and accepted – Avoiding monoculture – which is characterized by homogeneity – is a huge part of diversity in the workplace. Very few companies could be successful without the different perspectives their diverse workforces provide.
The key thing to remember is that diversity is about focusing on the big picture, not just pieces of it. Each person, as an individual, doesn’t represent diversity. Instead, the entire mixture of individuals – with their unique ideas and experiences – is the real diversity in an organization.
Prejudice and stereotypes
Prejudice and stereotypes can lead to discrimination and unequal opportunities. Prejudices of all types are still the biggest barrier to most companies’ efforts to develop diversity. Most people, perhaps yourself included, think they’re fair. You don’t consciously judge people based on race, age, or gender. But prejudice is often unconscious, which is why it’s so difficult to overcome.
Essentially, prejudice is perpetuating negative stereotypes instead of accepting differences. Prejudice within the workplace is especially challenging:
- It’s common for some employees and managers to lack certain skills – political or corporate skills, for instance. This can make them feel uncomfortable, which hinders their chances of success.
- It can separate information from the people who need it most and prevent them from obtaining the resources they require to get ahead in their careers. Many employees struggle to get the experience and development opportunities needed to compete for senior positions.
- It can be difficult for some employees to find a balance between their work and personal lives. This is especially true for women and men who are the primary caregivers for their children.
- In general, people are more comfortable dealing with others who are similar to them. A diverse workforce can enhance creativity, but it can also create fault lines that split a group into subgroups.
To overcome prejudice and stereotypes, you can become aware of your own biases, assumptions, and social and racial prejudices. By questioning yourself, you can figure out if you’re acting on assumptions or facts.
Cultural Expectations
In general, people who come from different cultural backgrounds have different expectations about management styles, work rules, and even appropriate behavior. When expectations among group members differ, it can have a negative impact on the group’s cohesion.
It’s crucial that a group can communicate effectively about values, objectives, and tasks. But cultural expectations can make it difficult for group members to come to any sort of agreement about these issues, and this can eventually destroy the team. If your company wants to avoid these negative consequences, it must figure out a way to manage cultural differences. This is where the challenge lies. Often, some employees find their ideas and opinions dismissed in favor of the more dominant point of view.
Jealousy and Defensiveness
People often feel threatened when they think their advantages will be taken away. If your company doesn’t encourage and embrace diversity properly, employees who have traditionally been advantaged might feel that these advantages are being threatened.
Employees who have traditionally been handed promotions might feel resentful that they now have to compete for those jobs. This can lead to jealousy and defensiveness – both of which can negatively impact your team’s productivity.
Jealousy and defensiveness are most likely to become issues when diversity is forced. If employees are made to work with people they normally wouldn’t socialize with, they may feel they need to change their behavior – which, over time, leads to resentment.
Resistance
No matter how much enthusiasm your company has for diversity and how much effort it puts into developing diversity, it might still encounter resistance. Resistance can happen for two reasons:
- some people feel there’s no need to change – It’s common for some employees, especially executives, to feel that there’s no need to change because the company is successful just the way it is.
- others just can’t understand the benefits of developing diversity – Some executives have a difficult time understanding the benefits of diversity.
Overcoming this obstacle is possible, but only when the organization has clearly defined its objectives with regard to diversity. The company must show executives how the expected payoffs of developing diversity are worth achieving.
Overcoming resistance might seem like an impossible task for you as an individual. But think about how you learn to accept any change – you focus on the benefits. If you focus on the benefits of diversity instead of thinking of all the reasons it might not work, you’ll probably find the resistance becomes less of an issue over time.
Diversity is a tough issue for many organizations to deal with. Companies want to foster diversity, but they often encounter barriers and challenges along the way to establishing and developing diversity in the workplace. The most common barriers to diversity are prejudice and stereotypes, cultural expectations, jealousy and defensiveness, and resistance to change. Overcoming these barriers will help your organization become a leader in its industry.
Managing diversity
When you’re aware of your own values, core beliefs, and biases, you’re equipped to manage your reactions in difficult situations involving diversity. One technique for doing this is to take control of your self-talk. Your mind sends you messages all the time, relentlessly. Self-talk is the little voice in your head that you hear as you experience things and interact with people.
When self-talk is positive, your attitude is also positive. But when self-talk is negative, you can feel defeated and powerless. By learning to manage your self-talk, you can change the internal messages from negative to positive ones. It’s a useful technique for dealing with your own and other’s diversity. To work on your own self-talk, you can follow three steps:
- Your first step in dealing with self-talk is to acknowledge and identify it. You need to isolate the internal messages that are critical of you and others.
- Next, challenge any self-talk messages that are inaccurate, exaggerated, or defeating.
- And finally, rewrite your self-talk. If you hear “I can’t do this; I’m going to fail,” substitute the message with “I’m taking it one step at a time, and I’ll get it right.”
Self-awareness can determine how successful you are when working with diverse people. The elements you need to be able to identify are your core values, core beliefs, and biases. Values are the overriding principles that guide your actions and behaviors.
You may be able to prevent most misunderstandings if you follow some guidelines for active listening. To be an active listener, perform these specific actions:
- suspend judgment
- listen carefully
- check understanding by paraphrasing, and
- ask questions if you don’t understand
Active listening actually helps the speaker learn to communicate better. By following active listening techniques, you’re teaching the speaker how to communicate with you in the style that works best for you.
