Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity & Inclusion
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The Nature Conservancy has a strong and abiding commitment to diversity in its workforce and in the people and groups with which it works. In fact, diversity is one of the Conservancy's unique .We recognize the Conservancy's mission&to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends&is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of men and women of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and cultures.We
and mentor staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects the organization's global character.Global threats to the environment affect people of all backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. Making a real difference requires the rich blend of perspectives, ideas and viewpoints that only a truly diverse workforce can provide.To that end, in the fall of 2015 The Conservancy hired its first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) and staff. The CDIO, , sits as a member of the Executive Team and advises it and the President on policy matters related to diversity and inclusion.This new function designs and leads our global strategy, coordinates its implementation and advises internal functions on their incorporation of diversity and inclusion. Our strategy also includes external engagement with new constituencies and partners, operationalizing further our human rights and indigenous rights standards and monitoring, and conservation capacity building related to culture, gender and other differences as part of the update of our scientific method, .In addition, our
People Team and the CDIO collaboratively manage our inclusive workplace initiatives such as the &Engaging Across Difference& learning laboratory, other staff learning opportunities related to topics such as unconscious bias, Employee Resource Groups and staff access to cultural literacy tools and technologies.
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STAY CONNECTEDAdvantages and Disadvantages of Diversity in Workplace |
Advantages and Disadvantages of Diversity in Workplace
by David Ingram
Managing workplace diversity can strengthen work teams. black and white 88 image by Nathalie P
Diversity in the workplace encompasses a range of elements. Differences in national origin, primary language, religion, social status and age can benefit or harm organizations. Managing diversity effectively is the key to leveraging the advantages and minimizing the disadvantages of diversity in the workplace.
Diverse Experience Co-workers with diverse cultural backgrounds bring unique experiences and perceptions to the table in groups and work teams. Pooling the diverse knowledge and skills of culturally distinct workers together can benefit companies by strengthening teams' productivity and responsiveness to changing conditions. Each employee in a diverse workplace possesses unique strengths and weaknesses derived from their culture in addition to their individuality. When managed properly, diversity in the workplace can leverage the strengths and complement the weaknesses of each worker to make the impact of the workforce greater than the sum of its parts. Learning And Growth Another advantage of workplace diversity is the opportunity for employees' personal growth. Being exposed to new ideas, cultures and perspectives can help individuals to reach out intellectually and gain a clearer view of their surroundings and their place in the world. Spending time with culturally diverse co-workers can slowly break down the subconscious barriers of ethnocentrism and xenophobia, encouraging employees to be more well-rounded members of society. Communication Issues Diversity impacts workplace communication in positive and negative ways. Between co-workers, diversity can place impediments in the way of effective communication, which can directly dampen productivity and the cohesiveness of small groups. Spending time with diverse employees can break down communication barriers over the long-term, but first impressions and co-workers' orientation periods can be difficult to control when cultures clash. Diversity can strengthen your company's relationships with specific customer groups by making communication more effective. Customer service representatives can be paired up with customers from their specific demographic, making the customer feel comfortable with the representative, and thus with the company. A number of companies in the southwest United States, for example, prefer to hire bi-lingual customer service reps to deal with Spanish-speaking customers in their native language. Integration Issues Social integration at work can only be influenced to a small degree. The formation of cliques and exclusive social groups is a natural process that can be impossible to control at times. Because of this, companies can experience informal divisions in their staff, creating a situation where culturally diverse employees avoid exposure to each other during break times and after work. Although there is nothing fundamentally wrong with this scenario, it can hinder the effectiveness of sharing knowledge, skills and experience, thus curbing productivity growth and the effectiveness of teams.
About the Author David Ingram has written for multiple publications since 2009, including "The Houston Chronicle" and online . As a small-business owner, Ingram regularly confronts modern issues in management, marketing, finance and business law. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts in management from Walsh University.
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& Copyright 2016 Hearst Newspapers, LLCGender Diversity in the Workplace
Gender Diversity in the Workplace
In the past, all women in the workplace were automatically
assigned to temporary or part-time or low responsibility jobs
because it was understood that their first priority was taking
care of their families. Unmarried women were likely to quit as
soon as they married (often to an up-and-coming executive in the
company), and married women were likely to quit as soon as the
became pregnant. Women with children were understood to care more
about the children than about work. In addition, there was a
widespread belief that women were not as capable as men, either
physically or mentally or emotionally.
Today, women are not generally seen as inferior to men (in
fact, it is common to hear that men are inferior to women). And
there are women who want to put work first and family second.
Most women in the workforce do not see it as temporary --
something to do until they &catch a man& -- nor as
&extra& income.
Organizations have been slowly adjusting to these changes,
learning to treat women as the equals of men and not as a pool of
potential dates. Both discriminating against female employees (in
terms of hiring and advancement) and treating them in a sexual
manner (sexual harassment) are now against the law.
However, since there remain some women in the workforce who do
place family first, Felice Schwartz has suggested creating a
&Mommy Track& which would allow them to have more
flexible and shorter hours and lesser responsibility in exchange
for lower pay and limited career growth. In other words,
recognize the wider diversity of needs of employees today and set
up systems to accommodate them all.
Feminists worry that creating a Mommy Track effectively
licenses corporations to discriminate against women. They feel
that women (and presumably men!) should be allowed to have
flexible work arrangements and remain on the fast track.
Some people regard issues of treatment of various employee
groups, such as those based on gender, race, and sexual
orientation as primarily an issue of moral fairness. Women should
be given the same career
homosexual couples
should be given the same health insurance benefits as
heterosexual couples. American society and culture has changed
considerably on these issues over the last 150 years (when women
were not allowed to vote and slavery was still practiced), and
organizations are asked to not only follow suit but lead the way.
However, many managers would counter that organizations are not
supposed to change American society. They are supposed to
manufacture goods and provide services for money. Their
responsibilities are to their stockholders, not women's groups.
It might be morally desirable for corporations to give all their
profits to the poor, but it would not be responsible action.
Others see the issues primarily in strategic terms.
Organizations compete for human resources and as the workforce
becomes more heterogeneous, organizations will have to serve the
diverse needs of this workforce or they will lose them to their
competitors. Organizations that discriminate against women are
forced to select workers from a smaller pool, reducing their
ability to find top performers. At the same time, some managers would point out
that increased
diversity can cause management problems. For example, having more women has
meant more
problems with sexual harassment (even if it's the men's fault). Increased diversity
brings with it the need for more flexibility, which makes management more
complicated (e.g., scheduling, compensation plans, interpersonal
communication).}