Buying into Diversity

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Michelle T Johnson | Diversity Diva | multiculturalism | inclusion | differences in the workplace | Business Strategies

Getting people to buy in to the importance of diversity is half the battle in the workplace.

That is one of the reasons why my style of talking about and writing about diversity is different than many others who train.

Sure, I could make my emphasis strong-arming corporations about race and gender. Those two issues are particularly close to my heart as a black woman.

But I can’t get people to even begin to understand where I’m coming from if I make no attempt to understand where they are coming from. And everyone is coming from someplace.

A recent study said that 38 percent of people would rather see a co-worker fired than take a pay cut themselves.

That’s pretty much two out of five people (and probably more than that if you factor in the people who didn’t own up to their honest opinion) who put their own inconvenience over the potential devastation of another.

How that ties in to diversity is my theory that the average person doesn’t care about anything that doesn’t directly concern them.  That, in fact, they are irritated about hearing the concerns of another unless they can see how it directly impacts them.

So, yes for diversity to become more than a marginalized priority and value in the workplace, almost everyone has to sign off on it to some degree. 

For those particularly motivated by the “big ticket” issues of race and gender, it can be frustrating when people who have been seemingly dismissive of their issues can start crying a river when they feel as if the bell is suddenly tolling for them. When you see that happen as a person who has been historically or openly discriminated on the basis of race or disability or some other status, you have to lower the bucket a little lower into the well of compassion.

In a recent column I read, the author expressed an opinion that raised some good concerns but that left me a little raw and irritated with the blanket assessment that “multiculturalism” was problematic.

"In my opinion, multiculturalism is economically and politically detrimental. A society does not benefit by fostering enclaves of people who refuse to knit into the society as defined by its stated values,” wrote Luke Visconti, Chief Executive Officer of DiversityInc who also writes the “Ask the White Guy” column.

Visconti is a thought leader who generally has an expansive, progressive take on diversity. But I shudder to think about the people who will be encouraged to think that all multiculturalism is about isolation, separatism or the need to take the focus off of work to acknowledge that differences co-exist.

I’ve heard more than once a person make the point that paying attention to any difference in the workplace takes time and focus away from the work and the bottom line. This is almost always spoken by someone who either is 1) an entrepreneur who rarely works with other people or 2) someone who never has had to have a workforce accommodate or tolerate a difference.

For example, it’s easy for me to have no concerns about whether a restaurant is handicapped accessible when I have no physical disabilities that prevent me from walking in and sitting wherever there is an open seat. That doesn’t mean the concerns don’t exist, it just means I didn’t notice them because there was no interference between what I wanted and my ability to get what I wanted - a seat in a restaurant I wanted to eat in.

The workplace is very much like that when it comes to diversity. You get what you want and don’t notice the concerns of others, so the assumption is that it’s all good and anyone with a problem is just exaggerating or has a chip on their shoulder. 

Then something stands between you and what you want and your mind seeks out a reason for why you’re not getting it and why someone else did - usually that reason has to do with whatever the difference is. Reasons ranging from race or gender or disability to age or weight, height, personality, etc.

Even with people who are particularly compassionate and well meaning, it can be difficult to see how differences impact your work experience until the light is shone intimately upon your reality.

Therefore, the lesson for anyone promoting or trying to explain the importance of diversity in the workplace is to remember that it is not a cop out to make inclusion an important aspect of diversity. 

Pretending that everyone walks in the door exactly the same, with the same issues, experiences and needs is unrealistic and unproductive.

Just like issues of safety, companies and organizations don’t get to put diversity in the optional category of priorities just become some don’t think it applies to them on an immediate basis.

The more people buy in to the importance of diversity, the less diversity issues swallow up the ability of employees to do their job without unnecessary distractions or interference.

Buying in isn’t copping out.

Contributor:   Michelle T. Johnson

Michelle T. Johnson is a Kansas City area native who is a diversity consultant, speaker and writer, as well as a former journalist and former employment attorney of several years.  Ms. Johnson, a certified mediator, is the author of articles and books on diversity, including Working While Black published in 2004 by Chicago Review Press as a career guide for African-Americans employees in the workplace, which has been mentioned and reviewed in several national magazines. Ms. Johnson’s third book “The Diversity Code: Unlock the Secrets to Making Differences Work in the Real World” was published September 2010 by AMACOM, the publishing arm of the American Management Association.

Additionally, Ms. Johnson has been a commentator on National Public Radio (“NPR”) and has had a diversity column in the Business section of the Kansas City, Missouri’s daily newspaper since 2008 called “Diversity Diva”. Ms. Johnson has spoken on diversity issues and conducted diversity workshops for several organizations, businesses and colleges across the country, including Wal-Mart Headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.; H&R Block, Hallmark Cards, and several municipalities. More information on Ms. Johnson can be found at www.MichelleTJohnson.com

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Report Abuse   wkleintop 11/01/2011 10:17:20 AM EDT Looking at the flow of US history it is very easy to say the negative side of discrimination for people, business, and society. There is no hiding the abomination of slavery, the mass importation of and discrimination against the Chinese and other Asian people who built the western railroads, and, among others, the awful treatment of Native Americans and Irish immigrants. Every group of immigrants, and I don't think I am exaggerating, have faced discrimination in this country. All of those people, individually and as groups, have brought so much value to our society in spite of this discrimination. The richness of our society is built on what all have brought to it and blended into it. Where we fail today is in not recognizing this. This is true for individuals and businesses. Businesses thrive with diversity because diversity breeds creativity. Diversity also creates channels to diverse markets in both the United States and in export markets. Creativity and marketing channels affect each of us individually through the economic health of our society and indivdual well being assoicated with economic health. It is foolish of businesses, large, medium, and small, to ignore diversity. They do so at the peril of not earning the best possible return on their investments. I think we all need to extol the value of the creativity diversity brings into organizations. Ask, "what do others not like me bring with them that creates value for my organization?" Replies (0) Post a reply Sign in or Sign up to post a comment

Report Abuse   mdmoore 11/01/2011 10:02:15 AM EDT Very valuable post. I agree that "Getting people to buy in to the importance of diversity is half the battle..." Where managers and executives move in this direction, they will find a much broader and richer business unit. New ideas and innovation occur more readily where the workforce is more diverse. Replies (0) Post a reply Sign in or Sign up to post a comment