In the context of the global workplace, valuing diversity cultivates an environment that respects and includes differences by creating a workplace setting that maximizes the potential of all employees. Only when organizations know the true return on investment (ROI) behind diversity training will they be inclined to bear the cost and effort associated with implementing programs to effectively manage this diversity.
Diversity Training--a Necessity?
In 2004, Enterprise Rent-a-Car supported a study by the National Urban League that surveyed over 5,500 American workers, including managers and CEOs. The results revealed that fewer than half of the executives surveyed believe that their own companies are effectively managing diversity. In addition, almost 60 per cent feel partly at fault for not being sufficiently involved in workplace diversity training (Fisher, 2004).
The diversity training field forms part of a multibillion dollar training industry resulting primarily from recent demographic shifts, increasing globalization, and anti-workplace discrimination laws.
Laws and Regulations
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces all federal laws prohibiting job discrimination in the United States. Perhaps the most notable of these is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) that prohibits all employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, color, or national origin.
In addition to Title VII, there are a host of federal laws that prohibit job discrimination, addressing such issues as equal compensation and employment opportunities, unbiased job assignments, equitable promotions as well as age, disability, and sex-based employment discrimination (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2005). These regulation ...