Forty years ago (April 4, 1968) the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put the country on notice. What became clear, in the grief and confusion at the time, was that many more changes were needed to develop a more diverse society and a more diversified workplace.
Diversity became a hot button for a very long time. College students in 1968 were profoundly affected by Dr. King’s death, and took that motivation into the workplace with them. Federal, and then state, laws governing diversity at work, diversity in schools and other organizations – all contributed to the progress.
Among the most difficult concepts – recognizing that diversity had to spread beyond affirmative action mandates. It needed to encompass the various perspectives, the similarities that people can contribute to the organizational identity. That’s where some organizations try harder than others, some are more successful than others.
So here's the question -- a question for each of you. What can be done to continue, to actually broaden the impact of diversity in the workplace when most workplaces discourage or disallow discussions of diverse beliefs? How do you start?
photo by Pan-African News Wire
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
40 years later – is diversity alive at your job?
Labels:
diversity,
dr. king,
workplace problems
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5 comments:
beyond affirmitive action? Excuse me? Affirmitive action is reverse DISCRIMINATION, it's the opposite of diversity! It's unconstitutional and hypocritical
Nepotism is the best form of Affirmative Action.
Excuse me? If it were not for affirmative action, it would still be an all white all male workforce. Affirmative action helped to level the playing field.
However, I do agree that times have changed and our society has evolved and become more accepting of a diverse workforce, so laws like affirmative action, which were badly needed then, have now become antiquated and in need of revision in order to be made current with today's society.
I'd just like to point out that we shouldn't confuse diversity with affirmative action. The latter is more of a law-driven initiative that was put into place to give a chance to minorities to progress in education or professional world. Diversity is an initiative that companies are adopting because they believe it's the "right thing to do". Plus, diversity involves more than differnces in race or gender for that matter. It's about giving the chance to all people of all backgrounds (age, gender, race, LGBT...) to contribute to a more progressive workplace.
Incredibly important point, thank you -- it is ALL about giving (actually, not denying) people the chance to contribute to the workplace.
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