Workforce Language Services

The Washington Post reported on the findings from a review of data about the effects of diversity training on U.S. companies.  They found that diversity training is often implemented in a superficial way, and therefore can even be counterproductive.

Several experts offered two reasons for this: The first is that businesses are responding rationally to the legal environment, since several Supreme Court rulings have held that companies with mandatory diversity training are in a stronger position if they face a discrimination lawsuit. Second, many companies — with the implicit cooperation of diversity trainers — find it easier to offer exercises that serve public relations goals, rather than to embrace real change.

It’s frustrating to see that training on how to manage and work within an increasingly diverse workplace isn’t looked upon as a necessity, but rather a necessary evil.  The first step would be to create employee buy-in so that they see what can be learned from diversity training as valuable and meaningful to their work lives.

I also think that it’s important to continue the dialogue begun at an initial training session so that employees can revisit what they learned and expand on how to include lessons learned into their daily interactions. 

While slightly depressing, this article illuminates the importance of consistently applied strategies designed to create a more inclusive workplace:

Women and minorities often fail to get ahead, he said, because people tend to form social groups with others who are like themselves — and many managers are simply unaware of the talent in their own organizations. Policies that require or explicitly encourage managers to meet with subordinates in different departments can alert managers to talented employees with different social and ethnic backgrounds and help younger employees figure out what they need to do to get ahead.