Diversity of the employees of an organisation on the basis of social variables such as gender, race or ethnicity, physical ability, age, socio-economic status, sexual identity or orientation and religious, political and ethical beliefs or ideology can be of great value to an organisation by;
- reflecting diversity within the community and available workforce
- reducing ‘groupthink’ through diversity of perspectives
- improving capacity for effective communication with a diverse range of clients
- increasing organisations potential to reach into diverse communities
- reducing institutional exposure to discrimination litigation
- potential to increase value of the organisation.
Diversity on the basis of these variables connects those individuals to a subculture of the society with their own shared language, meanings and values, which allows those individuals to connect more meaningfully with clients of the organisation who share those characteristics, resulting in more effective communication and therefore, better outcomes for the organisation.  There is ample evidence of the value of diversity in the medical, public sector and in the private sector management literature. Read more about the value of diversity…