3 Workplace Diversity Issues and How Diversity Training Can Help

No matter the reason, a lack of diversity is a decisive setback for businesses. For instance, diverse businesses are 70% more likely than non-diverse companies to enter and capture new markets (Source: Harvard Business Review). Diverse companies also earn higher profits (Source: Mckinsey) and have a 2.3% higher cash flow per employee (Source: Bersin). This article lists some workplace diversity issues to look out for and offers tips on how diversity training can help mitigate them.   

Workplace Diversity Issue #1: Communication Barriers 

Communication is the backbone of workplaces as it enables the exchange of ideas, decision-making, and smooth functioning. 

The components of communication include: 

• Words, both written and spoken 
• Body language 
• Eye contact 
• Tone, pitch, and rate of speech 

Today, most workplaces are multicultural and diverse at least to some extent. Thus, any of these components can become workplace diversity issues when there isn’t enough awareness and understanding among managers, employees, and executives. 

Communication barriers come with a heavy price to pay. According to a report by David Grossman, communication barriers cost businesses up to $62.4 million per year. 

Communication is a workplace diversity issue because: 

• Employees might speak different first languages 
• People might have unconscious biases
• People might use nonverbal signals and body language differently based on culture, disability, age, etc. 

Workplace Diversity Issue #2: Workplace Harassment  

Workplace harassment is a spectrum of behaviors that make those on the receiving end feel threatened and unsafe at work. Harassment compromises the victim’s identity, dignity, independence, and/or rights in some shape or form and is an act of deliberate discriminatory violence. 

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, harassment includes the following behaviors: 

• Jokes, ridicule, and insults
• Bullying 
• Slurs 
• Physical assaults 
• Intimidation 
• Offensive objects and pictures
• Interfering with work performance 

Workplace harassment can be of the following types: 

• Verbal harassment 
• Physical harassment 
• Sexual harassment
• Psychological harassment 
• Cyberbullying 

The global prevalence of workplace harassment is estimated to be 17.9% among men and women alone. Minorities, and women in particular, are at higher risk of facing harassment. What makes harassment a workplace diversity issue is that it stems from prejudice, privilege, and misuse of social or organizational power. Employees who face harassment also find it harder to succeed and thrive at work, significantly hampering their ability to make meaningful contributions to the business.  

Workplace Diversity Issue #3: Accommodations and Accessibility for Diverse Individuals 

Often, the only thing holding people back from an opportunity is ready access. Access is a broad term and is mainly associated with making real and virtual environments better suited to fit the needs of people with disabilities. However, access can also include other accommodations such as permits, authorizations, digital accessibility, flexible work hours, etc. Such provisions make it easier for your business to hire from a larger pool of talent and creates a pleasant and comfortable working environment for employees. 

Accessibility has multiple facets such as: 

• The physical environment 
• Equipment and software that’s inclusive or compatible with assistive technology and has a quick learning curve
• Easy company procedures 
• Quick top-down and bottom-up communication protocols, etc. 

Additionally, access has a psychological component, which is the willingness to consider and invest in diverse needs when making important business decisions. Consideration at the higher levels also trickles down to the rest of the workplace, setting the tone for a more inclusive working environment.  

Diversity Training as a Solution to Workplace Diversity Issues 

Before jumping in, it is worth mentioning that diversity training is most effective as part of a broader intervention. On its own, the changes it produces will be short-lived or nonexistent in the worst-case scenario. This is because people cannot learn pro-diversity behaviors in isolation or when the organization at large does not do much to back its training mandates.  

With that said, let us look at some of the best diversity training strategies for tackling workplace diversity issues: 

1. Use a top-down approach. When management and executives take initiative to express support and inclusion for all members, they model this behavior to the rest of the organization. This works because people with the most power are often the most effective drivers of change. Some ways to incorporate this into diversity training are: 
   1. Include video messages from CEOs, chairpersons, and managers 
   2. Make training a requisite for all levels of employees 
2. Emphasize the dos over the don’ts. Doing so creates lesser resistance among learners. At the same time, such an approach builds actionable pro-diversity skills in learners. 
3. Use learning materials and exercises that promote reflection such as scenarios, narratives, journal activities, weekly commitments, etc. 
4. Include the experiences of diverse individuals in your learning materials. Doing so gives them a platform and helps learners see things from the direct perspective of those involved 
5. Educate learners about the organization’s diversity policies, what will and won’t be tolerated, relevant reporting procedures, and the legal consequences of acts like harassment 
6. Include languages as part of your diversity training initiatives. Include those used by individuals with disabilities such as ASL to make it even more inclusive 

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are some workplace diversity issues? 

Some common workplace diversity issues are: 

• Communication barriers 
• Harassment 
• Lack of accommodations and accessibility for diverse individuals 

How can e-learning and diversity training help tackle workplace diversity issues? 

Diversity training strategies using e-learning are: 

• Use videos, scenarios, and narratives 
• Use activities and learning materials that promote reflection 
• Include messages from diverse individuals about their experiences 
• Use people in positions of power as role models 

• Emphasize the dos over the don’ts