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Diversity in the Workplace Essay

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• Diversity & Inclusion |

Diversity in the workplace: why it matters and how to increase inclusion

Diversity in the workplace refers to the coexistence of individuals with varying characteristics, skills, and traits. It's crucial to pair diversity with inclusion, ensuring equal opportunities throughout the employee lifecycle. A diverse workforce brings unique perspectives, fostering creativity, innovation, and better product development.

An experienced recruiter and HR professional who has transferred her expertise to insightful content to support others in HR.

We live in interesting times. The Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, the global rise of immigration, and large-scale political changes such as Brexit and the election of Trump, shed light on – previously overlooked – minority groups and draw our attention toward equal rights, racism, feminism and socio-economic disparities.

The workplace is not unaffected by all this. Calls for greater diversity in the workplace have increased exponentially. Now is the time for HR professionals to focus on diversity in the workplace and reinforcing inclusion not just in words, but in practice. Many are expecting to see results.

But what exactly is diversity in the workplace?

Diversity is the coexistence of people with different characteristics (e.g. race, age, gender, sexual orientation), skills and personality traits. For example, at work, we can talk about a diverse team when employees come from various cultural, academic and professional backgrounds and when there’s a balance in gender, age and race. You can find more examples in our diversity in the workplace definition .

You can’t build diverse teams, though, without pairing diversity with inclusion . Nor have you “won” if you now have a diverse team, because equity and inclusion are where the real work begins. Employees feel included in their workplace when they have equal opportunities during the entire employee lifecycle: from the way they’re treated during the hiring process to how they’re being managed, trained, evaluated and promoted.

But this can’t happen automatically. To build an inclusive workplace, employers must provide those equal opportunities to all potential and existing employees. They should also revisit and improve their procedures as needed to ensure they’re respectful to all people regardless of protected characteristics.

For an inclusive workplace, employers must provide equal opportunities to all potential & existing employees. They should also improve procedures as needed to ensure they’re respectful to all regardless of protected characteristics.

Build inclusive hiring practices

Creating a safe and equitable workplace starts with hiring. That's why we've developed solutions to cultivate inclusivity and support diversity at every stage of the hiring process.

The importance of diversity and inclusion

Why do we care so much about DEI in the workplace, though? And why should we care? Is it simply the right thing to do or are there business gains associated with diversity?

It’s both. When you try to build diverse teams, you fight discrimination in the workplace. You aim to give equal opportunities to all employees – even those (or especially those) in underrepresented groups.

We can better understand the value of diversity in the workplace with some examples of what happens when companies don’t take into account diverse voices. Two diversity in the workplace articles talk about the importance of a diverse workforce when building and testing products:

• a Black person struggles to use an automatic soap dispenser because the light sensor doesn’t detect a dark-skinned hand
• Black women speak up about the extensive hair searches they have to undertake at airports, as body scanners give false alarms due to their natural Afro.

These examples prove that diversity, equity and inclusion is not just about the moral aspect of it; when you add diverse voices in your teams, you learn things you wouldn’t have known otherwise, you build better products and you increase equity in the workplace and beyond.

There are financial benefits, too, that motivate employers to boost their DEI efforts . Diverse companies:

• Reflect societies more accurately. Societies are by default diverse in age, race, gender and socio-economic class. Therefore, organizations with diverse employees are better aligned with the demographics of the area (or areas) where they operate. On a macroeconomics scope, this means that they can better predict – and adjust to – changes in the market and local consumer behavior.
• Speak to a broader audience. People usually relate to those from a similar background. So, when your employees come from various backgrounds, they can understand the needs, interests and pain points of diverse audiences, too. This gives you the opportunity to expand your messaging and promote your products and services to a larger customer base.
• Get more creative and profitable. Diversity doesn’t only refer to protected characteristics. There’s also diversity of thought – that may or may not be a result of different protected characteristics. Employees with different experiences and perspectives can bring fresh ideas and innovative solutions to the table which, in turn, benefit the entire organization.

You can start building a business case for diverse teams for your organization with studies and interesting stats.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in action

A quick online search will give you lots of studies and articles on the benefits of diversity in the workplace. And while talking about diversity is a good thing, because it means we’re paying attention, it’s not enough. Let’s take a deeper look at how companies, and particularly HR departments, can actively foster diversity in the workplace.

The legal aspect of diversity in the workplace

To promote diversity at work, there is legislation that protects minority or underrepresented groups from discrimination. There are also regulations that reinforce human rights in the workplace. For example, in many countries, employers can’t fire a pregnant employee and they can’t include age and gender requirements in their job ads unless it’s absolutely necessary or relevant for the role. It’s best to consult a lawyer to ensure that your company complies with all relevant legislation that applies in your specific location.

In the United States, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the regulatory body that enforces diversity in every work situation; for example, when employers hire, terminate, compensate, promote, and train employees. For more details, check our guides and learn what you need to do to comply with the law:

• What is Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
• EEO guidelines for employers
• How to follow EEOC regulations
• How to file an EEO-1 report
• Why EEO statements fall short

In Canada, the Human Rights Act includes a number of laws and regulations that protect people against discriminatory practices. There are also specific regulations about equal pay and the Canadian Human Rights Commission where employees can file complaints when treated unfairly.

The UK has established a similar commission, the Equality and Human Rights Commission , that provides guidance for employees and employers regarding the Equality Act 2010 .

Finally, the European Union has implemented a series of non-discriminatory directives to reinforce equity across the EU. For example, the Directive 2000/78/EC is about discrimination at work on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation and the Directive 2006/54/EC provides the framework of equal treatment for men and women in matters of employment and occupation.

Anti-discrimination laws are not here to pose limitations to employers. They exist so that all people have equal opportunities at work. It’s important to have an official, legal context that ensures that companies treat employees objectively and respectfully, because we are all prone to unconscious bias . Also, sometimes for the sake of faster hiring, it’s common to pick candidates based on convenience, i.e. based on arbitrary or even superficial hiring criteria .

In this case, diversity regulations can serve as guidelines for employers who don’t just need or want to be compliant with the law, but try to actively fight all types of discrimination in the workplace. For example, take a look at these illegal interview questions – even if it’s not legally forbidden to ask them in your area, it’s still a good idea to avoid them so that you hire candidates using objective, job-related criteria.

The role of recruiters and HR

While increasing DEI is not one person’s (or one department’s) responsibility, the HR experts can take many actions to build a truly inclusive workplace. That’s because they’re in charge of everything that has to do with the human aspect of the company: from attracting and recruiting diverse candidates to setting the guidelines for fair treatment, management and compensation of all employees to ensure a fully inclusive workplace.

Here’s how recruiters and HR professionals can foster workplace diversity:

• Remove biases from hiring. From gender-neutral job descriptions to targeted, skill-based interview questions, your hiring process should be built in a way that helps you find the best people for the job – not the ones you like the most. Here are some examples from companies that are taking actions to reduce bias in recruiting , plus a few tips to get you started when you aim to create an inclusive work environment .
• Look for areas of improvement. Diversity might not always be tangible, but you can still set some goals and track your progress. For example, what’s the gender ratio at your company and by department? How many of your female employees have a leadership role ? If those numbers are not close to your goals, you might want to invest your energy into increasing diversity specifically in these areas. Rachel Bates, who was SVP of Sales & Marketing at Workable until spring 2020, describes how she successfully built a more gender-balanced sales team , while recruitment expert Matt Buckland, at one point Workable’s VP of Customer Advocacy, advises on how to hire more women in tech , a traditionally male-dominated field.
• Consider the overlooked types of diversity. When we talk about diversity, we mostly refer to race and gender. But there’s more than that. Some examples include age discrimination , bias against employees with disabilities , and rejection of candidates with non-traditional career paths . You should also keep in mind that there’s intersectionality in the workplace, i.e. overlapping biases such as age and gender discrimination . Your DEI efforts should take into account all different types of diversity that exist in your workplace – or that you’d like them to exist.
• Involve all of your team members. A recruiter alone can’t build a diverse company. Picture this: As a recruiter at your company, you might be diversifying your candidate sources and screening resumes with strictly job-related criteria. But if those who’re making the final hiring decision are biased, they could still reject good candidates because, for example, some candidates don’t have a degree from a prestigious school. It’s essential that all employees, no matter their seniority level, understand the importance of diversity in the workplace. Whether it’s through bias trainings or official anti-discrimination company policies , everyone should be aware of expectations, values and appropriate behaviors in terms of mutual respect and acceptance. For example, those who’re involved in recruiting should know how to document interview feedback to help their teams make well-rounded hiring decisions and all colleagues should know what constitutes unacceptable work behavior .

Why oppose diversity in the workplace?

“ I want to hire people I get along with because I know we’ll collaborate better. ”

“ When I’m actively looking to increase the number of female employees at my company, don’t I discriminate against male candidates? ”

“ Things like religious beliefs and sexual preferences have no place in a professional setting – they only bring controversy and distractions from work. ”

These are valid concerns, but not strong enough to dismiss DEI efforts from the workplace. In fact, it’s quite the opposite; it goes back to building an inclusive environment where all employees feel safe and respected no matter their protected characteristics, personal opinions, backgrounds, etc.

You fight the challenges of diversity in the workplace by structuring your interview process in a way that helps you hire on merit (rather than make decisions that lead to homogenous teams) by implementing affirmative action programs to support underrepresented groups when needed, and by setting the framework for approaching controversial topics at work .

Ultimately, you want to create a place where employees are treated equally and there are no privileged and underprivileged groups, and everyone feels included.

Frequently asked questions

Need action and results in your dei initiative.

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Diversity and Inclusion Efforts That Really Work

• David Pedulla

A Stanford and Harvard professor convened a symposium on what’s actually working to improve diversity and inclusion in organizational life. In this article, David Pedulla summarizes the main findings. First, organizations should set goals, collect data, and hold people accountable for improving diversity within the organization. Second, organizations should abandon traditional discrimination and harassment reporting systems—these often lead to retaliation. Employee Assistance Plans (EAPs), ombuds offices, and transformative dispute resolution systems can not only play a critical role in reducing retaliation but also provide fuel for organizational change. Third, organizations should check to ensure that technologies used to assist in hiring and promotion aren’t inherently biased. Fourth, companies must avoid tokenism. Finally, organizations should get managers and other leaders involved in diversity programs from the start. This will increase buy-in and lead to smooth implementation.

Five best practices.

In the wake of major social and political changes over the past decades, leading companies are taking steps to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. Yet progress in most sectors remains tepid. Programs designed to increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace often fail . So that leads to a natural question: What’s actually working?

• DP David Pedulla is an associate professor of sociology at Stanford University.

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• A-Z Publications

Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior

Volume 6, 2019, review article, diversity in the workplace: a review, synthesis, and future research agenda.

• Quinetta M. Roberson 1
• View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: Villanova School of Business, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA; email: [email protected]
• Vol. 6:69-88 (Volume publication date January 2019) https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015243
• First published as a Review in Advance on October 31, 2018
• Copyright © 2019 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved

Fueled by socioeconomic trends that changed the composition of organizational workforces, the term workforce diversity was coined in the 1990s. Since then, both researchers and practitioners have strived (and struggled) to understand the concept, its effects in and on organizations, and strategies for managing such effects. In this article, I provide an overview and interpretation of the current literature to examine its purpose, progress, and direction. Highlighting key conceptualizations of the construct, theoretical foundations, and empirical findings on diversity and diversity management, I discuss the evolution and current state of the field and synthesize this information to propose a future research agenda. In doing so, I seek to identify theoretical, empirical, and practice areas of opportunity for advancing scientific knowledge about the meaning, substance, and outcomes of diversity as well as the implementation of diversity science in organizations.

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace

A majority of u.s. workers say focusing on dei at work is a good thing, but relatively small shares place great importance on diversity in their own workplace, table of contents.

• The value of DEI efforts at work
• The importance of a diverse workforce
• DEI measures and their impact
• How gender, race and ethnicity impact success in the workplace
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how adults in the United States think about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace. This analysis is based on survey responses from 4,744 U.S. adults who are working part time or full time, are not self-employed, have only one job or have multiple jobs but consider one their primary job, and whose company or organization has 10 or more people. The data was collected as part of a larger survey of workers conducted Feb. 6-12, 2023. Everyone who took part is a member of Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Read more about the questions used for this report and the report’s methodology .

References to workers or employed adults include those who are employed part time or full time, are not self-employed, have only one job or have multiple jobs but consider one their primary job, and whose company or organization has 10 or more people.

References to White, Black and Asian adults include those who are not Hispanic and identify as only one race. Hispanics are of any race.

References to college graduates or people with a college degree comprise those with a bachelor’s degree or more. “Some college” includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree.

References to disabled workers include those who say a disability or handicap keeps them from fully participating in work, school, housework or other activities.

All references to party affiliation include those who lean toward that party. Republicans include those who identify as Republicans and those who say they lean toward the Republican Party. Democrats include those who identify as Democrats and those who say they lean toward the Democratic Party.

Workplace diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, or DEI, are increasingly becoming part of national political debates . For a majority of employed U.S. adults (56%), focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. But opinions about DEI vary considerably along demographic and political lines.

Most workers have some experience with DEI measures at their workplace. About six-in-ten (61%) say their company or organization has policies that ensure fairness in hiring, pay or promotions, and 52% say they have trainings or meetings on DEI at work. Smaller shares say their workplace has a staff member who promotes DEI (33%), that their workplace offers salary transparency (30%), and that it has affinity groups or employee resource groups based on a shared identity (26%). Majorities of those who have access to these measures say each has had a positive impact where they work.

Related : How Americans View Their Jobs

This nationally representative survey of 5,902 U.S. workers, including 4,744 who are not self-employed, was conducted Feb. 6-12, 2023, using the Center’s American Trends Panel . 1 The survey comes at a time when DEI efforts are facing some backlash and many major companies are laying off their DEI professionals .

Some key findings from the survey:

• Relatively small shares of workers place a lot of importance on diversity at their workplace. About three-in-ten say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (32%) or ages (28%). Roughly a quarter say the same about having a workplace with about an equal mix of men and women (26%) and 18% say this about a mix of employees of different sexual orientations.
• More than half of workers (54%) say their company or organization pays about the right amount of attention to increasing DEI. Smaller shares say their company or organization pays too much (14%) or too little attention (15%), and 17% say they’re not sure. Black workers are more likely than those in other racial and ethnic groups to say their employer pays too little attention to increasing DEI. They’re also among the most likely to say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing (78% of Black workers say this), while White workers are the least likely to express this view (47%).
• Women are more likely than men to value DEI at work. About six-in-ten women (61%) say focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, compared with half of men. And larger shares of women than men say it’s extremely or very important to them to work at a place that is diverse when it comes to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation.
• There are wide partisan differences in views of workplace DEI. Most Democratic and Democratic-leaning workers (78%) say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, compared with 30% of Republicans and Republican leaners. Democrats are also far more likely than Republicans to value different aspects of diversity. And by wide margins, higher shares of Democrats than Republicans say the policies and resources related to DEI available at their workplace have had a positive impact.
• Half of workers say it’s extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities. About three-in-ten workers (29%) say this is somewhat important to them, and 21% say it’s not too or not at all important. A majority of workers (76% among those who do not work fully remotely) say their workplace is at least somewhat accessible for people with physical disabilities.
• Many say being a man or being White is an advantage where they work. The survey asked respondents whether a person’s gender, race or ethnicity makes it easier or harder to be successful where they work. Shares ranging from 45% to 57% say these traits make it neither easier nor harder. But far more say being a man and being White makes it easier than say it makes it harder for someone to be successful. Conversely, by double-digit margins, more say being a woman, being Black or being Hispanic makes it harder than say it makes it easier to be successful where they work.

A majority of workers (56%) say focusing on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at work is mainly a good thing; 28% say it is neither good nor bad, and 16% say it is a bad thing. Views on this vary along key demographic and partisan lines.

Half or more of both men and women say focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, but women are more likely than men to offer this view (61% vs. 50%). In turn, men are more than twice as likely as women to say it is a bad thing (23% vs. 9%).

About two-thirds or more of Black (78%), Asian (72%) and Hispanic (65%) workers say that focusing on DEI at work is a good thing. Among White workers, however, fewer than half (47%) say it’s a good thing; in fact, 21% say it’s a bad thing. But there are wide partisan, gender and age gaps among White workers, with majorities of White Democrats, women and those under age 30 saying focusing on DEI at work is a good thing.

Workers under 30 are the most likely age group to say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing. About two-thirds (68%) of workers ages 18 to 29 say this, compared with 56% of workers 30 to 49, 46% of those 50 to 64, and 52% of those 65 and older.

Views also differ by educational attainment, with 68% of workers with a postgraduate degree saying focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, compared with 59% of those with a bachelor’s degree only and 50% of those with some college or less education.

Democratic and Democratic-leaning workers are much more likely to say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing (78%) than to say it is a bad thing (4%) or that it is neither good nor bad (18%). Views among Republican and Republican-leaning workers are more mixed: Some 30% say focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, while the same share (30%) say it’s a bad thing, and 39% say it’s neither good nor bad.

A majority of workers say their employer pays the right amount of attention to DEI

When it comes to the focus of their own employer, 54% of workers say their company or organization pays about the right amount of attention to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion. The remainder are divided between saying their employer pays too much (14%) or too little attention (15%), or that they’re not sure (17%).

Women are more likely than men to say their employer pays too little attention to increasing DEI (17% vs. 12%). In turn, men are more likely than women to say too much attention is paid to this where they work (18% vs. 10%).

Black workers (28%) are the most likely to say their company or organization pays too little attention to increasing DEI, compared with smaller shares of White (11%), Hispanic (19%) and Asian (17%) workers who say the same.

Views on this question also differ by party. While half or more of both Republican and Democratic workers say their company or organization pays the right amount of attention to DEI, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say their employer pays too little attention to it (21% vs. 7%). In turn, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say their employer pays too much attention to DEI (24% vs. 6%).

While a majority of workers say focusing on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at work is a good thing, relatively small shares place great importance on working at a place that is diverse when it comes to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation. About three-in-ten workers say it’s extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (32%) and ages (28%), while 26% say the same about having about an equal mix of men and women. And 18% say this about having a mix of employees of different sexual orientations at their workplace.

Women are more likely than men to say it’s extremely or very important to them to work at a place that is diverse across all measures asked about in the survey. For example, there are 11 percentage point differences in the shares of women compared with men saying it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that has a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (37% vs. 26%) and about an equal mix of men and women (31% vs. 20%).

Black workers are among the most likely to value racial, ethnic and age diversity in the workplace. Some 53% of Black workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities, compared with 39% of Hispanic workers and 25% of White workers who say the same; 43% of Asian workers say this is important to them. (There is no statistically significant difference between the share of Asian workers and the shares of Black and Hispanic workers who hold this view.) And while 42% of Black workers highly value working somewhere with a mix of employees of different ages, smaller shares of Hispanic (33%), Asian (30%) and White (24%) workers say the same.

When it comes to diversity of sexual orientation, 28% of Black workers and 22% of Hispanic workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is diverse in this way; 15% each among White and Asian workers say the same.

Workers under age 50 are more likely than those 50 and older to say racial and ethnic diversity in their workplace is extremely or very important to them (35% vs. 26%). Workers younger than 50 are also more likely to say having about an equal mix of men and women is important to them, with workers ages 18 t0 29 the most likely to say this (34% vs. 26% of workers 30 to 49, and 20% each among those 50 to 64 and 65 and older).

There are also differences by educational attainment, with larger shares of workers with a postgraduate degree than those with less education saying it’s extremely or very important to them that their workplace is diverse across all measures asked about in the survey. For example, 44% of workers with a postgraduate degree say having a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities is extremely or very important to them, compared with 34% of those with a bachelor’s degree only and 27% of those with some college or less.

Democratic workers are much more likely than Republican workers to say working somewhere that is diverse when it comes to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation is extremely or very important to them. In fact, about half of Democrats (49%) place great importance on having a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities where they work, compared with 13% of Republicans. And there are differences of at least 20 points between the shares of Democrats and Republicans saying it’s extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that has about an equal mix of men and women (39% of Democrats say this vs. 12% of Republicans) and a mix of employees of different ages (39% vs. 17%) and sexual orientations (27% vs. 7%).

Overall, a majority of workers say their workplace has a mix of employees of different ages (58% say this describes their current workplace extremely or very well). Smaller shares say their workplace has about an equal mix of men and women (38%) and a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities (46%) and sexual orientations (28%). These assessments do not vary much across demographic groups.

Half of workers place great importance on working at a place that is accessible for people with physical disabilities

Half of workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities; 29% say it is somewhat important and 21% say it is not too or not at all important to them.

Highly valuing an accessible workplace varies by gender, race and ethnicity, and party, but there is no significant difference in responses between those who do and don’t report having a disability.

About six-in-ten women (58%) say it is extremely or very important to them that their workplace is accessible, compared with 41% of men.

Black workers are more likely than workers of other racial and ethnic groups to place great importance on their workplace being accessible: 62% of Black workers say this is extremely or very important, compared with 51% of Hispanic, 48% of White and 43% of Asian workers.

A majority of Democrats (59%) say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities; 40% of Republican say the same. Some 27% of Republicans say this is not too or not at all important to them, compared with 15% of Democrats.

There is no statistically significant difference in the shares of workers who have a disability and those who do not saying it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere that is accessible for people with physical disabilities. But workers who do not have a disability are more likely than those who do to say this is not too or not at all important to them (21% vs. 15%).

Among those who don’t work fully remotely, about three-quarters of workers (76%) say their workplace is at least somewhat accessible for people with physical disabilities, with 51% saying it is extremely or very accessible. Some 17% say their workplace is not too or not at all accessible, and 8% are not sure.

When asked whether the company or organization they work for has a series of measures that are typically associated with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, a majority of workers say their employer has policies that ensure everyone is treated fairly in hiring, pay or promotions (61%), and 52% say there are trainings or meetings on DEI where they work.

Smaller shares say their workplace has a staff member whose main job is to promote DEI at work (33%), a way for employees to see the salary range for all positions (30%), and groups created by employees sometimes known as affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs) based on shared identities such as gender, race or being a parent (26%).

Responses do not vary much by most demographic characteristics. However, workers with at least a bachelor’s degree are consistently more likely than those with less education to say each of these five measures is available where they work.

Workers tend to see positive impact from policies and resources associated with DEI where they work

Among those whose workplace offers each policy or resource, a majority of workers say each measure has had a somewhat or very positive impact where they work. About a third or fewer workers say each resource has had neither a positive nor negative impact, and about one-in-ten or fewer say each of these has had a somewhat or very negative impact.

Democrats and Republicans are about equally likely to say their workplace has these measures in place, but Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the impact of each has been positive by margins ranging from 10 to 32 points (among those who say their workplace has these measures). For example, 66% of Democrats who say their workplace has a way for employees to see the salary range for all positions say this has had a somewhat or very positive impact, compared with 56% of Republicans who say this. And while about three-quarters of Democrats (74%) say having a staff member whose main job is to promote DEI at work has had a positive impact, fewer than half of Republicans (42%) say the same.

Women are more likely than men to say each of these policies and resources has had a very or somewhat positive impact where they work. This is mainly driven by gender differences among Republicans: There are double-digit differences in the shares of Republican women and Republican men who say many of these resources have had a positive impact. For example, 58% of Republican women say having a staff member whose main job is to promote DEI at work has had at least a somewhat positive impact where they work, compared with 31% of Republican men who hold this view. The same share of Republican women (58%) say having affinity groups or ERGs has had a positive impact, compared with 38% of Republican men who say the same.

Among Democrats, majorities of both men and women offer positive assessments of these resources in their workplace, but Democratic women are more likely than Democratic men to say having trainings or meetings on DEI at work have had a positive impact (72% vs. 65%).

While there are differences by race, ethnicity and age on overall attitudes about DEI in the workplace, there are no consistent differences along these dimensions in how workers with access to these policies and resources at their workplace assess their impact.

About half of workers who have participated in DEI trainings in the last year say they’ve been helpful

Out of all workers, about four-in-ten (38%) have participated in a DEI training in the last year. A similar share (40%) did not participate or say their workplace does not offer these trainings, and 21% are not sure if their employer offers these trainings.

Looking only at those whose company or organization has trainings or meetings on DEI, about three-quarters (73%) say they have participated in such trainings in the past year. And assessments of these trainings tend to be positive, with 53% of workers who’ve participated saying they were very or somewhat helpful. About a third (34%) give a more neutral assessment, saying the trainings were neither helpful nor unhelpful, and 13% say they were very or somewhat unhelpful.

While men and women are about equally likely to have participated in trainings on DEI in the past year, women are more likely than men to say the trainings have been at least somewhat helpful (60% vs. 46%).

Republicans and Democrats are also equally likely to say they’ve participated in these trainings in the past year, but Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say the trainings have been helpful (66% vs. 36%). About one-in-five Republicans say they’ve been unhelpful (19%), compared with 9% of Democrats.

While both Democratic men and women offer similar assessments of the DEI trainings they’ve participated in, there are gender differences among Republican workers. Republican women are more likely than Republican men to say the trainings they’ve participated in have been helpful (47% vs. 28%). Conversely, 22% of Republican men, compared with 14% of Republican women, say the trainings have been unhelpful.

Few workers are members of affinity groups or ERGs at work

While 26% of workers say there are affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs) where they work, members of these groups account for a very small share of workers overall. Just 6% of workers say they are members of an affinity group or ERG, with 58% of workers saying these groups are either not available at their workplace or that they aren’t a member. Another 37% say they are not sure if their workplace offers these groups.

Among workers who say there are affinity groups or ERGs at their workplace, 22% say they are personally a member. Women are more likely than men to be members of these groups (28% vs. 16%). And 28% of non-White workers say they are a member of an affinity group or ERG, compared with 18% of White workers. 2

When asked about the impact a person’s gender, race or ethnicity has on their ability to succeed at work, workers tend to say these characteristics neither make it easier nor harder to be successful at their workplace.

Still, when it comes to gender, workers are more likely to say being a man makes it easier to be successful where they work than to say it makes it harder (36% vs. 6%). In contrast, a larger share says being a woman makes it harder to be successful than say it makes it easier (28% vs. 11%).

Men and women have different views on the impact gender has on a person’s ability to succeed where they work. Some 44% of women say being a man makes it at least a little easier to be successful, including 24% who say it makes it a lot easier. This compares with 29% of men who say being a man makes it at least a little easier to be successful.

Similarly, 34% of women say being a woman makes it harder to be successful where they work, compared with 21% of men.

Women under age 50 are especially likely – more so than women ages 50 and older or men in either age group – to say being a man makes it easier to be successful where they work and that being a woman makes it harder. For example, 38% of women ages 18 to 49 say being a woman makes it harder to be successful where they work. This compares with 29% of women 50 and older, 25% of men younger than 50, and an even smaller share of men 50 and older (13%).

When it comes to views about how race or ethnicity affects people’s ability to succeed at work, 51% of Black workers say being Black makes it harder to be successful where they work. This is significantly higher than the shares of Asian (41%), Hispanic (23%) and White (18%) workers who say the same about the impact of being Black.

Similarly, about four-in-ten Asian workers (39%) say being Asian makes it harder to be successful in their workplace, a higher share than workers of other racial and ethnic groups who say the same about being Asian.

Hispanic, Black and Asian workers are about equally likely to say being Hispanic makes it harder to be successful where they work. A smaller share of White workers say the same about being Hispanic.

When asked about the impact of being White in their workplace, workers across racial and ethnic groups are more likely to say it makes it easier than to say it makes it harder to be successful. This is especially the case among Black and Asian workers. About half of Black (52%) and Asian (51%) workers say being White makes it easier to be successful where they work, compared with 37% of Hispanic and 24% of White workers who say the same about being White.

Previously released findings from this survey found that Black workers are more likely than White, Hispanic and Asian workers to report that they have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly by an employer in hiring, pay or promotions because of their race or ethnicity at some point in their careers (though not necessarily where they currently work). Women are also more likely than men to say they’ve experienced such discrimination because of their gender.

There are large partisan gaps in views of whether gender, race or ethnicity make it easier or harder to be successful at work. Some 47% of Democratic workers say being a man makes it at least somewhat easier to be successful at their workplace, compared with 25% of Republican workers. Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say being a woman makes it harder to succeed (37% vs. 17%).

Democratic and Republican women are more likely than their male counterparts to say being a woman makes it harder – and being a man makes it easier – to be successful where they work. The differences between Republican women and Republican men are particularly striking. About a quarter of Republican women (26%) say being a woman makes it harder to be successful, compared with 10% of Republican men. And while 36% of Republican women say being a man makes it easier to be successful where they work, just 16% of Republican men say the same.

Democratic workers are more than three times as likely as Republican workers to say being White makes it easier to succeed where they work (48% vs. 13%), and they are also more likely than Republicans to say being Black, Hispanic or Asian makes it harder. About four-in-ten Democrats (39%) say being Black makes it harder for someone to succeed at their workplace, compared with just 9% of Republicans. Similarly, 30% of Democrats say being Hispanic makes it harder to succeed, compared with 8% of Republicans. And while smaller shares in both parties say being Asian makes it harder to succeed, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say this (16% vs. 6%). These partisan differences remain when looking only at Democrats and Republicans who are White.

• For details, see the  Methodology  section of the report. The analysis in this report is based on U.S. workers who are employed full time or part time, who are not self-employed, and who have only one job or have multiple jobs but consider one their primary job (99% of workers who are not self-employed have one job or a primary job). Additionally, the analysis is restricted to workers at companies or organizations with at least 10 employees as certain federal requirements such as non-discrimination mandates apply to larger workplaces. ↩
• Non-White adults include Black, Hispanic, Asian and other races besides White, as well as people who identify as more than one race. The sample sizes among Black, Hispanic and Asian workers who have affinity groups or ERGs at work are too small to analyze separately. ↩

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• How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

Published on November 1, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Table of contents

What is a diversity essay, identify how you will enrich the campus community, share stories about your lived experience, explain how your background or identity has affected your life, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Diversity essays ask students to highlight an important aspect of their identity, background, culture, experience, viewpoints, beliefs, skills, passions, goals, etc.

Diversity essays can come in many forms. Some scholarships are offered specifically for students who come from an underrepresented background or identity in higher education. At highly competitive schools, supplemental diversity essays require students to address how they will enhance the student body with a unique perspective, identity, or background.

In the Common Application and applications for several other colleges, some main essay prompts ask about how your background, identity, or experience has affected you.

Why schools want a diversity essay

Many universities believe a student body representing different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community.

Through the diversity essay, admissions officers want students to articulate the following:

• What makes them different from other applicants
• Stories related to their background, identity, or experience
• How their unique lived experience has affected their outlook, activities, and goals

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Think about what aspects of your identity or background make you unique, and choose one that has significantly impacted your life.

For some students, it may be easy to identify what sets them apart from their peers. But if you’re having trouble identifying what makes you different from other applicants, consider your life from an outsider’s perspective. Don’t presume your lived experiences are normal or boring just because you’re used to them.

Some examples of identities or experiences that you might write about include the following:

• Race/ethnicity
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Nationality
• Socioeconomic status
• Immigration background
• Religion/belief system
• Place of residence
• Family circumstances
• Extracurricular activities related to diversity

Include vulnerable, authentic stories about your lived experiences. Maintain focus on your experience rather than going into too much detail comparing yourself to others or describing their experiences.

Keep the focus on you

Tell a story about how your background, identity, or experience has impacted you. While you can briefly mention another person’s experience to provide context, be sure to keep the essay focused on you. Admissions officers are mostly interested in learning about your lived experience, not anyone else’s.

When I was a baby, my grandmother took me in, even though that meant postponing her retirement and continuing to work full-time at the local hairdresser. Even working every shift she could, she never missed a single school play or soccer game.

She and I had a really special bond, even creating our own special language to leave each other secret notes and messages. She always pushed me to succeed in school, and celebrated every academic achievement like it was worthy of a Nobel Prize. Every month, any leftover tip money she received at work went to a special 509 savings plan for my college education.

When I was in the 10th grade, my grandmother was diagnosed with ALS. We didn’t have health insurance, and what began with quitting soccer eventually led to dropping out of school as her condition worsened. In between her doctor’s appointments, keeping the house tidy, and keeping her comfortable, I took advantage of those few free moments to study for the GED.

In school pictures at Raleigh Elementary School, you could immediately spot me as “that Asian girl.” At lunch, I used to bring leftover fun see noodles, but after my classmates remarked how they smelled disgusting, I begged my mom to make a “regular” lunch of sliced bread, mayonnaise, and deli meat.

Although born and raised in North Carolina, I felt a cultural obligation to learn my “mother tongue” and reconnect with my “homeland.” After two years of all-day Saturday Chinese school, I finally visited Beijing for the first time, expecting I would finally belong. While my face initially assured locals of my Chinese identity, the moment I spoke, my cover was blown. My Chinese was littered with tonal errors, and I was instantly labeled as an “ABC,” American-born Chinese.

I felt culturally homeless.

Speak from your own experience

Highlight your actions, difficulties, and feelings rather than comparing yourself to others. While it may be tempting to write about how you have been more or less fortunate than those around you, keep the focus on you and your unique experiences, as shown below.

I began to despair when the FAFSA website once again filled with red error messages.

I had been at the local library for hours and hadn’t even been able to finish the form, much less the other to-do items for my application.

I am the first person in my family to even consider going to college. My parents work two jobs each, but even then, it’s sometimes very hard to make ends meet. Rather than playing soccer or competing in speech and debate, I help my family by taking care of my younger siblings after school and on the weekends.

“We only speak one language here. Speak proper English!” roared a store owner when I had attempted to buy bread and accidentally used the wrong preposition.

In middle school, I had relentlessly studied English grammar textbooks and received the highest marks.

Leaving Seoul was hard, but living in West Orange, New Jersey was much harder一especially navigating everyday communication with Americans.

After sharing relevant personal stories, make sure to provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your perspective, activities, and goals. You should also explain how your background led you to apply to this university and why you’re a good fit.

Include your outlook, actions, and goals

Conclude your essay with an insight about how your background or identity has affected your outlook, actions, and goals. You should include specific actions and activities that you have done as a result of your insight.

One night, before the midnight premiere of Avengers: Endgame , I stopped by my best friend Maria’s house. Her mother prepared tamales, churros, and Mexican hot chocolate, packing them all neatly in an Igloo lunch box. As we sat in the line snaking around the AMC theater, I thought back to when Maria and I took salsa classes together and when we belted out Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” at karaoke. In that moment, as I munched on a chicken tamale, I realized how much I admired the beauty, complexity, and joy in Maria’s culture but had suppressed and devalued my own.

The following semester, I joined Model UN. Since then, I have learned how to proudly represent other countries and have gained cultural perspectives other than my own. I now understand that all cultures, including my own, are equal. I still struggle with small triggers, like when I go through airport security and feel a suspicious glance toward me, or when I feel self-conscious for bringing kabsa to school lunch. But in the future, I hope to study and work in international relations to continue learning about other cultures and impart a positive impression of Saudi culture to the world.

The smell of the early morning dew and the welcoming whinnies of my family’s horses are some of my most treasured childhood memories. To this day, our farm remains so rural that we do not have broadband access, and we’re too far away from the closest town for the postal service to reach us.

Going to school regularly was always a struggle: between the unceasing demands of the farm and our lack of connectivity, it was hard to keep up with my studies. Despite being a voracious reader, avid amateur chemist, and active participant in the classroom, emergencies and unforeseen events at the farm meant that I had a lot of unexcused absences.

Although it had challenges, my upbringing taught me resilience, the value of hard work, and the importance of family. Staying up all night to watch a foal being born, successfully saving the animals from a minor fire, and finding ways to soothe a nervous mare afraid of thunder have led to an unbreakable family bond.

Our farm is my family’s birthright and our livelihood, and I am eager to learn how to ensure the farm’s financial and technological success for future generations. In college, I am looking forward to joining a chapter of Future Farmers of America and studying agricultural business to carry my family’s legacy forward.

Tailor your answer to the university

After explaining how your identity or background will enrich the university’s existing student body, you can mention the university organizations, groups, or courses in which you’re interested.

Maybe a larger public school setting will allow you to broaden your community, or a small liberal arts college has a specialized program that will give you space to discover your voice and identity. Perhaps this particular university has an active affinity group you’d like to join.

Demonstrating how a university’s specific programs or clubs are relevant to you can show that you’ve done your research and would be a great addition to the university.

At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to study engineering not only to emulate my mother’s achievements and strength, but also to forge my own path as an engineer with disabilities. I appreciate the University of Michigan’s long-standing dedication to supporting students with disabilities in ways ranging from accessible housing to assistive technology. At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to receive a top-notch education and use it to inspire others to strive for their best, regardless of their circumstances.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

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• How to end an email
• Ms, mrs, miss
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• Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

• Personal pronouns
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In addition to your main college essay , some schools and scholarships may ask for a supplementary essay focused on an aspect of your identity or background. This is sometimes called a diversity essay .

Many universities believe a student body composed of different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community, which is why they assign a diversity essay .

To write an effective diversity essay , include vulnerable, authentic stories about your unique identity, background, or perspective. Provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your outlook, activities, and goals. If relevant, you should also mention how your background has led you to apply for this university and why you’re a good fit.

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May 8, 2024

The Diversity Essay: How to Write an Excellent Diversity Essay

What is a diversity essay in a school application? And why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Most importantly, how should you go about writing such an essay?

Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how every student will contribute to the diversity on their campus. A diversity essay gives applicants with disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, an unusual education, a distinctive experience, or a unique family history an opportunity to write about how these elements of their background have prepared them to play a useful role in increasing and encouraging diversity among their target program’s student body and broader community.

The purpose of all application essays is to help the adcom better understand who an applicant is and what they care about. Your essays are your chance to share your voice and humanize your application. This is especially true for the diversity essay, which aims to reveal your unique perspectives and experiences, as well as the ways in which you might contribute to a college community.

In this post, we’ll discuss what exactly a diversity essay is, look at examples of actual prompts and a sample essay, and offer tips for writing a standout essay. 

In this post, you’ll find the following: 

What a diversity essay covers

How to show you can add to a school’s diversity, why diversity matters to schools.

• Seven examples that reveal diversity

Sample diversity essay prompts

How to write about your diversity.

• A diversity essay example

Upon hearing the word “diversity” in relation to an application essay, many people assume that they will have to write about gender, sexuality, class, or race. To many, this can feel overly personal or irrelevant, and some students might worry that their identity isn’t unique or interesting enough. In reality, the diversity essay is much broader than many people realize.

Identity means different things to different people. The important thing is that you demonstrate your uniqueness and what matters to you. In addition to writing about one of the traditional identity features we just mentioned (gender, sexuality, class, race), you could consider writing about a more unusual feature of yourself or your life – or even the intersection of two or more identities.

Consider these questions as you think about what to include in your diversity essay:

• Do you have a unique or unusual talent or skill?
• Do you have beliefs or values that are markedly different from those of the people around you? 
• Do you have a hobby or interest that sets you apart from your peers? 
• Have you done or experienced something that few people have? Note that if you choose to write about a single event as a diverse identity feature, that event needs to have had a pretty substantial impact on you and your life. For example, perhaps you’re part of the 0.2% of the world’s population that has run a marathon, or you’ve had the chance to watch wolves hunt in the wild.
• Do you have a role in life that gives you a special outlook on the world? For example, maybe one of your siblings has a rare disability, or you grew up in a town with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

If you are an immigrant to the United States, the child of immigrants, or someone whose ethnicity is underrepresented in the States, your response to “How will you add to the diversity of our class/community?” and similar questions might help your application efforts. Why? Because you have the opportunity to show the adcom how your background will contribute a distinctive perspective to the program you are applying to.

Of course, if you’re not underrepresented in your field or part of a disadvantaged group, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to write about in a diversity essay.

For example, you might have an unusual or special experience to share, such as serving in the military, being a member of a dance troupe, or caring for a disabled relative. These and other distinctive experiences can convey how you will contribute to the diversity of the school’s campus.

Maybe you are the first member of your family to apply to college or the first person in your household to learn English. Perhaps you have worked your way through college or helped raise your siblings. You might also have been an ally to those who are underrepresented, disadvantaged, or marginalized in your community, at your school, or in a work setting. 

As you can see, diversity is not limited to one’s religion, ethnicity, culture, language, or sexual orientation. It refers to whatever element of your identity distinguishes you from others and shows that you, too, value diversity.

The diversity essay provides colleges the chance to build a student body that includes different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, and so on. Applicants are asked to illuminate what sets them apart so that the adcoms can see what kind of diverse views and opinions they can bring to the campus.

Admissions officers believe that diversity in the classroom improves the educational experience of all the students involved. They also believe that having a diverse workforce better serves society as a whole.

The more diverse perspectives found in the classroom, throughout the dorms, in the dining halls, and mixed into study groups, the richer people’s discussions will be.

Plus, learning and growing in this kind of multicultural environment will prepare students for working in our increasingly multicultural and global world.

In medicine, for example, a heterogeneous workforce benefits people from previously underrepresented cultures. Businesses realize that they will market more effectively if they can speak to different audiences, which is possible when members of their workforce come from various backgrounds and cultures. Schools simply want to prepare graduates for the 21st century job market.

Seven examples that reveal diversity

Adcoms want to know about the diverse elements of your character and how these have helped you develop particular  personality traits , as well as about any unusual experiences that have shaped you.

Here are seven examples an applicant could write about:

1. They grew up in an environment with a strong emphasis on respecting their elders, attending family events, and/or learning their parents’ native language and culture.

2. They are close to their grandparents and extended family members who have taught them how teamwork can help everyone thrive.

3. They have had to face difficulties that stem from their parents’ values being in conflict with theirs or those of their peers.

4. Teachers have not always understood the elements of their culture or lifestyle and how those elements influence their performance.

5. They have suffered discrimination and succeeded despite it because of their grit, values, and character.

6. They learned skills from a lifestyle that is outside the norm (e.g., living in foreign countries as the child of a diplomat or contractor; performing professionally in theater, dance, music, or sports; having a deaf sibling).

7. They’ve encountered racism or other prejudice (either toward themselves or others) and responded by actively promoting diverse, tolerant values.

And remember, diversity is not about who your parents are.  It’s about who you are  – at the core.

Your background, influences, religious observances, native language, ideas, work environment, community experiences – all these factors come together to create a unique individual, one who will contribute to a varied class of distinct individuals taking their place in a diverse world.

The best-known diversity essay prompt is from the  Common App . It states:

“Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”

Some schools have individual diversity essay prompts. For example, this one is from  Duke University :

“We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.” 

And the  Rice University application includes the following prompt:

“Rice is strengthened by its diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders and change agents across the spectrum of human endeavor. What perspectives shaped by your background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity inspire you to join our community of change agents at Rice?”

In all instances, colleges want you to demonstrate how and what you’ll contribute to their communities.

Your answer to a school’s diversity essay question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective.

The school might ask how you think of diversity or how you will bring or add to the diversity of the school, your chosen profession, or your community. Make sure you answer the specific question posed by highlighting distinctive elements of your profile that will add to the class mosaic every adcom is trying to create. You don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out in a positive way while also complementing the school’s canvas.

Here’s a simple, three-part framework that will help you think of diversity more broadly:

Who are you? What has contributed to your identity? How do you distinguish yourself? Your identity can include any of the following: gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, nontraditional work experience, nontraditional educational background, multicultural background, and family’s educational level.

What have you done? What have you accomplished? This could include any of the following: achievements inside and/or outside your field of study, leadership opportunities, community service, internship or professional experience, research opportunities, hobbies, and travel. Any or all of these could be unique. Also, what life-derailing, throw-you-for-a-loop challenges have you faced and overcome?

How do you think? How do you approach things? What drives you? What influences you? Are you the person who can break up a tense meeting with some well-timed humor? Are you the one who intuitively sees how to bring people together? 

Read more about this three-part framework in Episode 193 of Accepted’s Admissions Straight Talk podcast or listen wherever you get your favorite podcast s.

Think about each question within this framework and how you could apply your diversity elements to your target school’s classroom or community. Any of these elements can serve as the framework for your essay.

Don’t worry if you can’t think of something totally “out there.” You don’t need to be a tightrope walker living in the Andes or a Buddhist monk from Japan to be able to contribute to a school’s diversity!

And please remember, the examples we have offered here are not exhaustive. There are many other ways to show diversity!

All you need to do to be able to write successfully about how you will contribute to the diversity of your target school’s community is examine your identity, deeds, and ideas, with an eye toward your personal distinctiveness and individuality. There is only one  you .

Take a look at the sample diversity essay in the next section of this post, and pay attention to how the writer underscores their appreciation for, and experience with, diversity. 

A diversity essay sample

When I was starting 11th grade, my dad, an agricultural scientist, was assigned to a 3-month research project in a farm village in Niigata (northwest Honshu in Japan). Rather than stay behind with my mom and siblings, I begged to go with him. As a straight-A student, I convinced my parents and the principal that I could handle my schoolwork remotely (pre-COVID) for that stretch. It was time to leap beyond my comfortable suburban Wisconsin life—and my Western orientation, reinforced by travel to Europe the year before. 

We roomed in a sprawling farmhouse with a family participating in my dad’s study. I thought I’d experience an “English-free zone,” but the high school students all studied and wanted to practice English, so I did meet peers even though I didn’t attend their school. Of the many eye-opening, influential, cultural experiences, the one that resonates most powerfully to me is experiencing their community. It was a living, organic whole. Elementary school kids spent time helping with the rice harvest. People who foraged for seasonal wild edibles gave them to acquaintances throughout the town. In fact, there was a constant sharing of food among residents—garden veggies carried in straw baskets, fish or meat in coolers. The pharmacist would drive prescriptions to people who couldn’t easily get out—new mothers, the elderly—not as a business service but as a good neighbor. If rain suddenly threatened, neighbors would bring in each other’s drying laundry. When an empty-nest 50-year-old woman had to be hospitalized suddenly for a near-fatal snakebite, neighbors maintained her veggie patch until she returned. The community embodied constant awareness of others’ needs and circumstances. The community flowed!

Yet, people there lamented that this lifestyle was vanishing; more young people left than stayed or came. And it wasn’t idyllic: I heard about ubiquitous gossip, long-standing personal enmities, busybody-ness. But these very human foibles didn’t dam the flow. This dynamic community organism couldn’t have been more different from my suburban life back home, with its insular nuclear families. We nod hello to neighbors in passing. 

This wonderful experience contained a personal challenge. Blond and blue-eyed, I became “the other” for the first time. Except for my dad, I saw no Westerner there. Curious eyes followed me. Stepping into a market or walking down the street, I drew gazes. People swiftly looked away if they accidentally caught my eye. It was not at all hostile, I knew, but I felt like an object. I began making extra sure to appear “presentable” before going outside. The sense of being watched sometimes generated mild stress or resentment. Returning to my lovely tatami room, I would decompress, grateful to be alone. I realized this challenge was a minute fraction of what others experience in my own country. The toll that feeling—and being— “other” takes on non-white and visibly different people in the US can be extremely painful. Experiencing it firsthand, albeit briefly, benignly, and in relative comfort, I got it.

Unlike the organic Niigata community, work teams, and the workplace itself, have externally driven purposes. Within this different environment, I will strive to exemplify the ongoing mutual awareness that fueled the community life in Niigata. Does it benefit the bottom line, improve the results? I don’t know. But it helps me be the mature, engaged person I want to be, and to appreciate the individuals who are my colleagues and who comprise my professional community. I am now far more conscious of people feeling their “otherness”—even when it’s not in response to negative treatment, it can arise simply from awareness of being in some way different.

What did you think of this essay? Does this middle class Midwesterner have the unique experience of being different from the surrounding majority, something she had not experienced in the United States? Did she encounter diversity from the perspective of “the other”? 

Here a few things to note about why this diversity essay works so well:

1. The writer comes from “a comfortable, suburban, Wisconsin life,” suggesting that her background might not be ethnically, racially, or in any other way diverse.

2. The diversity “points” scored all come from her fascinating experience of having lived in a Japanese farm village, where she immersed herself in a totally different culture.

3. The lessons learned about the meaning of community are what broaden and deepen the writer’s perspective about life, about a purpose-driven life, and about the concept of “otherness.” 

By writing about a time when you experienced diversity in one of its many forms, you can write a memorable and meaningful diversity essay.

Working on your diversity essay?

Want to ensure that your application demonstrates the diversity that your dream school is seeking?  Work with one of our admissions experts . This checklist includes more than 30 different ways to think about diversity to jump-start your creative engine.

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications, and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Sundas has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources:

• Different Dimensions of Diversity , podcast Episode 193
• What Should You Do If You Belong to an Overrepresented MBA Applicant Group?
• Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions , a free guide

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More From Forbes

Why and how to improve diversity in the workplace.

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Haseeb Tariq  is a product marketing expert who helps fix large revenue retention & growth issues. 

The diversity of a team is more than just the diversity of its members. It also includes diversity in leadership, diversity of work styles and diversity of backgrounds. I have lived and worked in Asia, Europe and the United States. This has given me a unique understanding of how diversity can affect business performance. I have found that diversity on a team can make it stronger and help eliminate organizational biases between different types of people or backgrounds.

In 2003, Norway passed a law requiring publicly traded and public limited companies to make sure at least 40% of company board members are women. Many now see Norway as an international leader in creating equal opportunity for both genders. I remember when I was at Lund University in Sweden and received an email from a conference organizer asking me to speak. I did not know anything about the conference, but they said in the email that they needed to make sure the speakers were diverse. I was the first person of color to give a keynote at that conference.

This post discusses how you can create a diverse workplace for your team to increase productivity and improve customer satisfaction by making them feel welcome. 

Why Team Diversity Is Important

Team diversity can be an instrumental factor in a company's success. Research from McKinsey shows that, in 2019, companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural representation on executive teams outperformed those in the fourth quartile by 36% in profitability. In other words, diversity can translate into diversity not only of background but also of ideas that can lead to business results for the team and its customers.

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Ways To Increase Diversity And Inclusion In The Workplace

There are many ways to improve diversity in the workplace, but not all will work for every organization. The first step is to have diversity in leadership. This can help eliminate any racial, gender or other biases on your team. Next, ensure you have diverse work styles by allowing team members to figure out what type of work they are the most passionate about and pursue it. This diversity can create a richer environment to work in.

The Benefits Of Having A Diverse Workforce

I believe diversity of background and ideas can lead to innovation that improves results. The same McKinsey research found that "companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile — up from 21 percent in 2017."

How To Build A Diverse Team

Building a diverse team is an ongoing process. You can start to create an inclusive workplace by redefining the hiring process so that it is not weighted toward one region or culture and involves team members from diverse backgrounds. Develop a diverse workplace where all employees feel valued and respected — no matter their background. Encourage team members to be open with you about their thoughts on diversity and race.

Understanding Your Own Biases And How They Affect Your Work Environment

Bias can be a difficult topic to discuss. It can be hard for people to admit that they have biases or even acknowledge them without having someone else point out their biases for them. Biases are more than just stereotypes about diversity in the workplace; they also involve how we think and perceive different cultures, genders, races and religions. If you can understand your own biases at work, you can then look at them and see how they may be affecting diversity in the workplace.

To Summarize

It is important to have a diverse workforce to create an environment that values different perspectives and backgrounds. My experience working in a variety of regions has taught me that diversity of opinions, ideas, cultures, genders and ethnicities can help you see things from multiple angles with more clarity.

You may find that employees on the same team as you who come from different backgrounds can offer valuable insight into how your company operates or why certain decisions are made.

These insights could lead to better products or services for your customers. If this sounds like something you want at your workplace, I recommend implementing some of these practical tips so that everyone has equal opportunities, regardless of their background. 

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Diversity in the workplace: Importance, benefits, and management tips

In today’s interconnected world, the significance of workplace diversity cannot be overstated. It goes beyond simply acknowledging individuals with different viewpoints, ethnicities, ages, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities (such as those in the LGBTQ+ community ).

Embracing diversity in the workplace holds the key to unlocking your organization’s full potential. The rising influence of millennials and Gen Z on the workforce has made company culture and hiring processes more transparent, with platforms like Glassdoor enabling them to share their work experiences. Today’s job seekers prioritize inclusive values that encompass a range of viewpoints, demographics, and life experiences, including ethnic and gender diversity. 

In this guide, we’ll share the benefits of diversity in the workplace as well as practical strategies for fostering it, such as equitable hiring practices, diversity training , and support for employee resource groups. By embracing diversity, you can cultivate more successful employees, leadership teams, and organizations that thrive in today’s dynamic landscape.

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How to embrace diversity and inclusion in your organization, what is the importance of workplace diversity.

Diversity in the workplace isn’t just a buzzword; it’s one of the key ingredients for success in today’s interconnected world. Embracing diversity means creating an environment where individuals from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences come together to form a vibrant tapestry. 

Diverse employees bring a whole host of benefits to teams, businesses, and organizations. Let’s explore how workplace diversity can supercharge your talent pool’s performance and propel your organization to new heights.

Enhanced creativity and innovation

Different perspectives spark fresh ideas, imaginative solutions, and innovative approaches to challenges. You create a rich melting pot of creativity by valuing diverse experiences and encouraging everyone to contribute their unique insights. In addition, you may find new viewpoints that help you connect better with your customer base.

Better decision-making and problem-solving

Homogeneous groups tend to fall into the trap of groupthink, where similar ideas stifle innovation and hinder effective decision-making. On the other hand, diverse teams bring a wide range of perspectives and approaches to the table. This diversity of thought leads to more robust discussions, thorough analysis of options, and ultimately, better problem-solving outcomes and profitability.

Increased engagement and satisfaction

When people feel seen, heard, and valued for who they are, their engagement and satisfaction levels soar. Embracing workplace diversity fosters an inclusive culture where everyone feels welcome and respected, empowering them to bring their authentic selves to work. This sense of belonging and appreciation not only boosts morale but also fuels productivity and employee retention.

Extended market reach

In our interconnected global marketplace, understanding diverse customer segments is key to success. By cultivating a diverse workforce, you gain invaluable insights into different cultures, preferences, and needs. This heightened cultural intelligence allows your organization to connect with a broader range of customers, tailor products or services accordingly, and expand your market reach with authenticity and empathy. All these benefits add up to financial gains, too. McKinsey & Company found that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity in management were 35% more likely to see financial returns above the mean in their respective industry.

Creating an inclusive work environment starts with proactive leadership and commitment from managers and business leaders to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It’s up to business leaders to champion diversity and foster inclusive workplace cultures. Here’s how to make it happen.

Assess your current workplace diversity

One way to do this is to have employees complete a survey asking them questions like:

• How would you describe the diversity of your team or department?
• Do you feel like your team or department is inclusive?
• What are some things that your team or department could do to improve its diversity and inclusion?

The answers will help you develop a sense of where your organization stands on diversity and decide what steps to take to improve it. Next, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are some ways that you can promote diversity in your workplace?
• How can you create a more inclusive environment for your employees?
• What are some of the challenges of creating a diverse and inclusive workplace?

This assessment will guide you in choosing your actions toward a more diverse workplace. The following are some good places to start.

Address unconscious biases

Unconscious bias refers to the biases, prejudices, or stereotypes that people hold without being consciously aware of them. These are often formed through societal influences, cultural conditioning, personal experiences, and media portrayals. They are deeply ingrained and can affect anyone, regardless of their personal beliefs or values. Here’s how to combat unconscious bias in the workplace:

• Educate yourself. Take the initiative to educate yourself about unconscious biases, their impact, and how they manifest in the workplace. Engage in self-reflection and seek resources to deepen your understanding.
• Raise awareness. Use your platform to raise awareness about unconscious biases among your team members by way of employee engagement strategies. Conduct workshops, training sessions, or interactive discussions to create a safe space for open dialogue and learning.
• Review and enact policies. Regularly review your organization’s policies and procedures to identify and minimize biases in decision-making processes. Implement measures like blind resume screening and diverse interview panels to ensure fair evaluations.
• Establish training programs. Develop diversity and inclusion training programs that provide employees with the tools to recognize and address their unconscious biases. Foster an environment that encourages continuous learning and growth.

Manage conflicts

Promoting respectful interactions in a diverse workplace is key to cultivating an inclusive environment. Managers and leaders can address this concern by implementing the following strategies:

• Leading by example : Managers and leaders should exemplify respectful behavior and communication. By demonstrating empathy, active listening, and inclusive language, they set a positive example for others to follow.
• Encouraging dialogue: Foster a culture of open dialogue where employees feel comfortable expressing their perspectives. Encourage active listening, empathy, and constructive feedback to facilitate understanding.
• Effective communication training: Provide training on effective communication techniques, cultural sensitivity, and conflict resolution. This equips employees with the skills to engage in respectful and productive conversations.
• Third-party mediation: When conflicts escalate, involve HR professionals as neutral mediators to ensure impartiality and fair resolution. HR professionals can provide unbiased guidance and help facilitate a resolution that respects the perspectives and experiences of all parties involved, promoting a harmonious and inclusive work environment. 
• Team-building exercises: Organize team-building activities that promote collaboration and appreciation of diversity. Through shared experiences and fostering relationships, teams can develop stronger bonds and prevent conflicts before they arise.

Offer flexible support

Acknowledging that teammates have diverse lifestyles and personal demands is essential for creating an inclusive and supportive workplace. Providing accommodations that cater to these needs not only benefits individual team members but also contributes to the overall success of companies. 

But different teammates may require specific accommodations based on their circumstances. It is an important part of any company’s culture to make sure employees feel their leaders care for them, especially when they’re in the minority. This can easily be achieved by reviewing your workers’ needs and making sure accessible options are available to them. Here are a few things to think about:

• Disabilities : Implement accessible workplace practices and physical modifications to accommodate individuals with disabilities. This could include providing assistive technologies, ensuring wheelchair accessibility, or offering flexible work arrangements.
• Parenthood/Caregiving: Create family-friendly policies, such as parental leave, childcare support, or flexible work hours. This helps employees balance their caregiving responsibilities while continuing to contribute effectively to the team.
• Work-life balance: Offer options for remote work, flexible scheduling, or compressed workweeks to accommodate the diverse work-life balance needs of your team members. This allows them to manage personal commitments, such as pursuing further education, engaging in hobbies, or taking care of their personal well-being.
• Mental health support: Prioritize mental health initiatives and provide resources like counseling services, employee assistance programs, or mindfulness programs. This helps team members cope with stress, maintain their well-being, and perform at their best.

By recognizing and accommodating the diverse lifestyles and personal demands of your team members, you create an inclusive environment where everyone feels supported. This fosters a culture of understanding, empathy, and collaboration, ultimately driving individual and collective success within your organization.

Encourage diverse leadership and representation

Empowering employees from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds to excel and ascend into leadership roles not only enriches the talent pool, but it also creates a more inclusive and equitable workplace culture. Here are some ways to encourage diverse leadership and representation in your organization:

• Inclusive hiring : Fostering inclusive hiring practices might involve forming diverse interview panels to minimize bias, utilizing blind resume screening to focus on qualifications rather than demographics, actively seeking candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, and ensuring job descriptions use inclusive language. 
• Employee resource groups (ERGs) : ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups that provide a platform for underrepresented employees to connect, share experiences, and advocate for inclusivity. Workplaces can establish, promote, and maintain ERGs by providing resources, support, and opportunities for ERGs to organize events, initiatives, and educational programs that celebrate diversity and create a sense of belonging.
• Leadership development :  Offer comprehensive leadership development programs that address the needs and challenges faced by employees from underrepresented groups. This can include mentorship programs pairing team members with experienced leaders, providing training on inclusive leadership practices, and creating networking opportunities to connect people with influential stakeholders and create advancement opportunities.

Workplace diversity is not just a moral imperative; it also brings strategic advantages for businesses. When people of various backgrounds make up a team, they offer enhanced creativity, better decision-making, increased engagement, extended market reach, and a culture where everyone thrives. 

Some of the best ways to make your organization more diverse are doing an initial assessment, addressing unconscious bias, promoting respectful interactions and a culture of open communication, and providing accommodations for your team’s diverse needs.

IMD is dedicated to fostering diverse, inclusive workplaces. Our globally-renowned leadership programs include diversity and inclusion training and events as well as resources for promoting diversity in professional settings, helping to create a more equitable world one organization at a time.

Check out IMD’s Changing Employee Behavior program here!

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Achieving and sustaining organizational excellence takes more than routine task management. It requires a strategic approach that aligns employee goals with those of the business and engages employees to work towards them.  That’s where performance management comes in. Beyond routine check-ins, this transformative process empowers employees, enhances their contributions, and propels organizations toward greater success. In […]

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The elusive inclusive workplace

In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated working women and minorities—and put faster progress on diversity front and center on the leadership agenda.

In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent , McKinsey leaders and talent experts Bryan Hancock and Bill Schaninger speak with McKinsey Global Publishing’s Lucia Rahilly about the urgent need to increase inclusiveness at work, including how your talent practices could be helping—or hindering—your efforts. For more from Bryan and Bill, subscribe to the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , or the audio player of your choice.

Bright spots are tough to find

Lucia Rahilly: Many leaders have made renewed commitments to fostering more diverse, more equitable, and more inclusive workplaces in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd. But leaders have been talking about improving representation for women and minority demographics for what seems like a painfully long time. Do you think things will really be different now?

Bill Schaninger: The good news is that we see a meaningful shift in attention to these issues and a real commitment to, and investment in, doing better. Just focusing on the kind of environment leaders are creating—by itself, that isn’t inclusive. We need to ask ourselves whether we’re really accepting of all kinds of people. Are we allowing people to bring their whole selves to work? And we need to be much more thoughtful about opportunities throughout the talent life cycle, from where we source talent to the skills we demand, promotions, development opportunities—all the way through.

The bad news is that COVID-19 runs the risk of wiping out six years of advances on the diverse-workforce front. That’s devastating. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women  and people of color , who tend to be concentrated in sectors that have taken a real pounding during the pandemic.

Lucia Rahilly: Where have companies made progress?

Bryan Hancock: Bright spots are tough to find. In the managerial and the officer ranks, we’re seeing more diverse folks promoted, which—over time—will create more proportional representation in management. But for Black employees, for example, the journey will take 95 years on current course and speed. So while we’re paying attention, the scale of the solution is not yet matching the scale of the problem.

While we’re paying attention, the scale of the solution is not yet matching the scale of the problem. Bryan Hancock

Lucia Rahilly: The number of female CEOs in the Fortune 500 is abysmal, and the number of Black CEOs is even worse. What about boards? Are we seeing progress there—and, if so, why isn’t this having a more positive impact?

Bryan Hancock: Board representation is coming up. But boards have a governance, not a management, role. If you’re considering whether a company is right for you, you may look at the board. But you may also ask, “Who’s the vice president in the group I’ll be in? Who’s the senior vice president? Is there anyone who looks like me in that entire chain?” We need to have representation in leadership—clear signals that say, “There’s a place for people like you here.” The board sends a good signal, but I don’t think it has the same day-to-day impact leaders do.

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Rewriting the rules of recruiting.

Lucia Rahilly: Let’s talk about challenges within the talent life cycle, starting with acquisition. What barriers do women and diverse populations face being recruited into jobs?

Bill Schaninger: In sourcing, there’s a real difference between equal and equitable. Suppose we said, “All interns are created equal. We pay them nothing.” The people who can afford an entire summer without getting paid are likely already coming from a position of privilege. I reflect on my own experience as an undergraduate, particularly after my father died. The thought of working for nothing between my junior and senior year or the year following—it was a nonoption. I needed to make money.

Don’t curtail the funnel out of the gate because of convention and call it equal. It’s probably not equitable. You could be forgoing amazing talent just by how you look, where you look, and how you engage potential recruits. This is an opportunity to rewrite some of the rules.

You could be forgoing amazing talent just by how you look, where you look, and how you engage potential recruits. This is an opportunity to rewrite some of the rules. Bill Schaninger

Lucia Rahilly: AI [artificial intelligence] very famously risks integrating human bias into its algorithms, and recruiters are relying more and more on automation. Do you think technology helps or hurts diverse candidates in the assessment process?

Bryan Hancock: Good technology helps—technology that really looks at what you’re assessing for and ties that to a job. But suppose you ask how a candidate fits with the norms of a group. If the group is largely white and male, you should pause and consider whether you might be incorporating bias in those selections.

There are two different ways AI can be used. One is building on science to help get deeper insights. The other is comparing against an existing population. I’d be more cautious on the latter.

Bill Schaninger: Good quantitative techniques can help manage incredibly large data sets. Sometimes you just use technology as a rough screening tool. But I wouldn’t go down the road of meaningful prediction of success until you’re really thoughtful on validation.

You need to challenge—aggressively—all your assumptions about the knowledge, skills, attributes, and experiences required. In many cases, we screen based on our own preferences rather than what’s actually predictive of success. And then you need good old-fashioned validation. You need adequate performance data, and you need to track what happened to people you didn’t pick. Then you can feel more certain that what you’re doing makes sense and doesn’t institutionalize bias because of the way your models are built.

Lucia Rahilly: How does bias take effect in assessment tools like gamification?

Bryan Hancock: It depends. Suppose the game is grounded in a science-based assessment—a substitute for a pencil-and-paper assessment, validated for outcomes against more traditional assessments. Then it’s a more engaging way of getting at some of the same underlying attributes we test for. There are also games that aspire to do more. In those cases, we should be very clear on what we expect the game to solve, how we’re testing for different biases, and how the game is won if there are multiple inputs into the process.

I’m hopeful. I think gamification can be an engaging way of getting a lot more data about individual candidates. But we need to proceed with caution.

Lucia Rahilly: We’re talking about tools and processes. But how do leaders address the subjective bias that routinely creeps into even the most well-intentioned recruitment efforts?

Bill Schaninger: Language is an early indicator that something is going on that’s at least worth looking at. In our own review rooms, if we hear “What about their presence?” we jump all over it—it’s a classic.

Subtler, but maybe more pervasive, are underlying assumptions about what people need to know, the skills they need, the attributes that make them successful. There you have to be brutal about asking, “Is there any evidence to suggest this actually differentiates between good performers and not?” If not, it has no business being in the conversation.

Getting more precise on what inclusion really means

Bryan Hancock: A lot of what we’re talking about in talent acquisition is the science of assessment and being clear on what matters objectively to job performance. A lot of companies are actively thinking about this. You see it in unconscious bias training, in the structure of assessments, in the assessment teams that big companies are rolling out. And, importantly, you see it in the data.

In our recent Race in the Workplace report, we looked at Black representation in entry-level corporate jobs in the United States, which turned out to be at parity with the US Black population more broadly. We clearly need to stay vigilant on assessments for the front line. But to me, the bigger opportunity is how to think more rigorously about embracing these entry-level workers and being very deliberate in advancement.

Lucia Rahilly: That’s a very commonly voiced challenge—that women or people of color exit companies prior to ascending the ranks. Suppose you’ve got a relatively diverse population at that front end of the pipeline but you’re losing them. What do you do?

Bryan Hancock: This is where to think not only about diversity but also equity and inclusion. What’s the environment for women? For people of color? Are we creating the right communities and supporting mechanisms? Having open conversations about what it takes to succeed? Giving good feedback  consistently? Being good sponsors? All those factors together help people advance. And we know there are gaps today.

Take sponsorship . Eighty-seven percent of companies we surveyed had some form of a sponsorship program. But fewer than half of the people across races said they had a sponsor. One thing we need to do is close that disconnect.

Eighty-seven percent of companies we surveyed had some form of a sponsorship program. But fewer than half of the people across races said they had a sponsor. One thing we need to do is close that disconnect. Bryan Hancock

Lucia Rahilly: Let’s take a step back. I admit that as a woman, I sling around the term “inclusion” with authority, but I’m not sure I could define it precisely. What are we talking about when we talk about an inclusive environment?

Bill Schaninger: We’ve been studying this—trying to come up with a better way of talking about it, trying to understand how people experience inclusion. Acceptance, the experience of trust and intimacy, belonging, affinity, the idea that you have influence or agency—those elements wrap together.

A little more precisely, most people characterize inclusion on two levels : their own direct, felt experience and the way they perceive their organization more broadly (exhibit). What might explain the differences between those two? The answer completely aligns with classic organizational psychology—the relationship with the boss, the relationship with peers, and the experience of the policies, practices, and rules the company writes and enforces. You’ve got those three levers to pull.

For many things at work, your relationship with the boss  is the single most important relationship. But when we’re talking about an inclusive environment, the behavior of your colleagues appears to matter as much as—if not a bit more than—your boss’s behavior. That doesn’t mean bosses get a pass. But the more collaborative our work, the more opportunities we have for interactions that make the workplace feel inclusive or not. We think there’s a whole new tranche of ideas about inclusion being made or broken, based on the team environment.

The more collaborative our work, the more opportunities we have for interactions that make the workplace feel inclusive or not. We think there’s a whole new tranche of ideas about inclusion being made or broken, based on the team environment. Bill Schaninger

Lucia Rahilly: What’s an example of how we might individually support inclusivity on our teams? Here it might be helpful to acknowledge that one of us is a woman, but all of us are white.

Bryan Hancock: Particularly if you’re a white male leader, I think you’ve got to be vulnerable to making mistakes. Recognize that you don’t know exactly how to have the conversation and might not say exactly the right thing. But be curious. Ask “How can we help? How can we make this a more inclusive environment? What can we do better?” Being a curious learner can help start the conversation on what some of the underlying pieces might be.

Lucia Rahilly: Do you think we risk placing an undue burden on colleagues from diverse demographics when we ask them to educate us about the experience that they have in the workplace?

Bryan Hancock: It can absolutely be a burden for companies to create a bunch of additional tasks. Leaders should be thoughtful and inclusive about getting feedback and input but not at every turn ask, “What do you think? You come up with the solution.”

It’s a little different on the team level, where you might ask, “Hey, is anything I’m doing bugging you? I noticed you’ve got this responsibility outside work; how are you doing?” That’s a different conversation, not abstract—“What can we be doing to advance all women here?”—but personal—“What can we be doing to better support you?” I think that helps drive an inclusive environment without creating an additional burden.

I was just on a call about training on this front. In many cases, the majority in organizations are still white men, and usually straight white men. And of course, often the majority—people you need to change the environment—are the least likely to see the need for training. We need to construct an environment where these employees raise their hands and say, “I’m a middle-aged white guy with no firsthand experience of what we’re talking about here. But I sure feel the right thing to do is to be an ally, to actively try to make things better.”

That could mean inviting people into meetings they wouldn’t normally attend, changing routines to be more thoughtful about bringing new people into a group, or pulling different people into conversations and decision making. To me, a big portion of this is getting the majority to see the ease with which they can step into a place of allyship. It’s not we versus they . It’s actually just we . And we have an opportunity to do much better.

Lucia Rahilly: How do you see the role of affinity groups in supporting the experience of diverse employees?

Bryan Hancock:  Affinity groups have been shown to be very effective at building community and creating connectivity—seeing other people like you and hearing stories of what made them successful. They’ve had less of a proven effect as an avenue toward promotion. We still need other support mechanisms, like sponsorship, to advance women and people of color. We can’t put it all on affinity groups to solve.

Breaking the same-old talent cycle

Lucia Rahilly: We know career mobility can be a challenge for women and for diverse workers. Yet many organizations take pride in narrating themselves as meritocracies and sometimes perceive the notion of actively creating opportunities for more diverse talent as in tension with meritocratic principles. Bryan, I’m interested in what the data in the recent Race in the Workplace report revealed about whether Black workers perceive career mobility as meritocratic.

Bryan Hancock: In our research, we found that no one perceives their workplace to be meritocratic. The majority of white workers and the majority of Black workers did not perceive the current process to be meritocratic. And when you look at our broader performance-management research, it isn’t that much of a surprise. The majority don’t feel their contributions are recognized fairly at work.

Rather than reinforce this tension, we need to look at the fundamental tenets of a fair meritocracy—ensure we’re having conversations on goals, for example, or giving feedback or linking what an employee is doing today to business performance. That would help raise the perception of fairness. And we’d also probably identify the folks with the merit to advance.

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Lucia Rahilly: At the same time, the zero-sum notion is pretty deeply embedded in American discourse. Meaning, in other words, that the benefits that an inclusive culture might confer get refracted through a prism of competition, so that one person’s advantage is counterweighed by another person’s loss. What does our research say about zero sum and the benefits of diversity overall? That might help leaders navigate that tension a little better.

Bryan Hancock: There’s great research and thinking from PolicyLink describing the curb-cut effect—a term stemming from the Americans With Disabilities Act, which required cuts in curbs so that people in wheelchairs could more easily cross the street. And, yes, people in wheelchairs use curb cuts. But so do lots of people not in wheelchairs: businesspeople with rolling suitcases, parents with strollers. By focusing on meritocracy concerns, you can address what turns out to be an underlying dissatisfier for a wide range of people.

Lucia Rahilly: Part of what we’re seeing is that inclusive environments enable better retention, better engagement. Is there data to show that inclusive environments also enable performance?

Bill Schaninger: When you make it easy for people to bring all their skills and thoughtfulness to innovation and problem solving, they do better. It builds up social exchange. It builds up goodwill. It’s a virtuous cycle. Contrast that with finding out about a meeting after the fact—having your background, your experiences, and your ideas discounted. That’s a vicious cycle. No doubt, this has a direct impact.

Lucia Rahilly: COVID-19 has clearly posed risks to progress. Besides illuminating the exigency of taking action, has the pandemic given rise to any opportunities for leaders to cultivate greater diversity and inclusion in the workforce?

Bryan Hancock: Remote work  is one. For example, the US Black population is not equally distributed. Fewer than one in ten Black workers lives in the fastest-growing geographies—places like Provo, Utah, or Austin, Texas. The shift to remote work enables leaders to say, “If I’m setting up an East Coast hub, can I set it up in, say, Atlanta, where there’s a qualified Black population and great HBCUs [historically Black colleges and universities] to provide a talent pipeline?” Remote work allows you to set up hubs in areas where you can deliberately tap into more diverse talent.

Bill Schaninger: If you think about, for example, tech hubs—whether in Silicon Valley or outside Boston or the Triangle in North Carolina or Austin or, to a lesser extent, Denver and Pittsburgh—what’s the common denominator? One if not more prestigious STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] schools. What’s the other common denominator? In many cases, the concentration of talent in those schools is more of what we already have. There’s an unbelievable self-fulfilling prophecy unless we can break the cycle of investing in, doing deals with, and hiring only from the same places.

When we look at the data, we should be embarrassed. And I think we’re finally in the world where we don’t have to ask—we just demand and expect and hold people to account.

Lucia Rahilly: How should companies hold themselves accountable for their progress, from a data perspective?

Bill Schaninger: Most things get clearer when you track them and make your progress transparent. That normally clarifies mind and effort. But that’s still not enough. Anybody can come up with reasons that it’s not their fault they fell short.

That’s why we need a broader range of actions—to really be thoughtful about sourcing, about who’s getting access to opportunities, about how to give employees a more-than-fighting chance to thrive, not just survive. Diversity from a numeric standpoint ends up becoming an outcome of those actions. Counting shows you’re serious. But what you do to make it stick is what really matters. That’s the enduring annuity.

Lucia Rahilly: The pandemic has obviously posed a destabilizing threat to a lot of companies. Some companies are fighting for survival. What do you say to leaders about the need to prioritize D&I [diversity and inclusion] even as they’re making budget cuts elsewhere in their businesses?

Bryan Hancock: To me, that’s like asking how to tell business leaders to prioritize worker safety while they’re making budget cuts. D&I is good business. It doesn’t have to be at the expense of financial outcomes. Our Diversity Matters research  shows it. Lots of research shows it. This isn’t an issue where leaders can say, “We can’t do diversity right now, because we’re under a lot of pressure.” Diversity is one of the things you’ve got to be mindful of in every context, especially now.

Lucia Rahilly , global editorial director of McKinsey Global Publishing, is based in the New York office.

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Cultural Diversity in The Workplace

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Managing Diversity in the Workplace Essay Example

People differ in many ways according to social classes/status, marital status, gender, age, sexual orientation, and disabilities. These differences can be visible or invisible. Human resource management acknowledges these differences and knows that workforce diversity is a reality in every organization. Different countries have different predominant workforce diversity issues. In the recent past, however, the predominant diversity issue worldwide was gender inequality. Women were viewed and treated as inferior to men. Over time, this issue has been corrected, although there are communities where women are still powerless and undermined. In the current world, other diversity issues have come up, such as religion and race/ethnicity. For example, in China, rural migrants are looked down upon and ill-treated in the workplace by their urban counterparts. The human resource department of every organization must ensure that the positive aspects of diversity in the workplace are appreciated and that nobody is treated as a second-class employee only because they are different from other workers. This paper gives an analysis of various issues surrounding diversity in human resources and proposes management guidelines to promote well-being of everyone in the organization.

Increasing Diversity in the Workplace

In the modern workplace, major issues concerning civil rights are racial equality and gender equity. However, these are not the only issues that personnel management considers when they come up with diversity initiatives in their organizations. Other factors that need addressing diversity in the workplace include age, disabilities, and workers caring for sick relatives. This has necessitated enactment of various laws to help to cater for these employees’ needs, for example, the Age Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act. Other factors that increase diversity in the workplace include cultural, religious, and linguistic differences among employees (Marquis, 2007).

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Despite increasing diversity in the workplace, the human resource management has the responsibility for fostering a healthy working environment in their organizations. Their task is to make certain that the organization is compliant with the anti-discrimination laws of the state. In addition, they must facilitate the development of an environment where people of different cultures, ages, sex, race, and religion work together harmoniously to achieve the goals of the organization (Beham, Straub, & Schwalbach, 2012).

Major Issues in Human Resource Diversity Management

Some firms with diverse workforce argue that they are diverse in human resources because they have employees, both men and women, of various religions, races, and skin colors. However, in reality, despite the fact that they have diverse workforce, opportunities differ. Such inequality leads to a situation where a certain group is favored when, for example, promotions are given. Moreover, one finds out that in some organizations only a specific group of people can be in top managerial positions due to, maybe, their race, color, or religion. To handle these cases, there must be a law/policy that addresses such biases. The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy protects employees against discrimination in the workplace. It requires that all employees have the same opportunities for recruitment, firing, transfers, wages/salaries, and promotions irrespective of their skin color, sex, race, national origin, or religion. The policy, which was passed into law in the United States in 1964, also states that discrimination in the classification of positions and advertising is illegal. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission handles all issues that arise in this field (Kossek, Lobel, & Brown , 2005).

Diversity management in human resources seeks to harness differences in the workforce to ensure that individual talents are utilized optimally to meet the goals of the organization. Every company should work with different talents among its stuff to guarantee that organizational goals are met in the most efficient way. This means that, instead of concentrating on discrimination, the human resource department should know the strengths of each employee and where they can work most efficiently so that the aims of the organization are achieved. It would be important to note that diversity management tries to overcome discrimination in the labor market by addressing individual differences that are most likely to bring inequality to the workplace. It also highlights the importance of respecting and taking advantage of those individual differences to maximize the potential of the workers and the organization in general. This vividly shows that diversity management in human resource acts, beyond the EOO policy, only requires a legal compliance (Kossek, Lobel, & Brown , 2005).

Objectives of Diversity Management

Organizations implementing human resource diversity management seek to achieve competitive advantage in the market. Their main objective is to comply with the requirements of EEO policy. This is the basic idea for most companies. However, others go a step further and aim at utilizing diversity management to achieve employee attraction and retention. More probably than not, employees will be willing to work in organizations where their individual differences are respected and not used as a basis for discrimination. Therefore, organizations that promote diversity management have a higher retention rate since their staff is more comfortable working there as compared to other organizations where their differences bring about discrimination (Golembiewski, 1995). In addition to this, an organization can use diversity management to improve marketing capabilities. This plan applies where diverse workers present a good image of the organization to the outside world. Consequently, this acts as a marketing strategy for the company. In fact, research shows that diversity management reduces absenteeism among the staff. Evidently, this happens because people feel motivated and appreciated, hence there is job satisfaction. This is dissimilar to organizations with ‘dominant’ and ‘less dominant groups. In such companies, job satisfaction levels are quite low of those individuals who come from less dominant groups as compared to those in the dominant ones. Therefore, not allowing and appreciating diversity in human resources affects job satisfaction and hinders the possibility of healthy working relationships among co-workers and managers (Beham, Straub, & Schwalbach, 2012).

Effective diversity management also aims at promoting greater creativity and innovation. A diverse team allows for more clever ways of solving problems, fostering innovation and creativity in the organization. If the company does not appreciate the diversity of its human resources, then there is a lot of rigidity in the way they operate since they use only one perspective. Involvement of additional perspectives, which involves diversity management, will broaden the scope of thinking among workers and management, enhancing creativity and innovation. This is a great advantage to the organization that will steer its growth and ensure that the goals are attained (Golembiewski, 1995).

Common Practices in Human Resource Diversity Management

Human resource management has some functions that are aimed at maintaining and directing human resources of the organization. Diversity management can be incorporated along with these functions to produce an effective blend of policies. The discussion below is an analysis of human resource management functions combined with diversity management.

Recruitment and Selection of Employees

Diversity management in the process of recruiting and selecting employees entails giving everyone an equal chance to enter the organization. This means that, for example, women and other minority groups must be treated fairly. In the modern world, this is an increasing trend after various laws regarding equality in the workplace have been enacted. An organization that appreciates diversity in recruitment of its employees creates a good image, hence winning new customers. From time to time, some countries like South Africa use the Affirmative Action (AA) policy to favor the appointment of black people above better-qualified whites in a bid to address past discriminative policies. These efforts are supposed to provide equal opportunities for both the blacks and whites since initially management positions in the country were reserved for the whites. These efforts have yielded fruit as currently there is a higher percentage of blacks in managerial positions in South Africa (Cartwright, 2002).

Training and Development of Employees

Diversity management in training and development of employees demands “give a fair chance for every employee to get ahead” from an organization. Previously, in the case of South Africa, the blacks were denied opportunities for advancing in their careers since there was a monopoly on skilled labor among the whites. This meant that blacks did not have a chance to learn managerial skills by apprenticeship. The Affirmative Action Programs have solved this issue. Other countries with a strong femininity culture have higher percentages of women in managerial positions as compared to countries where male chauvinism prevails (Kossek, Lobel, & Brown , 2005).

Despite a worldwide call for diversity in training and development of employees, the rate of women and other minority groups is still quite low. It is likely that the management of organizations where diversity management is not appreciated will promote employees with similar views to a position of a human resource manager. Evidently, fewer women are promoted to managerial positions or given relevant training as compared to men. This inequality creates the ‘glass ceiling effect” phenomenon. This is an unacknowledged barrier created for women and colored people in the professional world where they cannot advance beyond; it means they cannot hold top managerial positions in organizations. It is illegal. Many countries and organizations still exhibit this effect, as a result, top managerial positions are reserved for specific groups of people, predominantly men (Marquis, 2007).

Compensation: Wages and Salaries

There should be equal pay for employees who work at the same level irrespective of their background or individual differences. Pay inequality leads to demotivation and job dissatisfaction among employees. The Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) and Affirmative Actions (AA) programs state that compensation among employees must be fair. However, this has not been effective since some people are paid less just because they are, say, women, or come from minority groups. This trend has necessitated the development of trade unions to solve the problem. Unions advocate for numerous issues that employees face in the workplace, among them, zero-tolerance for discrimination among unionized staff regarding wages (Golembiewski, 1995). Although, there have been reduced earnings disparities between women and men in the workplace, it has not ceased being a global concern. Statistics shows that females earn 20-30% less than their male counterparts. This is a total contrast to the requirements of the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) and Affirmative Action programs. Every organization that appreciates diversity in management should smoothen out this disparity to ensure that ladies do not feel less motivated or looked down upon at work (Beham, Straub, & Schwalbach, 2012).

Performance Appraisals

Diversity management in performance appraisal calls for equal promotion opportunities among workers. This means that promotions are issued in accordance with an employee’s performance irrespective of his/her gender or background. This is an ideal case. More often, it is easier to get a promotion when employees share the background with the managers, which leads to a situation where employees from less dominant groups do not get promoted, or they find it almost impossible to climb the career ladder. Women are victims of these circumstances. This heightens the effect for women who form minority communities. In some organizations, supervisors and managerial staff come from the same location, are of the same age, and they are all men. This is an ultimate sign that diversity management is not appreciated in the organization (Beham, Straub, & Schwalbach, 2012).

Overall, most companies only comply with the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) policy regarding the minimum basic legal requirements. However, beyond that, they do not have affirmative action plans to gain the fulfillment of these minimum requirements. An organization that seeks to improve diversity management through human resources can use a variety of techniques. These techniques would involve generating a framework that addresses the strategies necessary for each function of human resource management. If properly utilized, these strategies would deliver great results in diversity management in the workplace. The discussion below analyzes the strategies that can be employed to provide diversity management on every function of human resources in a company (Beham, Straub, & Schwalbach, 2012).

Recruitment and Selection

Human resource managers tend to recruit employees with similar values and cultures as them. To promote diversity in human resources, this should be abolished. In fact, human resource professionals who constitute interview committees ought to be conversant with the ways in which their beliefs, values, and customs influence behaviors of participants during interviews. This will eradicate bias in the selection process, and more diverse groups can contribute to the organization irrespective of individual disparities (Beham, Straub, & Schwalbach, 2012).

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Training and Development

An organization can promote diversity in the workforce by providing excellent diversity awareness training to allow for effective integration of diverse staff. This training is essential for building a mutual understanding of diversity as a value. Consequently, social cohesion among workers may be created, which helps to achieve individual and organizational goals. In 1995, some researchers carried out a study to determine the effectiveness of diversity training in an organization. The results were beyond belief. When the training commenced, only 9% of attendants were positive about diversity training in their company. By the end of the program, the figure rose to 75%. Before the training, 68% were skeptical of its effectiveness. However, after the training, a whopping 93% agreed that diversity training programs do work to create cohesion in the workplace (Marquis, 2007).

For diversity training to work, it would be essential to provide a top-bottom strategy, whereby staff at top managerial positions are taught first, and then they pass the knowledge to their juniors. This training should be accomplished from different perspectives, depending on the organization’s goals and nature of operations. When this diversity training is linked to the strategic goals of the organization, it achieves greater results as compared to situations when it is just a vague general training (Beham, Straub, & Schwalbach, 2012).

In order to adopt effective diversity management in an organization, the principle of equal remuneration and a pay system that is based on performance must be applied. The determinants of wages, benefits schemes, and compensation structures ought to be designed on common principles, taking the ability, skills, and knowledge of an individual into consideration at the same time (Marquis, 2007).

To make the model of diversity management in performance appraisals more effective, fairness is vital. It calls for an inclusion of mon-traditional managers in the performance appraisal committees. These managers should be rational, upholding fairness. Additionally, they must use an objective criterion rather than a subjective one since they must minimize bias in making their decisions on the right candidates for promotions. Moreover, the performance appraisals should use the language that focuses on an individual’s performance and not their religion, race, or culture. This attitude will promote effective diversity management in the organization. It is also important to note that when assessing managers’ performance, those who make an effort to hire and promote minority groups and women should be recognized because they show improve of diversity in the organization (Marquis, 2007).

Diversity Management and Balancing Work and Family Life

Every organization that seeks to have effective diversity management in human resources must adopt measures that help to create awareness of the work environment in order to improve working conditions and stimulate productivity. One of these measures would be to ensure that the organization supports better work-life balance. It could manifest itself in various forms. For example, shorter working hours and childcare leaves. An organization can implement the Childcare Leave Law to guarantee that new parents in the organization are not discriminated against and that they are comfortable at work. The law requires that employees must be given a paid leave of up to 10 days if they return to work within three months after the delivery of their child. A shorter working-hour-program implies that employees with children, who attend third-grade elementary school and lower institution, must be given working hour options and work time patterns that best meet the needs of their individual lifestyles. This ensures that the welfare of these employees, who would be otherwise stressed in the workplace due to rigid timetables, is considered (Robert & John, 2013).

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Effective human resource diversity management is essential for every organization. It fosters innovation since versatile workforce means a broader base of cultural experiences. This brings in a new perspective, improving the operations of the business in a unique way. Additionally, effective diversity management attracts talent and customers. This happens because customers prefer to purchase products or seek services from diverse companies. In the modern world, if an organization wants to be successful and maintain healthy competition against competitors, it must embrace diversity, not only in the products it is dealing with but also in the human resources employed in the organization. Moreover, stimulation of diversity management in human resources promotes cultural intelligence among employees. This may be explained by the fact that it gives both the customers and the employees an opportunity to learn and appreciate the values of other cultures. Diversity expands the minds of the staff, fostering national unity in general since the people have been taught to value other cultures irrespective of the differences they have.

The benefits of having diverse workforce cannot be understated. They go a long way in bringing fruits at organizational, national, and global levels. If people are taught to give every person an equal chance in everything, this attitude instills in them a strong culture. It reduces circumstances where workers feel discriminated against and receive no satisfaction in their jobs. Otherwise, organizations will have to work with employees that have no job satisfaction and behave like robots. Such conduct will mean that attainment of organizational goals will become too hard or sometimes, the goals become ultimately unattainable. For this reason, it would be in the best interest of every organization to ensure that they diversify their human resources and manage them effectively.

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• DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2024.2361366
• Corpus ID: 270242628

Does News Diversity Work Among Audiences? A Citizen Experiment

• Jonathan Hendrickx , Kathleen Beckers , Kelly Van Droogenbroeck
• Published in Journalism Practice 2 June 2024
• Political Science, Sociology

39 References

Exploring the link between media concentration and news content diversity using automated text analysis, newspaper ownership, democracy and news diversity: a quantitative content homogeneity study, we’re in this together: a multi-stakeholder approach for news recommenders, power to the people conceptualising audience agency for the digital journalism era, benefits of diverse news recommendations for democracy: a user study, advancing a radical audience turn in journalism. fundamental dilemmas for journalism studies, public opinion in the news: examining portrayals and viewpoint heterogeneity, more or more of the same: ownership concentration and media diversity in egypt, audience views on professional norms of journalism. a media repertoire approach, defining and measuring news media quality: comparing the content perspective and the audience perspective, related papers.

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Aspects of Diversity in the Workplace Essay

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Introduction

Tennessee and New York’s legislation state. LGBTQ+ persons and inclusiveness. The importance of social and cultural intelligence. Gender identity. HIV criminalization laws. Non-discrimination in employment.

The Challenges of Employing a Diverse Workforce

Deceleration of making significant decisions. Decreased objectivity in hiring new employees. The possibility of escalating team conflicts.

The Benefits of Using a Diverse Workforce

Improves existing relationships within the team. Creates a positive organization’s reputation. Provides a better understanding of customers.

Benefits and Challenges of LGBTQ inclusions

Discrimination can sometimes be hidden. The ability to appreciate differences. Raising awareness and stimulating changes. Zero tolerance principle towards discrimination. Establishing friendly relations within the team. Workplaces should become more inclusive.

Global Business and Employee Management Strategies

Attract qualified personnel to work remotely. Creation of ways of individual employees’ development. Social responsibility is a critical factor.

The Role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Organizations

Fairness and equity are impossible without inclusiveness. The introduction of inclusiveness carries certain risks. Potential performance deterioration (can be avoided).

The Value of Diversity Management for the Future

Creativity and innovation as positive effects. Diversity is an essential indicator of equity rights. It signals the degree of society’s development.

Cultural and Social Intelligence in Comparison

There are similarities between cultural and social intelligence. Social intelligence implies interpersonal skills. Cultural intelligence focuses on other cultures. Diversity by itself is ineffective. Increased SQ benefits organizations. Raising employees’ CQ is necessary.

The Importance of Managing a Diverse Workforce

Exploring the peculiarities and ongoing changes. Adapting to changes in the business climate. Implementing management programs for diverse personnel.

The Intersection of Diversity Aspects (Tennessee and New York)

The importance of a non-discrimination policy. Lack of laws protecting LGBT people. Negative indicators regarding gender identity policy. Employee discrimination is prohibited in New York. Overcoming intergenerational conflicts among employees. Inequality and prejudice persist in practice.

Five Components of the Corporate Equality Index

Providing mentoring programs to new employees. Top management participating in training programs. Remembering the essence of inclusiveness.

How Does DEI Affect the Organization in Tennessee and New York

Non-discriminatory environment for HIVpositive people. Provide workers and their families with privacy. Mandatory HIV testing is unacceptable. Overcoming the existing gender stereotypes. Tennessee lags far behind on gender issues. Dissemination of the DIE policy is needed. New York employee non-discrimination. Equality is maintained at a high level. Implementing initiatives is energy-consuming. State achievement of high performance. Building on the New York state experience. Tennessee’s gender issue needs attention.

Inclusiveness and diversity mean embracing differences. Cultural intelligence should not be underestimated. Ensuring LGBTQ+ rights is a top priority.

Adenaike, D. (2019). The power of inclusive marketing in brand communications. O’Dwyer. Web.

Afsar, B., Al-Ghazali, B. M., Cheema, S., & Javed, F. (2021). Cultural intelligence and innovative work behavior: The role of work engagement and interpersonal trust . European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(4),1082-1109. Web.

Alexandra, V., Ehrhart, K., & Randel, A. (2021). Cultural intelligence, perceived inclusion, and cultural diversity in workgroups . Personality and Individual Differences, 168, 1-6. Web.

Asare, J. G. (2020). What do you do when your diversity efforts lead to greater conflict? Forbes. Web.

Felstead, A., & Henseke, G. (2017). Assessing the growth of remote working and its consequences for effort, well-being and work-life balance. New Technology, Work and Employment, 32, 1-18. Web.

Mojica, A. (2019). Christian ministers say gay marriage not protected in Tennessee Constitution. FOX17. Web.

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• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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What is Generative AI?

Generative AI enables users to quickly generate new content based on a variety of inputs. Inputs and outputs to these models can include text, images, sounds, animation, 3D models, or other types of data.

How Does Generative AI Work?

Generative AI models use neural networks to identify the patterns and structures within existing data to generate new and original content.

One of the breakthroughs with generative AI models is the ability to leverage different learning approaches, including unsupervised or semi-supervised learning for training. This has given organizations the ability to more easily and quickly leverage a large amount of unlabeled data to create foundation models. As the name suggests, foundation models can be used as a base for AI systems that can perform multiple tasks. 

Examples of foundation models include GPT-3 and Stable Diffusion, which allow users to leverage the power of language. For example, popular applications like ChatGPT, which draws from GPT-3, allow users to generate an essay based on a short text request. On the other hand, Stable Diffusion allows users to generate photorealistic images given a text input.

How to Evaluate Generative AI Models?

The three key requirements of a successful generative AI model are:  

• Quality: Especially for applications that interact directly with users, having high-quality generation outputs is key. For example, in speech generation, poor speech quality is difficult to understand. Similarly, in image generation, the desired outputs should be visually indistinguishable from natural images.
• Diversity: A good generative model captures the minority modes in its data distribution without sacrificing generation quality. This helps reduce undesired biases in the learned models.
• Speed: Many interactive applications require fast generation, such as real-time image editing to allow use in content creation workflows.

Figure 1: The three requirements of a successful generative AI model.

How to Develop Generative AI Models?

There are multiple types of generative models, and combining the positive attributes of each results in the ability to create even more powerful models. Below is a breakdown:

• Diffusion models: Also known as denoising diffusion probabilistic models (DDPMs), diffusion models are generative models that determine vectors in latent space through a two-step process during training. The two steps are forward diffusion and reverse diffusion. The forward diffusion process slowly adds random noise to training data, while the reverse process reverses the noise to reconstruct the data samples. Novel data can be generated by running the reverse denoising process starting from entirely random noise.

Figure 2: The diffusion and denoising process.

A diffusion model can take longer to train than a variational autoencoder (VAE) model, but thanks to this two-step process, hundreds, if not an infinite amount, of layers can be trained, which means that diffusion models generally offer the highest-quality output when building generative AI models.

Additionally, diffusion models are also categorized as foundation models, because they are large-scale, offer high-quality outputs, are flexible, and are considered best for generalized use cases. However, because of the reverse sampling process, running foundation models is a slow, lengthy process.

Learn more about the mathematics of diffusion models in this blog post.

• Variational autoencoders (VAEs) : VAEs consist of two neural networks typically referred to as the encoder and decoder. When given an input, an encoder converts it into a smaller, more dense representation of the data. This compressed representation preserves the information that’s needed for a decoder to reconstruct the original input data, while discarding any irrelevant information. The encoder and decoder work together to learn an efficient and simple latent data representation. This allows the user to easily sample new latent representations that can be mapped through the decoder to generate novel data. While VAEs can generate outputs such as images faster, the images generated by them are not as detailed as those of diffusion models.
• Generative adversarial networks (GANs) : Discovered in 2014, GANs were considered to be the most commonly used methodology of the three before the recent success of diffusion models. GANs pit two neural networks against each other: a generator that generates new examples and a discriminator that learns to distinguish the generated content as either real (from the domain) or fake (generated).

The two models are trained together and get smarter as the generator produces better content and the discriminator gets better at spotting the generated content. This procedure repeats, pushing both to continually improve after every iteration until the generated content is indistinguishable from the existing content.

While GANs can provide high-quality samples and generate outputs quickly, the sample diversity is weak, therefore making GANs better suited for domain-specific data generation.

Another factor in the development of generative models is the architecture underneath. One of the most popular is the transformer network. It is important to understand how it works in the context of generative AI.

Transformer networks : Similar to recurrent neural networks, transformers are designed to process sequential input data non-sequentially.

Two mechanisms make transformers particularly adept for text-based generative AI applications: self-attention and positional encodings. Both of these technologies help represent time and allow for the algorithm to focus on how words relate to each other over long distances

Figure 3: Image from a presentation by Aidan Gomez, one of eight co-authors of the 2017 paper that defined transformers ( source ).

A self-attention layer assigns a weight to each part of an input. The weight signifies the importance of that input in context to the rest of the input. Positional encoding is a representation of the order in which input words occur.

A transformer is made up of multiple transformer blocks, also known as layers. For example, a transformer has self-attention layers, feed-forward layers, and normalization layers, all working together to decipher and predict streams of tokenized data, which could include text, protein sequences, or even patches of images.

What are the Applications of Generative AI?

Generative AI is a powerful tool for streamlining the workflow of creatives, engineers, researchers, scientists, and more. The use cases and possibilities span all industries and individuals.

Generative AI models can take inputs such as text, image, audio, video, and code and generate new content into any of the modalities mentioned. For example, it can turn text inputs into an image, turn an image into a song, or turn video into text.

Figure 4: The diagram shows possible generative AI use cases within each category.

Here are the most popular generative AI applications:

• Language: Text is at the root of many generative AI models and is considered to be the most advanced domain. One of the most popular examples of language-based generative models are called large language models (LLMs). Large language models are being leveraged for a wide variety of tasks , including essay generation, code development, translation, and even understanding genetic sequences.
• Audio: Music, audio, and speech are also emerging fields within generative AI. Examples include models being able to develop songs and snippets of audio clips with text inputs, recognize objects in videos and create accompanying noises for different video footage, and even create custom music.
• Visual: One of the most popular applications of generative AI is within the realm of images. This encompasses the creation of 3D images, avatars, videos, graphs, and other illustrations. There’s flexibility in generating images with different aesthetic styles, as well as techniques for editing and modifying generated visuals. Generative AI models can create graphs that show new chemical compounds and molecules that aid in drug discovery, create realistic images for virtual or augmented reality, produce 3D models for video games, design logos, enhance or edit existing images, and more.
• Synthetic data: Synthetic data is extremely useful to train AI models when data doesn’t exist, is restricted, or is simply unable to address corner cases with the highest accuracy. The development of synthetic data through generative models is perhaps one of the most impactful solutions for overcoming the data challenges of many enterprises. It spans all modalities and use cases and is possible through a process called label efficient learning. Generative AI models can reduce labeling costs by either automatically producing additional augmented training data or by learning an internal representation of the data that facilitates training AI models with less labeled data.

The impact of generative models is wide-reaching, and its applications are only growing. Listed are just a few examples of how generative AI is helping to advance and transform the fields of transportation, natural sciences, and entertainment.

• In the automotive industry, generative AI is expected to help create 3D worlds and models for simulations and car development. Synthetic data is also being used to train autonomous vehicles. Being able to road test the abilities of an autonomous vehicle in a realistic 3D world improves safety, efficiency, and flexibility while decreasing risk and overhead.
• The field of natural sciences greatly benefits from generative AI. In the healthcare industry, generative models can aid in medical research by developing new protein sequences to aid in drug discovery . Practitioners can also benefit from the automation of tasks such as scribing, medical coding, medical imaging, and genomic analysis. Meanwhile, in the weather industry, generative models can be used to create simulations of the planet and help with accurate weather forecasting and natural disaster prediction. These applications can help to create safer environments for the general population and allow scientists to predict and better prepare for natural disasters.
• All aspects of the entertainment industry, from video games to film, animation, world building, and virtual reality, are able to leverage generative AI models to help streamline their content creation process. Creators are using generative models as a tool to help supplement their creativity and work.

What are the Challenges of Generative AI?

As an evolving space, generative models are still considered to be in their early stages, giving them space for growth in the following areas.

• Scale of compute infrastructure: Generative AI models can boast billions of parameters and require fast and efficient data pipelines to train. Significant capital investment, technical expertise, and large-scale compute infrastructure are necessary to maintain and develop generative models. For example, diffusion models could require millions or billions of images to train. Moreover, to train such large datasets, massive compute power is needed, and AI practitioners must be able to procure and leverage hundreds of GPUs to train their models.
• Sampling speed: Due to the scale of generative models, there may be latency present in the time it takes to generate an instance. Particularly for interactive use cases such as chatbots, AI voice assistants, or customer service applications, conversations must happen immediately and accurately. As diffusion models become increasingly popular due to the high-quality samples that they can create, their slow sampling speeds have become increasingly apparent.
• Lack of high-quality data: Oftentimes, generative AI models are used to produce synthetic data for different use cases. However, while troves of data are being generated globally every day, not all data can be used to train AI models. Generative models require high-quality, unbiased data to operate. Moreover, some domains don’t have enough data to train a model. As an example, few 3D assets exist and they’re expensive to develop. Such areas will require significant resources to evolve and mature.
• Data licenses: Further compounding the issue of a lack of high-quality data, many organizations struggle to get a commercial license to use existing datasets or to build bespoke datasets to train generative models. This is an extremely important process and key to avoiding intellectual property infringement issues.

Many companies such as NVIDIA, Cohere, and Microsoft have a goal to support the continued growth and development of generative AI models with services and tools to help solve these issues. These products and platforms abstract away the complexities of setting up the models and running them at scale.

What are the Benefits of Generative AI?

Generative AI is important for a number of reasons. Some of the key benefits of generative AI include:

• Generative AI algorithms can be used to create new, original content, such as images, videos, and text, that’s indistinguishable from content created by humans. This can be useful for applications such as entertainment, advertising, and creative arts.
• Generative AI algorithms can be used to improve the efficiency and accuracy of existing AI systems, such as natural language processing and computer vision. For example, generative AI algorithms can be used to create synthetic data that can be used to train and evaluate other AI algorithms.
• Generative AI algorithms can be used to explore and analyze complex data in new ways, allowing businesses and researchers to uncover hidden patterns and trends that may not be apparent from the raw data alone.
• Generative AI algorithms can help automate and accelerate a variety of tasks and processes, saving time and resources for businesses and organizations.

Overall, generative AI has the potential to significantly impact a wide range of industries and applications and is an important area of AI research and development.

Note: Demonstrating the capabilities of generative models, this section, “What are the Benefits of Generative AI?” was written by the generative AI model ChatGPT.

Dive Deeper Into Generative AI

Learn more about developing generative AI models on the NVIDIA Technical Blog.

Experience Generative AI at the NVIDIA AI Playground

Generate landscapes, avatars, songs, and more at the NVIDIA AI Playground.

Watch Generative AI Videos and Tutorials on Demand

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