ABSTRACT
Four communicative practices are introduced intended to aid organizations on the diversity journey and to improve the lives of those whose voice may be muted and/or who have been mistreated: co-create a drive to value diversity; enrich conversations about definitions of diversity; assess progress on the diversity journey, and make structural, cultural, and behavioral changes. Demographic shifts combine with the reality of economics as another motivator. In one meeting related to race relations, a community leader noted that while individuals may not always attend to the ethics of addressing racism they will attend to economics. Hays-Thomas adds additional rationales for a broader definition of diversity such as Thomas’s. She says that when diversity is understood as accommodating only a few legally protected classes of employees, it may engender resistance or resentment from other employees. Such minority mentoring strategies have been formalized by minorities themselves in organizations such as fraternities and sororities, all-female professional networking groups, and communities of immigrant populations.
