ABSTRACT
It is no accident that business and governmental organizations in the United States are concerned about workplace diversity. The concept of workplace diversity takes into account not only race, ethnicity, and gender, but also includes other ways in which individuals are different from one another, such as age, sexual preference, and disability (Thomas 1990, 1991). The Diversity Dictionary (1996) defines diversity as differing cultures, languages, ethnicities, races, sexual orientations, religious sects, abilities, classes, ages, and national origins of individuals in an institution, workplace, or community. Business and governmental organizations have implemented workforce diversity initiatives to better serve their employees and external constituents while simultaneously enhancing productivity, effectiveness, and sustained competitiveness. Subsequently, a number of organizations’ diversity initiatives have been identified as “best practices” that can be adopted or replicated in any workplace. This chapter discusses best practices, developments, approaches, and issues involving workforce diversity initiatives in business and governmental organizations. The first section discusses organizations’ interest in workplace diversity and diversity programming initiatives. The second section examines the components necessary for organizations to receive best practices recognition in diversity programming. The third section addresses the potential problem of diversity and glass ceiling audits as important diagnostic tools for diversity programming initiatives. The conclusion questions whether replicating diversity best practices approaches is the most appropriate strategy because there are not yet clear, overall standards of success and practice.
