ABSTRACT
The concern with how to manage workforce diversity arose in the 1980s because of the increasing demographic complexity of the labour market being witnessed in many industrialized countries, but particularly in the USA, where the diversity management concept was born (Kelly and Dobbin, 1998). The now famous Workforce 2000 report alerted organizations in the US to the (allegedly) dramatic changes that were occurring in the American workforce (Johnston and Packer, 1987). The greatest issue facing the US economy was seen to be the fact that, by the year 2000, white males were predicted to be no longer the dominant demographic group entering the labour market (even though they would continue to be the dominant established group). This prompted widespread discussion in the media, business and academic forums of the greater need for organizations to recognize the importance of managing a diverse workforce. By the late 1990s a stream of research was emerging that sought to provide evidence of the relationship between workforce diversity and organizational performance – the business value in diversity. This chapter delves into that research and evaluates its claims, beginning with a discussion of the concept of the business case for diversity. There are then
three further sections examining the impact of workforce diversity on competitive advantage; the impact of corporate board diversity; the impact of diversity at work group and team levels.
