ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, most of the growth in the labor force has occurred among minority groups and women (Fullerton & Toossii, 2001). This shift in the labor force will accelerate in the period through 2020 because of the retirement of White baby boomers, and replacement by a much younger and more diverse population. By 2028 there will be 19 million more jobs than workers who are adequately trained to fill them (Business and Higher Education Forum, 2002). Forty percent of those available to take these jobs will be members of minority groups (Business & Higher Education Forum, 2002). Women and older adults are also potentially valuable human resources to cover projected labor shortages (Blumental, Cober, & Doverspike, 2000; Fullerton & Toossii, 2001). Accordingly, efforts to increase diversity in the U.S. workforce have become an important organizational staffing policy (Doverspike, Taylor, Shultz, & McKay, 2000; McKay & Avery, 2005).
