Diversity enriches the workplace of America

The first John Adams Society annual lecture was given by Spencer P Boyer, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs last week.

His lecture on Foreign policy implications of multiculturalism: strategy and practice was enlightening as it was informative. His own understanding as to what  multiculturalism means  was one that allows diverse individuals and communities to flourish both economically and culturally. “It is in these times of economic slowdown and stagnation,” he argues, “that we need our diverse communities to engage in enterprise now more than ever.”

His overall view that embracing and supporting diversity works,  is in stark contrast to what we see both here and on mainland Europe, where too often, governments seek to scapegoat minority communities when their nations are facing economic turmoil.

We will try and get you the full text from Spencer Boyer’s speech, but until then we’d like you to read an article from OBV intern Oksana Trofimenko, who wrote this before her compatriot delivered his speech.

Diversity is key to economic success

Howard Ross, a leading diversity training consultant in the US, published a book entitled Reinventing Diversity this summer. Even though the topic of diversity in the workplace has been talked about for over a quarter of a century, we still aren’t doing everything we can to ensure that it is actually happening. Ross says that there is no easy fix to the situation because many prejudices are unconscious.

Both the UK and the US have employment laws that are supposed to ensure workers will not be discriminated against due to their race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, etc. And yet, somehow the workplace can still be a place where people feel alienated because of these characteristics.

Ross says acceptance must stem from the culture within an organisation rather than simply being a law. His book offers a guide that helps reinvent people’s preconceptions of diversity, which helps to build a truly inclusive and collaborative work environment.

Studies show that diverse companies have better service for clients, because they have a more diverse experience amongst their employees which allows them to better understand many different cultures and people.

In August of this year, President Obama created an Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the federal work force, meant to increase the number of minority employees. Different backgrounds are said to increase creativity and innovation by bringing new ideas to the table. This makes companies better equipped to solve different problems and create an overall more successful product or service.

The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) in the US is now composed of over 66 percent women, 40 percent people of colour, and 10 percent people with disabilities. This amount of diversity could be complimented to Obama’s administration.

With Obama’s high commitment to diversity issues, his success should be mimicked in the UK. If Prime Minister David Cameron was as passionate about diversity rights as Obama, the British workforce could become more diverse and representative of the nation.

”Over the past twenty years, the movement of people around the globe has transformed the makeup of societies,” Ross writes in his book, because now, even seemingly enclosed countries are becoming more and more diverse. Therefore, Reinventing Diversity should be a stock book to keep around any company or service, for it brings an understanding to humanity in the modern world.

Oksana Trofimenko