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Chapter 2
Diversity in Organizations

Diversity in the Canadian Context
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First country to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy

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Valuing differences minimizes discrimination

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Increases an organization’s access to the widest possible pool of skills, abilities, and ideas

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Differences among people can lead to miscommunication, misunderstanding, and conflict

•

Managers can develop awareness about these characteristics and manage a diverse workforce
effectively

Levels of Diversity
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Demographics reflect surface-level diversity

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As people get to know one another, they see themselves in terms of personality and values, that
represent deep-level diversity
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Can be difficult to recognize at first because it relates to invisible patterns of thought
and unstated (often non-conscious) cultural assumptions

Biographical Characteristics
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Biographical characteristics: age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and immigration status
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Diverse points of view are a strength:
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generates better understanding of diverse customers’ needs

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more creativity and innovation

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and broader social justice through inclusion

Variations in surface-level characteristics may still be the basis for discrimination against
classes of employees
...

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Protection extends benefits to same-sex spouses and common-law partners
...

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Gender-neutral washrooms make the workplace more welcoming for transgendered
persons, contributing to a culture of respect
...

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Disabilities are broadly defined and can be physical or intellectual

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Accommodation maximizes participation
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Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Human Rights Act, and Employment Equity Act
prohibit discrimination based on disability and mandate reasonable accommodation

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