Examples Of Diversity: 4 Classifications At The Workplace

As modern organizations improve their strategies to diversity, inclusion, and equity for the contemporary workplace environment, it is indispensable for companies to remember that diversity in the workplace moves beyond race and gender. 

Instead, innovative types of workplace diversity include a comprehensive array of elements that include race, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity to life experience, political affiliation, and job function. Therefore, exploring different examples of diversity in the workplace and how it influences organizational dynamics is a significant step for today's businesses to remain inclusive. 

Apart from this, workplace diversity benefits companies in a wide assortment of ways, such as better teamwork and collaboration, increased problem-solving, more satisfied employees, and the tremendous bottom-line advantage of a more successful business. 

Understanding the Examples of Workplace Diversity 

When it comes to diversity in the workplace, hundreds and thousands of different circumstances could rightly suit as examples of types of diversity in the workplace. Mentioned hereunder are some of the common diversity examples that you can implement in your organization. 

• A diverse business team including individuals from diverse cultures

For multinational organizations, a diverse workforce can cover members from the United States, Japan, India, Egypt, Russia, South Africa, etc. All the different members from different places, when working together, bring unparalleled world beliefs, experiences, and cultural backgrounds collectively to resolve issues and enhance productivity. 

However, this example is not restricted to multinational corporations, either! Also, a company that does business in one nation could build a diverse team simply by placing together individuals from disparate internal areas or varying ethnicities within the nation. 

• A company makes an effort to draw more diversity to its administration staff. 

In the past decade, white men occupied more than 96% of the Fortune 500 administrative positions. Even when these numbers slumped to around 86% by 2020, this one gender or community yet occupies almost every managerial post. 

Therefore, modern organizations are now putting efforts to boost workplace diversity within their administration staff—by actively hiring applicants coming from of diverse gender, color, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic outside the commanding one. 

• Seeking out new hires

Looking for new applicants in a diverse location is a division of workplace diversity. Also, in a workplace environment where technology has facilitated online interaction and collaboration like never before, adding workplace diversity through employees in disparate locations is more straightforward than ever. 

In addition, many businesses can bring in the estimable innovative approaches and experiences that individuals from other areas offer without the natural limitations of commuting that existed in a pre-digital working atmosphere. 

• An organization emphasizing individuals with unique or different backgrounds 

An organization hiring individuals with unique or different backgrounds is another example of diversity in the workplace. For example, various companies might conduct a diversity training program in which they attempt to bring employees from disabled or retired military officers. Another example of this can be companies who hire individuals who recently came out after serving time in jail to the payroll.

• Putting together a workforce with age or generational differences 

Putting together a business team with age or generational differences signifies workplace diversity. Numerous companies run one of two alternatives when it comes to their generational or age makeup. 

Startups or technologically-driven companies might tend to concentrate on the cutting-edge expertise and energy of youth. On the other hand, established businesses may favor the expertise and knowledge that seasoned employees bring to the table. 

However, a company or a team with generational and age diversity comes with the advantages of an immense variety of workplace skills, life experience, and innovation/problem-solving skills to bring to the organization. 

Apart from this, diversity in the workplace never remains confined to the individuals currently working in your organization. Actively looking for suppliers, vendors, clients, and buyers from underrepresented segments of society can be a vital component of workplace diversity. 

Also, there are numerous businesses, trade associations, publications, and other endeavors that promote workplace diversity. Along these corresponding lines, another example of diversity in every organization is actively hiring for everything from internships to new candidates from those same underrepresented segments of society. 

What are the layers of workplace diversity?

Workplace diversity usually remains classified into four major types that are as follows:

• Internal workplace diversity 

Internal diversity includes the elements that individuals are born with. In addition, age is a perfect example when it comes to internal workplace diversity. Apart from this, race, nationality, and ethnicity are other instances of internal workplace diversity.

• External workplace diversity 

Think of external workplace diversity as the components of a human being that they possess some authority over as they grow through their lives. Moreover, physical appearance is an excellent example of external diversity that further includes a person's educational background and spiritual or religious beliefs. 

• Organizational workplace diversity

Organizational workplace diversity includes all the diverse job titles, roles, and skills that a person brings when serving in an organization. Also, job title, function, and duties fall under this umbrella, as do organization location, administration status, staff, and much more. 

• Worldview and personality-related workplace diversity

This category includes the elements of human nature and worldview that they develop over their lives, formed by expertise and other circumstances. A person's particular political ideas will come into the worldview and personality-related workplace diversity group. 

Apart from this, some examples of worldview diversity emerge from political beliefs, cultural events, a person's outlook on life, and knowledge of history. In addition, as companies improve their workplace diversity, they may find their workforce to have diverse world opinions and expertise that may not feel relatable to their coworkers. 

• Workplace age diversity

Modern companies must pay close consideration to age diversity in their workplace. Also, ageism in the workplace is a real issue. Companies believe that more grown workers don't have the technological expertise to do particular tasks (or enthusiasm to acquire new skills).  

On the other hand, some companies believe that younger employees might not have the workability, attitude, or temperament to succeed in the long term. 

However, this approach is not correct, and companies should remain open to all generations when speaking of diversity in the workplace. Also, they must understand that people with different life skills and expertise can be helpful in numerous ways for an extensive range of diverse positions.

In addition, creating a diverse work environment that embraces people with different moral beliefs can build a peaceful and productive workplace. 

Final Words 

In a nutshell, modern business organizations cannot afford to slip behind the curve when speaking of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in their workplace. If they fall behind the diversity curve, they run into a significant risk of building a less steady and productive workplace. 

In addition, a less diverse workplace will forever have an unhappy workforce, will remain less attractive to new applicants, and their bottom line will remain less profitable. It is why it is crucial to leverage workplace diversity to prioritize inclusion and equity in your workplace. 

Also, providing equal opportunities to your workforce to connect across regional departments and continental branches based on shared interests is a transcendent way to promote organic relationships as many people in the workplace work in hybrid or remote workspaces. Therefore, we can say that a diverse, inclusive, and engaged workforce should remain the goal of every flourishing workplace diversity campaign.