TrailBlazers: How Top Business Leaders are Accelerating Results through Inclusion and Diversity

Chapter 12. And the Research Says ...^[1]

Facts vs. Myths

"Equal employment opportunity remains elusive for far too many workers... employers must step up their efforts to foster discrimination-free and inclusive workplaces, or risk enforcement and litigation by the EEOC."

——Acting EEOC Chair Stuart J. Ishimaru, 2010

Introduction

Many employers have made significant efforts, having spent millions of dollars on diversity initiatives, yet charges of discrimination in the workplace continue to grow. It appears that leaders of many organizations honestly want to create an inclusive workplace where all employees can be productive but the best ideas about how to leverage diversity and, equally as important, inclusion, remains apparently elusive for some.

We set out, through a series of research projects spanning almost 10 years, to address some of the issues surrounding effective management of the organizational diversity climate. Some of the questions we have addressed are:

• Are managers of color the best leaders of diversity initiatives?

• Is it all about the money for employees of color?

• Are all employees sensitive to diversity climate issues?

• What is the impact of diversity climate on employee of color outcomes: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance, and turnover intentions?

We summarized what we learned during this past decade of research into various aspects of diversity management, particularly with respect to leadership of diversity initiatives and the impact of dimensions ...