by Don C. Locke

Why “getting to?” Every organization is dynamic in terms of diversity and inclusion. Every organization is in the process of becoming diverse and inclusive. If we really believe in the importance of all people and groups, then every organization has room to improve.

Don C. Locke is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus, NC State University.

What does a diverse organization look like? An organization can be described as diverse if it has persons from different racial/ethnic/gender/economic groups among its staff and clients.

What does an inclusive organization look like? An organization may be described as inclusive when it has persons from different racial, ethnic, gender, and/or economic groups among its staff and clients in numbers that are relatively consistent with the general population, and who participate in all aspects of the organization.

The term “diversity” has come to refer to any number of issues and concerns. Diversity does not mean the same thing to all people, and application of diversity criteria depends on circumstances within the organization.

The diversity literature reports the lack of a standard definition for diversity. This weakness leads us to believe that diversity has no real meaning. Diversity sometimes refers to the collective mixture of human differences and similarities along a given dimension.

Dimensions of diversity among organizational members include race, culture, religion, gender, sexual preference, age, profession, organizational or team tenure, personality type, functional background, education level, political party, and other demographic, socioeconomic, and psychographic characteristics.

While diversity is defined in broad terms that include a variety of factors, in the context of most American organizations and institutions, race, ethnicity, and sex are among the most salient demographic variables.

Inclusion in organizations is seen as a “business issue,” meaning that having different people in the organization contributes to its success; members of the organization view difference as an asset. The business case for diversity links program initiatives to the organization’s financial bottom line. Inclusion is seen as a proactive tool to benefit all members of the organization, by recognizing and utilizing individual differences in working and learning styles.

Affirmative action and equal employment law emerged at the height of the civil rights movement to rectify past discrimination and preclude future discrimination in employment. A model to address diversity that was different from equal employment and affirmative action emerged in the late 1980s and gained momentum in the 1990s. This model was called “valuing diversity.”

Valuing diversity prefigured diversity management and grew out of early efforts to end discrimination. Valuing diversity focused on bridging gaps in respect and understanding that existed among different cultural groups and on creating an atmosphere of increased comfort, empathy, and common ground for all members of organizations.

In order to value diversity, organizations must assure that they are truly diverse and inclusive at every level. Without a specific plan focused on hiring, training, and promoting underrepresented groups – staff and clients – many organizations will fall short of this goal.

While some organizations may be committed to diversity programs that are broad in scope, dwindling budgets and taxpayers’ demands for less government and more services prevent organizations from expending large sums of money on these efforts.

Culture refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that include the language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups. Competence implies having the capacity to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by consumers and their communities.

Cultural competence is defined as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.

Operationally defined, cultural competence is the integration and transformation of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standards, policies, practices, and attitudes used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the quality of services; thereby producing better outcomes.