Recently, results from an employee survey returned questionable responses to questions related to ‘diversity’.
Discussions were and are being held to clarify what the expectations are to achieve a ‘diverse work environment’.
Is gender the driver? I can tell you that 65% of the workforce (including leadership) is of the female gender. So, in this case, is the call for diversity asking for an increase in male gender?
What about sexual preference? How in the world does a company try to hire a diverse workforce based upon sexual preference when such questions are not allowable by law during an interview or for hire evaluation purposes?
Is ethnicity the principle driver? If so, based on what population and should there be a quota? Living in the Midwest does not yield the same diverse population the cities of New York and L.A. might hold.
I’m sure the general answer to the questions above would be to include all aspects as consideration. But let me pose another question. If a company has a goal to hire an ethnic diverse workforce, and the surrounding population includes a large representation of Hispanic descent, should the requirement be based on or analyzed in comparison to the legal contingent of the population?
