What makes a workplace diverse?

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?

Illegal Immigration: Life Lesson in the Making

I’ve recently observed a proposal that in exchange for U.S. citizenship, illegal aliens be given the opportunity to earn citizenship through a short stint in the armed services. I have to admit, at first thought I am perplexed. I’m not of the mind that service in the Army should be utilized as a sentence (for troubled youth) or domestic admission for citizenship. On the other hand, if those who so disparately value a life in the U.S. that they brave the searing sun over 100 miles for a job, then I would be willing to give them this opportunity in order to earn what they demonstrate is valuable to them.

If given the opportunity, would they even share the thought that they hold that much value for life in the U.S. Or, would they continue to balk at any thought where citizenship would come at a cost.

Defenders voice that illegal aliens “pay taxes”. Well the truth is they do and they don’t. They pay taxes on the products that they buy. Great, that’s appreciated, but to be perfectly honest, there is no way around it. You can’t go to McDonalds and decline to pay the tax. But like the border, they pursue any means by which they can escape income tax, which every law abiding U.S. citizen must pay. When U.S. citizens do not pay the appropriate income tax, they then experience the force of the law upon them to encourage them to become compliant.

Nobody is asking that the illegal be forced to follow anything rules or processes that any other U.S. citizen doesn’t already do. But they are asking (even demanding) every freedom that U.S. citizens enjoy but continue to try to circumvent what those costs are.

In the end, I have the opinion that I am for such alternatives to U.S. citizenship for illegal aliens. However, I already fear for the headline which would read: “Army Generals Racist: Consistently send Hispanic Citizenship Enlistees to the front lines.” I think I read something similar in a history book somewhere. Might have had something to do with the Vietnam War and African American soldiers.
History repeats itself when we (earth inhabitants) fail to learn the appropriate Life Lesson, until we get it right.