Diversity Is A Word

♫Grease is the word, is the word that you heard, It's got groove it's got meaning.♫

Catchy, huh? If you know the words, the song is now probably floating through your head.  If you’ve heard the song a million times before, there’s a good chance you’re singing the words, without having any knowledge as to what you’re saying, even if you don’t like the song. Words will do that to you.

Words slip in and out of our consciousness without any effort from ourselves.  It's almost as if words take on a life of their own. It seems that way particularly when they are misused or misconstrued and subsequently not fully understood (i.e. leadership, artist).  For me, the word diversity is one of those types of words.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t have an issue with diversity as a concept within the realm of HR. I have an issue with how the word is used to describe a part of HR that’s extremely important. It appears to me that the usage of the word may be causing more harm than good, particularly when the workplace resides in an area where diversity is possible, but the bulk of power resides with one type of group.

♫Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion. Grease is the way we are feeling.♫

At HRevolution, I was a co-facilitator of a session called, "What the @#$% Does Diversity Mean Today". This session was originally supposed to be facilitated by Joe Gerstandt. But due to circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to attend. In his steed, I did my best to channel what I know of Joe's work in order to keep to the theme of the title.

Joe has stated that diversity means different. This is true. And we are all different. No two people are alike, identical twins notwithstanding.  But diversity only results as part of relational equation.  Not until you have more than one person in a room, can difference exist. Still the word is used as a means to describe protected classes, which includes everyone. And when misconstrued, diversity refers to anyone who is not the group in power.

This occurs because the word diversity is perceived similarly with these words: diverge, divert, divest and most importantly, divide. Think about what happens when HR starts using the word diversity and how it is possibly perceived. If it's perceived incorrectly, it may be because your workplace consists of mainly one group and subsequently they feel threatened.

If you work in such an environment, and you’re trying to sell the concept of diversity, the threat lies in the word itself. Diversity means different. Different means shift in power. Shift in power means less money and opportunities for those in power. Typically people in power are not apt to just let that occur. They become defensive. They give lip service. And they fight to keep power.

So instead of convincing your organization that diversity is a good thing, you may have just caused them to dig their heels in further.  Thus, the very thing that we have just tried to prevent is now perpetrated even further.

♫ They think our love is just a growing pain. Why don't they understand? It's just a crying shame. ♫

So if we have to put a name to it, I suggest we call it multiculturalism. I know it's a long word. But I like -ism's. They signify a way of living that can be taught and learned. It's a word that can be truly embraced because there is no implication of division; it means everybody.

The word diversity brought us together for a session at HRevolution but not surprisingly it left us divided as to how to convince our organizations that it's a good practice.

There are supporting statistics that a multicultural workplace benefits the bottom line. I'm a little cynical about these statistics because I wonder if the business would have been just as monetarily successful without a multicultural workplace. Some places in this country just don't reside in areas where there is a multicultural workforce yet still have successful organizations.

The problem lies not there, but with organizations that do. Subsequently if the culture of those organizations is to make workforce decisions that consciously or unconsciously have an adverse impact on multiculturalism then it's your job as an HR professional to face this head on.

When HR has to face it, I think HR too often approaches it from the angle that HR knows best because we know the law. But managers are concerned about getting the work done. Workers want to get along with each other and be around like-mindedness. Managers and workers are likely to only be concerned about the law when HR is telling them to be concerned about the law. When HR goes back to the office, managers and workers go back to doing what they were doing. HR are the harbingers of doom and that's who managers and workers see. Lawyers are doom, and they never see them.

♫ We take the pressure and we throw away. Conventionality belongs to yesterday. ♫

As I mentioned, at HRevolution there was no consensus as to how solve this problem. But I walked away with a good concept that I think can be the basis for future decisions.
First of all, quit calling it diversity.
Second, be smart and still do your due diligence with the EEOC or OFCCP
Third, approach the problem from this angle. Most organizations are interested in maintaining an existence for the future. Granted some aren't but most are. Maintaining an existence for the future means making money. It also means studying the internal and external environments for threats and opportunities in order to strategize for the future so you can keep making money. To keep doing this, an organization has to examine new ideas. New ideas come from all over the place. They can come from your current workforce. But if organizations truly wants new ideas, they need to get experience from places they are not familiar with. A multicultural workforce supplies that type of experience.

Don't tell your organization diversity is a good idea because it keeps you out of court. Tell them that a multicultural workforce will supply the organization with a plethora of ideas and experiences that will allow them to continue to innovate, evolve and survive. There is no need to even bring up money. That argument seems desperate. I like this approach because it's true, it's smart and it's rational. When an organization is faced with all three it's hard to turn their backs on it. If they do turn their backs, maybe it's a sign they're headed for trouble you can't prevent. I like challenges. But that type of challenge may have me thinking about moving on.

If anything, think about the words you are using and the audience that hears it. If the word diversity is working for you, great. But still, I would question for how much longer it will work and why it's working. I suggest before a word becomes a problem to start using a better word.

♫I solve my problems and I see the light
We gotta a lovin’ thing, we gotta feed it right
There ain't no danger we can go too far
We start believing now that we can be who we are

Grease is the word♫

Thanks to Mark Stelzner for the feedback, Keelie Fallon for presenting this idea at HRevolution, and to Frankie Valli for the inspiration.  All lyrics are from the song, Grease, written by Barry Gibb, 1978.