Equal opportunity in employment is the foundation of an equitable society
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PowerPoint Presentation*
Whenever we diminish equality of opportunity, it means we are not
using some of our most valuable assets – our people – in the most
productive way possible.
Joseph Stiglitz,
May 2011
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Necessary but not sufficient (from The Loudest Duck by Laura
Liswood)
“Many major businesses have taken a serious and informed strategy
for incorporating diversity into their workplace. Most offer a
strong business case for having a workforce that is diverse – for
example, the war for talent; trying to recruit and retain the best
people; the need to better reflect an organization’s clients;
higher profitability; the global nature of the firm; the legal
scrutiny and laws now prevalent in many countries. These
companies have put the building blocks in place, so what you see
are the trainings, the senior-level rhetoric and commitment, the
various diversity-related committees, and the networks for women,
blacks, Asians or Hispanics, or gays and lesbians.
“I don’t believe that these foundational efforts will actually
change cultures. While I am not suggesting that we get rid of these
building blocks, I don’t think that they will ever level the
playing-field or create true meritocracies for everyone who works
within a corporation. They are not sufficient. Why? Because we all
take our unconscious selves to the workplace – whether we mean to
or not. Again, we bring our beliefs, perceptions, understandings,
misunderstandings, and our archetypes of who we think people are.
We incorporate these impressions instinctively as we think,
speak and even act in ways that we’ve deemed natural. By
doing so, we guarantee that the playing field will remain
unbalanced, and that the organization of which we are a part will
never truly get the benefit of its diversity, or function at its
highest level.”
Diverse Auckland
150+ ethnic groups live in Auckland
44% of Aucklanders will be of Asian and Pacific Island descent by
2020
By 2030, 330,000 will be over 65 years old and 355,000 will be
under 15
20 new people are arriving every day
Family structures are changing
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Auckland is an increasingly diverse city. The latest Auckland
Council statistics show that the city is now made up of over 150
ethnic communities. The population increasingly comprises people of
Asian and Pacific Island descent (44% by 2020) and new immigrants
are arriving every day. Households across NZ are changing with an
increased number of single parent families (2006 Census figures 10%
cf to 7% in 1986) and an increasing number of fathers looking to
have a more hands-on roles with their children (68% - Family
Commission publication) . And the population is ageing.
The Auckland-related figures on the slide come from the Auckland
Plan discussion document, Auckland Unleashed, published by Auckland
Council.
Diverse Wellington
22.9% of people in the Wellington region were born overseas
9.5% or people are from a non-English speaking background
159 ethnic groups
Family structures are changing
7.4% students are Mori
8.5% students are Pacific
21% of students are over 30
2.6% of students have disabilities
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These latest figures from University of Auckland give an indication
of what our future professional workplace might look like.
Diverse talent pool
50-64 yrs old
Labour force decline overall particularly in 15-24 year age
group
Increasingly diverse culturally and ethnically
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There will be a 50% increase in the proportion of Pacific youth in
the youth workforce over next 15-20 years.
Making good business sense
Wider talent pool
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When diversity is well managed, businesses/organisations
benefit.
Better decision making at board level: As seasoned director and
ex-CEO of Arnotts Boardroom Practice Ltd’s Janine Smith says: “One
of the most important factors in creating an effective and balanced
board is diversity of thought.” One of the most successful boards
she has been on is comprised of 5 women and 4 men with a range of
professional backgrounds: “The diversity of skills provide a wider
perspective for discussion and debate leading to better quality
decisions.”
Wider talent pool eg. GPC Electronics Operations Manager John Watt
says that without the specialist skills migrant staff bring to GPC,
the company wouldn't enjoy its current success. "Across the
company, 83 per cent of our workers are migrants, all the way up to
the management team," says John, who himself migrated from Scotland
five years ago. "We couldn't exist without them.”
3) Increased adaptability: Employees with diverse backgrounds can
help companies adapt to changing markets. A NZ Herald article
showed that in 2010 more than 50% of Master of Commerce graduates
were of Chinese descent. Scott Perse, Partner at PwC: “The ability
to operate in both a Chinese and New Zealand business context is
something few people have and it’s becoming a highly sought after
commodity.”
4) Enhanced employment and customer brand eg. Margaret Doyle of BDO
Taranaki: “One new client told us she chose us as her business
advisor because she had heard so much about our culture and
flexibility that she just knew she wanted to work with us.”
Making good business sense
Reflects diverse markets in New Zealand and overseas
Improved staff retention and customer service
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5) Increased employee engagement & productivity eg. The
Warehouse SKIP parenting programme for staff: employee engagement
rose from 77.5% to 88.9%, there was a 20% increase in productivity,
and sick days came down from 6.4% days per person (2008) to 4.5
days (2010).
6) Reflect diverse markets. The culture awareness supplied by
migrant staff from the Netherlands, the UK, the Middle East, China
and Malaysia is critical to the success of GPC Electronics.
7) Improved staff retention & customer service eg. Mt Albert
Pak’n Save – an appreciation of its diverse workforce saved
$100,000, widened the talent pool and helped match staff with
customer needs.
Consider your reactions when you look at these people. You’ll
probably arrive at diversity on a number of conscious levels: age,
gender, ethnicity but you will probably make some unconscious
assumptions even in these areas and they may be incorrect or
misleading. We all suffer from unconscious bias.
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1996. Implementing Diversity by Marilyn Loden. Mc-Graw Hill
Publishing, Burr Ridge, IL
Religion
Geographic
Location
Military
Experience
Education
Communication
Style
Work
Style
Family
Status
Work
Experience
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As well as “visible” diversity markers (such as gender and age),
diversity includes “invisible” differences – sexual orientation,
religion, personality type.
Sometimes the differences between people are subtle – many of the
so-called secondary dimensions have an enormous impact on how
people interact and perceive the world. Valuing diversity means
taking time to explore each person’s personality and style and
value their different contributions, as well as avoiding making
assumptions based on “visible” differences.
People’s values can greatly shape their behaviour and have a big
impact on workplace decisions. Consider this example: a number of
people were asked which, if there were only one, they would choose
to save on a sinking ship – their mother, their child, or their
partner. 90% of people from western cultures chose their child,
(hypothetically if they did not have one!) But most people from
eastern or Asian cultures chose their mother. This is because
western cultures look to the future and place great value on the
next generation, while eastern cultures tend to value the past and
hold the previous generation in high esteem. Our differing values
create different choices at work.
What is Diversity?
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