Just The Facts
JTF#105 - CEO Update
Affirmative Action & EEO versus Managing and Valuing Diversity
This topic creates significant consideration and discussion...and rightly so.
We see attempts at affirmative action and equal opportunity principles everywhere today: from the sporting arena in nations like South Africa, to companies setting targets for employment of people with disabilities, Indigenous Australians or mature aged people.
The concept of affirmative action and equal opportunity has great merit from a number of perspectives. Firstly, many people would not be afforded opportunity if there was no "push" to encourage their employment and, secondly, there must be a focus on removing discrimination at all levels.
It wasn't long ago that companies, who wished to avail themselves of various government contracts, were to report on their gender balance and track improvements in the progression of women through their organisational management arena. It is interesting to ask the question: did this initiative, which was around some 10-15 years ago, create a systemic change to the way many organisations and management think about women in the workforce and more particularly women in leadership? The current lack of women in leadership roles across Australia seems to indicate that this is not the case.
The notion of setting targets to "match our community" is vague in its logic and impractical in its implementation. Of course there is broad acceptance that having a diverse workforce may make your business, service or product more appealing to "like" people, but the real questions behind any initiative must be:
- Why have a workforce that reflects our community? What is the strategy behind the decision?
- Which community are we talking about? Is it the one we trade with, the one we operate near, the one our staff engage with, the one we were brought up in, the one that wins political votes or gains positive press?
And then there are the many "micro" issues that need to be addressed in the implementation of any initiative, for example:
- Many people do not disclose everything about themselves so how do we "tag" them into a category?
- What if there is no one from a targeted group good enough to do the job?
- How do we "sell" the idea to the workforce to ensure that there is no perceived favouritism or bias?
This list is not exhaustive. In fact for every reason you can argue that affirmative action is important you can also find a reason that it has a negative impact.
I have a firm belief that some forms of affirmative practices are important for the future of our workplaces, however unless initiatives are linked to management performance targets, there is little likelihood of serious change in the near future.
The potential pitfalls of this approach do not apply to those organisations who take a leadership position. Many organisations have identified that it is an imperative for the future to attract the best person for the job irrelevant of gender, age or any other classification or tag...and they are leaving their competitors behind!
I have no doubt that we need to advocate strongly for a more inclusive business environments and communities. However, this will only be achieved with a comprehensive and focused approach, balancing: policy; legislation; affirmative action; business and economic reasoning; human rights responsibility; and compassion. So a strategic approach requires consideration of all these factors...and must move beyond benign or "motherhood" statements, but rather requires organisational and individual accountability and measurement.
- How do we create an environment where an individual is engaged to reach their full potential?
- How do we recognise the impact of the "hidden" dimensions of "who" we are, not the most obvious?
- What are the economic outcomes for employment decisions?
- How do we ensure our workplace is non-discriminatory and is equitable to all human beings?
- Are we focussed on leadership for the future or management for today?
Only when we take the time to address some of the differences between affirmative action and managing and valuing diversity can we find the rationale to support the formation of an inclusive and cutting-edge diversity strategy.
Yours in Diversity,
Mark Heaysman