To truly understand the needs of our cus- tomers and consumers—and succeed in the marketplace—PepsiCo must reflect that diversity in our employees, our sup- pliers and in everything we do. Offering a workplace where diversity is valued helps us build the top-quality workforce so crucial to our success—by enabling us to attract and retain great people from a wide spectrum of backgrounds.
Ronald G. Parker, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, PepsiCo
• Communicating and personally practicing a commitment to work with individuals and team members because of their talents and contributions, regardless of their personal attributes.
• Providing leadership—walk the talk—in confronting obvious bias, promoting inclusion, and seeking win–win or compromise solutions to power struggles and conflicts that appear to be based on diversity issues.
Applying governmental laws and regulations as well as organizational policies and
•
regulations concerning diversity.
Categories of Diversity
As suggested in Figure 1.3, diversity includes many categories and characteristics.
Even a single aspect of diversity, such as physical abilities or heredity, contains vari- ous characteristics that may affect individual, team, or organizational behaviors. One challenge for the individual is to determine whether those effects (1) deny opportunity and are counterproductive, (2) simply reflect a tolerance of differences, or (3) lead to embracing diversity as a value-added organizational resource. A second challenge is to assist others in valuing and embracing diversity as a source of creativity and strength.
Figure 1.3 identifies the more common categories of diversity dealt with in organizations. They are subdivided into primary categories—genetic characteristics that affect a person’s self-image and socialization—and secondary categories—learned characteristics that a person acquires and modifies throughout life. As suggested by
Primary Categories Age
Race Ethnicity Gender Physical abilities and qualities Sexual and affectional orientation
Secondary Categories
Effects on Organizational Behavior Education
Work experience Income Marital status Religious beliefs Geographic location Parental status Behavioral style Other
FIGU RE 1. 3 Selected Categories of Diversity
Source: Adapted from Bradford, S. Fourteen dimensions of diversity: Understanding and appreciating differences in the workplace. In J. W. Pfeiffer (ed.), 1996 Annual: Volume 2, Consulting. San Diego: Pfeiffer and Associates, 1996, 9–17.
the arrows, these categories aren’t independent. For example, a woman (gender) with children (parental status) is likely to be directly affected by an organization with family- friendly or family-unfriendly policies and attitudes. An example of a family-unfriendly attitude would be “Your job must always come first if you are to get ahead in this organization.”
Primary Categories
The following are brief explanations of the primary categories of diversity. Individuals have relatively little influence over these characteristics.
Age
• : the number of years a person has been alive and the generation into which the individual was born in the United States [e.g., baby boomers born from 1946 through 1964; Generation X born from 1965 through 1981, or Generation Y (Millennials) born from 1982 through 2000].
Race
• : the biological groupings within humankind, representing superficial physical differences, such as eye shape and skin color. Race accounts for less than 1 percent of the difference in a person’s genetic heredity.
Ethnicity
• : identification with a cultural group that has shared traditions and heritage, including national origin, language, religion, food, and customs. Some people identify strongly with these cultural roots, others do not.
Gender
• : biological sex as determined by XX (female) or XY (male) chromosomes.
Physical abilities and qualities
• : a variety of characteristics, including body type, physical size, facial features, specific abilities or disabilities, and visible and invis- ible physical and mental talents or limitations.
Sexual and affectional orientation
• : feelings of sexual attraction toward members of the same or opposite gender, such as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.
Secondary Categories
The following are brief explanations of the secondary categories of diversity.
Individuals have relatively more influence over them during their lifetimes by making choices.
Education
• : the individual’s formal and informal learning and training.
Work experience
• : the employment and volunteer positions the person has held and the variety of organizations for which the person has worked.
Income
• : the economic conditions in which people grow up and their current eco- nomic status.
Marital status
• : the person’s situation as never married, married, widowed, or divorced.
Religious beliefs
• : fundamental teachings received about deities and values acquired from formal or informal religious practices.
Geographic location
• : the location(s) in which the person was raised or spent a sig- nificant part of her life, including types of communities and urban areas versus rural areas.
Parental status
• : having or not having children and the circumstances in which the children are raised, such as single parenting and two-adult parenting.
Behavioral style
• : tendency of the individual to think, feel, or act in a particular way.
The primary categories of diversity are discussed throughout the book. In the following feature, a few highlights of the diversity competency for one organization are provided. Aetna is widely recognized for its Diverse Discoveries Program.23 A few
characteristics of their program are presented in the following feature. Aetna, Inc., headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, is a major provider of all types of insurance and pension products. It has over 35,000 employees.24
Ron Williams, the chairman and CEO of Aetna, introduces what it means to embrace diversity:
We see diversity as a strategic business advantage: The simple act of knowing that what works for some might not work for all is what makes our commitment to diversity come to life every day. Our commitment becomes action when we take our under- standing of differences and apply that insight to everything from how we service customers and design products to how we communicate with each other.
Each year, every Aetna employee completes web-based diversity training. It is designated to raise awareness of diversity and addresses the business case for diversity. Diversity in Action lectures assist employees in thinking about diver- sity in new and different ways. A Leadership Development Program focuses on identifying and developing needed competencies among under- represented groups. A talent acquisition strategy
aims to attract motivated individuals, including members of underrepresented groups, and a commitment to their development. The support of employee resource groups allows employees to share their cultures, give back to the communi- ties, network with senior management, and attain career-building competencies. Three of these eight resource groups include African American Resource Group, Hispanic Employee Resource Group, and Women’s Employee Resource Group.
How have these and other diversity values and initiatives at Aetna made a difference? A variety of external groups have recognized Aetna for its leadership and commitment to diversity, such as Black Enterprise magazine, the National Association for Women Executives, DiversityInc, and CRO magazine. Of approximately 35,000 employees, 76 percent are women and 31 percent are people of color. Women represent 64 percent of management/supervisory positions, and people of color represent 16 percent. Eleven percent of senior leaders are people of color and 30 percent are women.
To learn more about Aetna, go to www.aetna.com.