The official meaning of diversity by Merriam Webster is the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization. Many companies today are instituting diversity into their workplace in regards to more than just the people who work there. It involves many aspects of the business.

EMPLOYEES
The employee aspect of the company is considered diverse when there are people from different ethnicity, sex, and culture. This means that if you have an entire workforce of Hispanic employees then your company isn't active in diversity. The numbers will never be completely even, but the goal is to have as equal a group as you can, but this doesn't mean that you hire someone because of their ethnicity or culture, but because of the knowledge they can bring to your company.

COMPANIES
Companies that you do business with should also come from a diverse field. If you focus on just a few of the large companies in your area then your company isn't practicing complete diversity. Other companies should be allowed the option of bidding on projects. This doesn't mean because they are a smaller company or a company that is completely owned by women that they should get preferential treatment. It does mean that they should be given the option to bid on the projects also, but if their bid comes in higher then it should eliminate them from the field on that bid.

Many companies are trying to show they are active with diversity in their corporation, but some take it to far and at the expense of the employees. Diversity is important, but it shouldn't be used as an excuse to discriminate against a group of people. An example of this is if you have two people applying for a position, one is male and the other female. The male is slightly more qualified than the woman, but the company hires the woman because they need to fill a quota. Not only is it unfair to the man, but it is equally unfair to the woman, because she isn't being hired for her knowledge but to fill a quota. Companies should focus on the people that will help their companies succeed whether they are from another country, culture, old, young, or the color of their skin. Everyone brings something to the table and people should be hired for their knowledge not because they fit into a stereotype.

Learn more about this author, Patti Winters.
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