Who is considered diverse

Department of Labor issues specific veteran hiring benchmarks for federal agencies and contractors based on the percentage of the workforce comprised of veterans.

This benchmark has hovered roughly around seven percent since the guidelines went into effect in 6. Veterans carry many of the scarce skills that are in demand today, ranging from leadership and management to engineering and many other STEM fields. Likewise, organizations look to veterans as having strong discipline, teamwork, and problem-solving skills based on their military training and experience.

Not surprisingly, veterans in the U. Department of Labor statistics. Despite the advantages veteran workers bring to the table, many organizations have difficulty hiring them because military job titles, skills, and experience do not translate into language that companies understand.

Today, some public organizations are devoted to helping veterans navigate the transition to civilian careers, and U. People with disabilities have been recognized as the largest U. Globally, people with disabilities represent approximately 10 percent of the total population or million, according to our research.

It is likely that physical disabilities come to mind for many, but the total range of impacts vary greatly from vision, movement, and thinking to learning, communication, mental health, and social relationships.

At the same time, the negative connotations of disability are changing. By , the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects people over age 55 will include 41 million workers or roughly 25 percent of a total million strong U. Unfortunately, older workers are excluded through many types of bias, conscious or otherwise. Younger generations experience age discrimination, too. Understanding one another Diversity allows for the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment.

Recognising our differences Each individual in an organisation brings with them a diverse set of perspectives, work and life experiences, as well as religious and cultural differences.

Contact us to find out more Inclusion Appreciating our differences. Inclusion is a sense of belonging. Get in touch to see what GDP can do for your organisation. Better business performance Openness to diversity widens our access to the best talent. Our Story Founded in , GDP pioneered a new approach to business and management consultancy based on embedding principles of diversity and inclusion across organisations, impacting every business division and department.

You are in an organization. The organization can be consists of 2 people, or , people, as long as it has more than one person, there is some sort of organization diversity. The types of diversity that belong to Organizational includes but not limited to:. All of the above Organization Diversity Types belong to an organization, and we will discuss them in more detail later.

The last type of diversity is usually factors that we observe, we feel, we experience that shape our world views. Each of us has more life outside of the workplace. We travel, we have our beliefs, we embrace our culture, we have knowledge of the different types of history, we have different political beliefs and agenda. Now we have introduced you to the four major diversity type dimensions and examples of them, in the next chapter, we will discuss each of the diverse types.

Not sure I need to explain age diversity in the workplace , but it should be easy to understand that not everyone working in a workplace are of the same age. Typically we enter the workforce between the age of 18 younger in some countries to 30 years of age if you are a P. Canada, the US, Australia, and the United Kingdom all have a pretty typical age demographic distribution.

Therefore statistically, there are always more workers between in comparison to or You can dissect the age group in whatever way you want, the point is that there will not be an equal division of workers in terms of age or generation. A generation gap or generational gap Diversity is a difference of opinions between one generation and another regarding beliefs, politics, or values. We have heard of the generation gap. The population is generally divided into the following groups.

Different generation group works and thinks different, at different stages of life with different priorities. I will discuss more of each age generation group in a different post.

A race is a grouping of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into categories generally viewed as distinct by society. The term was first used to refer to speakers of a common language and then to denote national affiliations. By the 17th century, the term began to refer to physical phenotypical traits. Modern scholarship regards race as a social construct, an identity that is assigned based on rules made by society.

While partially based on physical similarities within groups, race does not have an inherent physical or biological meaning. Other includes National cultures, societal cultures that span nations e. The impact of race and ethnicity can impact equality in the workplace, sometimes known as the glass ceiling at work.

Typically Gender refers to where you feel that you personally fall on the spectrum between male and female. Commonly people identify as male or female, but some fall in the middle or move throughout the spectrum. An important way to address gender is to address gender bias. A reminder for all of us to keep an open mind that social definitions change over time as our world and society evolve.

Cisgender — When you identify with the gender you were assigned at birth Transgender — A term that describes a person whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex. For example, someone who was assigned female at birth who identifies as male. Transgender people may alter their bodies using hormones, surgery, both or neither.

When you identify with a gender different than that you were assigned at birth. Transsexual — Transsexual is an older and outdated term that originated in the psychological and medical communities. Some people may still use transsexual to refer to a person with a different gender identity to the sex a doctor assigned them at birth. Transsexual people may or may not undergo surgery and hormone therapy to obtain a physical appearance typical of the gender they identify as.

Sexual Orientation refers to who you are sexually attracted to meaning who you get turned on by or who you would want to engage in sexual behaviours with. An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to other people. Here are a sample list and a basic description of different types of sexual orientations.

Some sexual orientation groups will always be a minority compared to heterosexuals. For example, in the United Kingdom sexual orientation data in , just over 1 million 2.

The population aged 16 to 24 were the age group most likely to identify as LGBT in 4. More males 2. The population who identified as LGBT in were most likely to be single, never married or civil partnered, at Sexual Appearance and expression refer to how a person chooses to express themselves.

Physical Disabilities and ability and is the capacity to do tasks that demand stamina, desired, strength and similar characteristics. People with physical permanent disabilities are usually experts in their own needs and will understand the impact of their disability. It can identify individuals who are physically able to perform the essentials function of a job without risking injury to others.

There are many different kinds of disability and a wide variety of situations people experience. The disability may be permanent or temporary. It may exist from birth or be acquired later in life. People with the same disability are as likely as anyone else to have different abilities. Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.

A subtype of mental ability, Neurodiversity is, fortunately, getting more attention in recent years. Neurodiverse people typically need some accommodations. Not only that, but high-level education can be extremely expensive and unattainable for a significant part of the American population, and for upper-level jobs or even entry-level jobs post-high school degrees are often required.

On the flip side, employers are creating opportunities to help such professionals bypass college in exchange for applicable experiences. Instead, companies are focusing on experiences, as well as hard and soft skills to qualify candidates. Additionally, removing education requirements allows candidates with more diverse , non-traditional backgrounds to apply.

Income can be affected by geographical location, taxes, family, education, skills and socioeconomic background. Unconscious biases related to an individual's age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and privilege can also affect their income.

This act builds upon existing legislation with three key components :. Other income-based laws you should know about include the the Equal Pay Act of , which prohibits pay discrimination based on gender and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of , which prohibits gender-based wage discrimination and allows workers to sue for discrimination.

Socioeconomic status SES is the measurement and categorization of people based on their education, income and occupation. It is also a strong indicator of privilege, as well as the opportunities and resources an individual has access to in order to excel at school and work. To support candidates and employees of all SES, consciously create and distribute recruitment content that will reach and resonate with individuals of varying SES.

As an employer, make sure to provide adequate salaries, benefits and resources to help individuals who are impacted by their own SES. Life experiences encompass all of the unique work, education, military, private and public occurrences an individual undergoes throughout their life that contributes to who they are, how they view the world and how they interact with others.

Marriage is a major event for many people. Similar to gender bias, marital status bias can prevent highly qualified individuals from getting a job or excelling in their career. Marital status can especially affect an individual in the workplace if their partner also works in the same place. Some companies have an anti-nepotism policy in place to prevent a family member from working on the same team or in hierarchy to one another.

While parental status can affect both mothers and fathers, pregnant women, working mothers and women of childbearing age face a motherhood penalty or maternal wall. Women candidates are more likely to be asked questions about their parental plans and responsibilities during an interview.

In addition to working mothers, 54 percent of women with a young child leave their job because they need to care for their child. For individuals who take a large chunk of time off to fulfill caregiving needs, it can be extremely difficult for them to explain the gaps in their resume and find employers willing to support them as they reenter their career. Employers can support working parents by reducing unconscious bias against them and by providing benefits like flexible work hours, childcare benefits, parental leave and adoption assistance to ease the challenges that working parents face and keep top employees in its workforce.

Military veterans offer a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience, making them exceptional contributions to any role or company. However, many employers are unfamiliar with military culture, experiences or common military language , which may make it difficult for them to understand the value such individuals can bring to a company.

A number of resources are available to help employers better understand how military skills are relevant to a specific role role, such as this military skills translator and this skills matcher. The unemployment rate for people ages 25 to 44 who have formerly been incarcerated is more than five times higher than the national average. These individuals are in their prime working age but struggle to find a company that will hire them with a criminal background.

And while some states provide incentives by offering tax breaks for companies that hire candidates with felony convictions, other states allow employers to require criminal history on job applications, perpetuating issues of social bias. Opinions differ on how, when and if politics should be allowed in the workplace. For some, such discussions are a great way to connect with and engage in stimulating conversations unrelated to work.

However, when colleagues have radically different political affiliations and views, controversy can erupt, making the workplace uncomfortable at best and unbearable at worst. Not only that, but bringing politics into the workplace can lead to issues around political affiliation discrimination.

And while no national law prohibits employers from discriminating against a candidate or employee based on their political affiliation, a few states do. All that being said, it can be extremely difficult to eliminate all traces of politics from the workplace. But is eliminating all politics really the answer? Just like every other element of diversity on this list, political diversity is also important for providing unique ideas, morals and beliefs to the workplace and fostering a truly diverse and inclusive workplace.

Employers can do this by offering floating holidays so that employees can take time off for religious holidays and celebrations when they need. A form of both organizational and functional diversity in the workplace, union affiliation can be a hot topic in many workplaces. Employees of an organization may either choose to or may be required to join a local union based on the rules of a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and the union, dependent on if their state has a right-to-work law prohibiting labor unions and employers from entering into contracts in which only unionized employees may be hired.

Labor union membership is intended as a way to protect employees from rights violations in their workplace, such as discrimination, overtime without pay, retaliation, privacy and whistleblower rights, however, many employees may be opposed to joining a labor union for a variety of reasons. Regardless of union status, all employees are still responsible for fulfilling their individual job requirements.