Diversity in the Workplace: Advantages, Challenges, and Breaking the Glass Ceiling

This report discusses the advantages and challenges of a diverse workforce, including exposure, learning, organization branding, and improved effectiveness. It also highlights the challenges of a diverse team, such as lack of coordination, language barriers, and increased cost of training. The report also delves into the issue of the glass ceiling in the workplace, including sexual harassment, cultural jokes, lack of sensitivity, prejudice, and resistance to women leadership. Strategies for breaking the glass ceiling and building a diverse organization are also provided, including inclusivity, affirmative action, valuing diversity, managing diversity, 360-degree feedback, and open communication.

Diversity in the workplace
Breaking the glass ceiling

Diversity in the workplace 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Why diversity.............................................................................................................................3
Exposure.................................................................................................................................3
Learning..................................................................................................................................4
Organization branding............................................................................................................4
Improved effectiveness...........................................................................................................4
Challenges of a diverse workforce.............................................................................................4
Lack of Coordination..............................................................................................................4
Language barrier.....................................................................................................................5
Increased cost of training........................................................................................................5
Glass ceiling in the workplace...................................................................................................5
Sexual harassment..................................................................................................................5
Cultural jokes..........................................................................................................................6
Lack of sensitivity..................................................................................................................6
Prejudice.................................................................................................................................6
Resistance to women leadership.............................................................................................6
Breaking the glass ceiling..........................................................................................................6
Creating an atmosphere of support.........................................................................................7
Lead by example.....................................................................................................................7
Take a stand............................................................................................................................7

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Recommendations for building a diverse organization..............................................................7
Inclusivity...............................................................................................................................7
Affirmative action..................................................................................................................7
Valuing diversity....................................................................................................................7
Managing diversity.................................................................................................................8
360 degree Feedback and open communication.....................................................................8
Trainings.................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Human resource management plays a crucial role in the success of any organization.
Managing human resources effectively involves efficient recruitment of employees, fair
compensation of these employees, managing employee performance, managing diversity in
the business and ensuring employee satisfaction (Hendry, 2012). Workplace diversity refers
to a variety of different people that work together in the same organization. This diversity
encompasses gender, ethnic group, age, personality and even educational background.
Diversity in a workplace is leading issue that has been gaining importance lately. This is
because organizations are recognizing the need for diversity among human resources of an
organization (Madsen & Nielsen, 2017).
Increasing globalization has created a free flow of human resources from one part of the
world to another. However, this flow of employees comes at an expense. This report throws
light on various advantages associated with a diversified workforce in an organization. At the
same time, there are various challenges that managers face while ensuring effectiveness of a
diverse team. Strategies to ensure competent coordination within a team and overcoming
problems of a diverse workforce have also been highlighted in this report.
Why diversity
There are various reasons behind organizations’ shifting focus towards enhancing diversity in
the workplace. A diverse workforce has been known to deliver better results and demonstrate
improved performance in the longer run (Barak, 2016). Various advantages associated with a
diverse workforce are as below:
Exposure
Working with people coming from different cultural and educational backgrounds gives
employees an exposure to the other culture. This exposure enhances their growth as an
employee and helps them widen their horizons (Hunt, Layton & Prince, 2015). In the current
scenario of increasing globalization, this exposure plays a vital role in helping employees
break geographical barriers and work in different parts of the world.

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Learning
When a diverse workforce comes together, every employee learns something from the other.
This is because people coming from different backgrounds have varied working styles. This
includes different leadership styles, communication styles and conflict resolution styles.
Working with different people therefore involves improved learning of employees and in turn
enhances the entire team performance.
Organization branding
A diverse workforce also positively impacts the organization’s positioning in the minds of its
stakeholders. It depicts that the organization supports equality in unemployment and has a
wider presence in the market. Such a workplace atmosphere reflects positively on the
organization and helps in attracting competent recruits from across the globe.
Improved effectiveness
When different people with varied backgrounds come together and work towards a single
goal, it is likely that the effectiveness of the team would be much higher (Roberson, Ryan &
Ragins, 2017). The team would be able to look at the same problem from different
perspectives and this in turn would widen their horizons about the same.
Challenges of a diverse workforce
There are various challenges associated with a diverse workforce. These challenges arise as a
result of a varied group of people working together who may or may not have sufficient
knowledge about each other. The problems associated or the challenges faced by employees
working in a diverse team are as below:
Lack of Coordination
The first major issue associated with a diverse team is that employees feel a lack of
coordination among each other since they come from different backgrounds. Every employee
has a different style of work and it is difficult to achieve coordination among all the
employees (Festing & Schafer, 2014). Therefore it makes it difficult for the team to remain
coordinated.

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Language barrier
Another challenge faced by a diverse team especially including people coming from different
geographical areas is that of a rather solid language barrier. This language barriers makes it
difficult for people to communicate in an efficient manner leading to reduced effectiveness of
the team. Language barriers also adversely impacts coordination in the group making it
difficult for the team members to work together.
Increased cost of training
Working with a group of diverse people requires organizations to provide additional training
to the employees in order to understand different cultures, different perspectives and establish
common channels of communication within the team. This increases the overall cost incurred
by an organization on the training of employees.
Glass ceiling in the workplace
Glass ceiling problem in any organization refers to the drawback faced by women or other
minority groups in the workplace which slows their growth in the organizational system.
These barriers to growth are often unacknowledged. The major reason behind these barriers
are an implicit prejudice on the basis of age, ethnicity, caste, sex or religion (Cook & Glass,
2014).
Inequality in the workplace is illegal but is often practiced in most organizations across the
globe. This inequality may be experienced through a genuine lack of growth opportunities
within the firm. These obstacles hamper growth and act as a driver for demotivation among
grieved employees. There are various organizations that create a clear distinction between
men and women despite having similar qualifications (Lynch, 2017). There are various ways
in which glass ceiling can manifest in the workplace. Some of these ways are as listed below:
Sexual harassment
Harassing women verbally or physically are both approaches to creating a glass ceiling.
Organizational policies must include sexual harassment as a zero tolerant practice in the
business.

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Cultural jokes
Cultural jokes cracked in an organizational setting with an intention to insult or make fun of
any minority group working in the organization is an evident way of manifesting the glass
ceiling in the business.
Lack of sensitivity
Glass ceiling can also be created by demonstrating a lack of sensitivity towards women or
any minority group in the business (Ezzedeen, Budworth & Baker, 2015). This insensitivity
can be reflected in the form of not giving flexibility of work during a women’s menstrual
cycle or allowing her enough time to take care of a family.
Prejudice
Prejudice can be seen in workplaces when men with similar qualifications as women are
promoted faster than women. This can be seen in any industry including hospitality,
manufacturing or even medicine.
Resistance to women leadership
Certain organizations show a resistance towards giving a leadership role to women. This
could be because the top management believes that a women is incapable of a leadership role
or they believe that other employees would demonstrate resistance in working beneath a
female leader. Either way this resistance is a glass ceiling which is observed in many
organizations.
Breaking the glass ceiling
Despite the fact that we continue to talk about gender equality and equal rights to both men
and women, it is disappointing that our glass ceilings still remain rock solid. In 2016, only
16.3% of leadership roles were held by women. Globally, in 2015, women earned 77% of
what men earned. These statistics are a reflection of the inequality and the prejudice that a
women is encountered with on a regular basis. Breaking the glass ceiling is the need of the
hour and it is imperative that this generation of working class puts efforts in ensuring an
equal working environment for both men and women (Betrand & Black, 2015).

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Creating an atmosphere of support
The management of the organization must instil policies that allow women to flexibly cater to
their responsibilities at home and at work place.
Lead by example
The value system held by the top management of the organization flows to the bottom. It is
therefore important that the leaders of the business lead by example and put efforts in
breaking the glass ceiling by creating an atmosphere of equal rights and opportunities of
growth.
Take a stand
Besides the efforts put in my the seniors of the business, women and other minorities of the
organization who are directly affected by the glass ceiling must also put efforts in ensuring
that they take a strong stand for breaking the glass ceiling (Newman, 2016). They must voice
their opinion, demonstrate their hard work, build a strong network and establish open
channels of communication in order to do their bit in fighting for their rights in the business.
Recommendations for building a diverse organization
Inclusivity
Inclusivity of an organization is the degree to which the organization is open to anyone who
can perform the job regardless of differences in their race, age, gender or sexual orientation.
Organizations must work towards become more inclusive by enhancing pluralism and
integration of people (Luthans & Doh, 2018). Organizations must also focus on eradicating
prejudice and discrimination from the very core in the workplace.
Affirmative action
This action involves hiring a diverse workforce, creating an atmosphere of equality and
taking strict actions against those who are creating a glass ceiling within the business.
Valuing diversity
Organizations must value diversity by conducting training sessions and enhancing employee
knowledge about different cultures.

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Managing diversity
This is a comprehensive approach which requires organizations to create an environment
where diversity is respected and everyone is given an equal opportunity of growth and
development.
360 degree Feedback and open communication
Diversity can also be maintained in the organization by creating a 360 degree feedback
system where every employee is provided a feedback from his or her peers, seniors as well as
juniors (Tee & Ahmed, 2014). This would help people in addressing the issue of glass ceiling
and diversity in the workplace would be maintained.
Trainings
Trainings must be given to employees which highlight different cultures, working styles and
leadership styles of people coming from different cultures. These trainings would assist
people in fostering a genuine respect and deeper understanding of each other.
Conclusion
Organizational diversity refers to a varied group of people coming from different parts and
sections of the society in the same organization. A diverse workplace setting is highly
beneficial for an organization as it reflects positively on the organization as well as provides
its employees opportunity for advanced learning and growth.
Creating a diverse organization is not an easy process and does not happen overnight. It
requires consistent efforts in creating coordination and establishing effective communication
channels within employees coming from varied backgrounds (Kumar, 2015).
Despite the increasing acceptance and presence of diverse organizations, glass ceiling still
continues to affect various minority groups within the business especially women. These
glass ceilings are created by unethical, illegal and often unacknowledged barrier that
adversely impacts the growth and advancement of these groups within the business. These
glass ceilings exist because of pre-existing prejudices, lack of sensitivity and an evident
resistance towards growth of these minorities.

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Given the advancement of globalization and an evidently increasing diversity in the
organizations, it is high time that efforts are put in the right direction to break these glass
ceilings. This can be achieved by respecting and valuing diversity in the workplace, adopting
zero tolerance policy for inequality in the system and ensuring that women and other
minorities in the workplace are given a fair platform to grow, learn and address grievances
through open communication.

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