Racial Diversity Issues in Workplace Essay 2022

Running head: RACIAL DIVERSITY ISSUES IN WORKPLACE
Racial Diversity Issues in Workplace
Name of the student
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Introduction
Diversity in workplace means that the company recruits diverse teams of
people which is reflective of the operating of the society. Diversity is inclusive of all
elements which makes the individuals unique from each other. The diversity issues
taking place in the workplace have an effect on the effective functioning of a
company. The workplace have become more diverse however the issues have
arisen accordingly in the present time (Ng and Sears 2018, p.2). This essay
discusses about the main diversity issues which takes place within the framework of
workplaces in Australia. This essay elaborates on the racial diversity issues that
takes place in the companies of Australia. The essay elucidates on the management
approaches that can address the problem of the racial equality issue. This essay
states how Woolworths is instrumental in providing the diversity information on the
website and how it handles the issues of the racial equality.
Discussion
There are various kinds of the diversity issues which arises within the
framework of an organization. The issues arise owing to the ethnic along with the
cultural differences and there exist some individuals in the organization who have the
prejudice against the people who are from the different ethnic, cultural along with the
religious background. It have been found with the help of survey that 40 % of the
people will prefer hiring the men over the women in their companies (Barak, Findler
and Wind 2016, p. 813). The men have the more chances of being promoted to the
managerial positions when compared to the women. The men earn around 24.1 %
higher base pay when compared to the women. The disabled employees have to
face the difficult situation as they do not have the proper accommodations that can
aid in their movement within the premises of the office (Ensari, Lopez and
Shackelford 2017, p. 3). It have been found that by the end of the year 2025, the
millennials would comprise of 75 % of the workplace and they would be instrumental
in changing work culture in a company. The employees from the other generation
have to face the hindrance in adapting themselves to changes taking place in the
workplace which have been brought about owing to the influence of the younger
generation. The language along with the communication barriers are present within
the companies that have the diverse workforce (Groutsis, O’Leary and Russell 2018,

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p. 2232). The employees and the managers have to face problems in transmitting
the messages and it leads to the miscommunication along with the productivity loss
in a company.
There exist various kinds of racial diversity issues within the framework of the
organizations. Australia have the population of around 23.4 million and it can be
stated to be one of the most culturally diverse population within the world. It have
been found that more than 75 % of the Australians have the ancestry which is
different from the Australian and 3 % of the Australians have been identified as the
Aboriginal along with the Torres Strait Islander people (Aihw.gov.au 2020). The race-
based discrimination occurs at the systemic along with the interpersonal level in the
various companies present in Australia (Nicolacopoulos and Vassilacopoulos 2016,
p. 190). The overt forms of the discrimination that persist in the workplaces of
Australia are bullying, harassment, exclusion along with the unfair performance
appraisal. The jokes and the teasing are rampant in the companies of Australia
against the cultural minority groups in Australia that aids in the intensification of the
current stereotypes in the company. It results in the exclusion of the people from the
social along with the work activities in the companies of Australia. The interpersonal
discrimination takes place in the organisations of Australia which results in the
inequalities in the opportunity along with the resources in the various companies of
Australia (Achiume 2018, p. 141). The positive behaviour perpetrated on the minority
ethnic along with the cultural groups reduces their ability in acquiring the further
competence, knowledge along with the skills. The negative stereotypes exist in the
companies of Australia which bear the detrimental effect on the performance of the
workers. The negative stereotypes regarding the minority groups who have the
inferior intelligence can create the way for their poor performance and makes them
feel demoralised in the company (Liu 2017, p. 800). The effect have been found to
be more pronounced in the situations where there exist the few individuals from the
racial or the cultural ethnic group. The stereotype threat causes the employees to
work hard but in a less effective manner and it have been found to be pronounced
among the highly capable workers of Australia. The effect of the race based
discrimination extends vicariously to the members who are the members of the racial
or the ethnic group but they are not the personal members of the group.

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The managers in the organisations of Australia can address the racial equality
issues during the term of their career that can provide the equal work opportunity for
the people belonging to the cultural and the diverse background groups. The
diversity programs can be taken recourse to by the managers that can have an effect
on the cognitive along with the emotional learning domain of the people. There are
various kinds of delivery methods like the lectures, small group discussions along
with the role plays that can be adopted the people in the senior management of the
companies in Australia that can remove the incidence of the discrimination taking
place in the organizations (Guillaume et al. 2017, p. 280). The cultural awareness
training can be provided to the employees that can be instrumental in the
assimilation of the ethnic groups in the organizations. This approach can be stated to
be fact-centred and it is on the basis of idea that ignorance gives rise to prejudice
among the people. The providing of the accurate information can augment the
awareness of the people in relation to the inappropriate past behaviour and it can
make them accept the people who are from the minority groups (Nachmias,
Aravopoulou and Caven 2019, p. 20). The workplaces can provide the natural
context for the positive inter-group contact that can lower the incidents of the racism
within the boundaries of the company. The inter-group contact can take place in the
incidental manner or it can be conscious developed with the help of various kinds of
activities. Work lunch room can be made use of as the potential site where the inter-
group contact takes place. The organization can take recourse to the strategy of the
job rotation that can enhance diversity of the work teams along with the committees.
There should be the monitoring in the company that can help the management in
being aware about the problems taking place in the organization and how they can
be addressed in the effective manner.
Wesfarmers have provided the diversity information with the help of its
website and it have addressed the issue of the racial diversity by taking recourse to
the suitable strategies. The company have the vision for the reconciliation which
wants to provide the equal opportunities for the people. The company ensures that
the Aboriginal along with the Torres Strait Islander people are provided the
opportunities which makes them feel valued as the employees, customers along with
the suppliers. The company have provided the information about sustainable
employment, career progression, indigenous procurement along with the celebration

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on the website that have revealed the inclusion opportunities that are provided by the
company (Wesfarmers.com.au 2020). The company have stated that it wants to
increase the number of the team members in the organization by another 1600 roles
and 800 will comprise of the indigenous high school students. The company have
supported the indigenous development of the indigenous team members that have
helped the company in addressing the issue of the racial diversity in the workplace.
The company have paid around $ 25 million to the indigenous suppliers that have
aided in the development of the indigenous business. The company have the
Building Outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Businesses (BOAB) that
have combined the grants that have aided in the growth of the indigenous suppliers.
The indigenous art can be stated to be a significant contribution of Australia in
relation to the world culture. The company have offered support to the indigenous
cultural organizations along with the artists over the course of the four decades that
have played an important role in the celebration of the indigenous culture.
Conclusion
The diversity issues exist in the organizations of Australia as they have the
tendency of hiring men above women and the men have more chances of being
promoted to positions of managers. Race-based discrimination is prevalent in the
companies of Australia and bullying and harassment is rampant in the organisations
of Australia. The indigenous Australians have to deal with the exclusion along with
the prospect of the unfair performance appraisal. Diversity programs can be used by
managers in the companies of Australia which can have a positive effect on the
cognitive abilities of the indigenous people. Wesfarmers have provided information
regarding the sustainable employment, indigenous procurement and career
progression of the indigenous people of Australia which have highlighted the
opportunities for the inclusion which are supported by the company.

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References
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