HRM Systems for Diversity and Inclusion: An Australian Workplace Essay

This essay delves into the critical issues of diversity and inclusion within Australian workplaces, focusing on the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in fostering equitable and inclusive environments. The essay highlights prevalent challenges such as gender inequality, age discrimination, and racism, examining their implications on employee productivity, morale, and organizational success. It emphasizes the importance of inclusive practices, training, and strategic alignment to address these issues. The paper explores the ethical dimensions of discrimination and its impact on employee well-being and organizational performance. It also offers a comprehensive analysis of how HRM systems can be designed to promote diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunities for all employees, irrespective of their age, gender, caste, or other differentiating factors. The essay underscores the need for leadership commitment and proactive measures to create a positive and productive work environment, ultimately contributing to the overall growth and development of Australian organizations. This is a past paper available on Desklib for students to learn and understand the topic better.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 1
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 2
Introduction
The diversity and inclusion in work places are common issues of the organizations in
Australia. There is diversity in every organization or the company of work place but these
companies actually lack the acceptance of the same towards the people or the members of the
organization (Ali, & French, 2019). Many organizations undergo through the issues where all the
employees of the organization are not treated fairly. The mal-treated employees are not given the
equal opportunity as the other employees and their consideration in the organization is neglected.
The differences or the inequality is majorly accounted to the sex differences, age gaps, racism,
caste difference etc. these are the basic concerns, which promote the unjustified behavior in the
organization, by the other employees of the company (Bernstein, et al, 2019). It is found that this
type of behavior is mostly common in the Australian companies or the firms, where the
employees are not treated properly and are exposed to the unjustified behavior in the
organizations of Australia. The term inclusion in diversity refers to the acceptance of the people
of the diversified communities belonging to different caste, age, gender, or country, should be
given relevance in the organization. For instance- Accenture global consulting firm has
association with more than three quarters of the fortune 500, and serves customers of over 140
countries (Brimhall, & Mor Barak, 2018). The workforce demographics of the company includes
36.8% of the women employees, 63.2% of the male employees and considering the ethnicity,
49.6% of the employees are Caucasian, 32.2% of the employees are Asians, 7.6% are Hispanic,
7.9% are the African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 2.3% of two
or more races (Accenture, 2019). This actually represents the inclusion and diversity of an
organization where every employee is given the equal opportunity irrespective of where he/she
belongs to.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 3
Ethical Issues
The major issue most of the organizations is the gender inequality prevailing in the
organizations as the male employees of the organization are not willing to listen to the orders
provided by the female employees of the organization and do not consider the order proceeded
from the female employees (Butler-Henderson, et al, 2018). This type of behavior should not be
encouraged in any of the organizations as the working of system gets disturbed and it affects the
team morale of the organization adversely. There should be clear awareness regarding the rules
and policies of the organization to the employees and the penalties in order to control
unacceptable behavior exercised by certain employees of the company. (Butler-Henderson, et al,
2018). The major issue surviving in most of the organizations is the unjustified behavior towards
employees based on age of the different employees severe penalties are imposed on the members
indulging in such kind of a behavior in the organization as the employees should not feel
encouraged to repeat the mistake in the future. The firms should promote the involvement of all
kinds of people into the organization to promote the inclusion in diversity (Egan, 2018).
The training part of the job should include etiquettes to make sure that the employees are
not willing to repeat the same anytime in the future (Gates, Rich, & Blackwood, 2019). The
employees should be taught this at the time training to make sure, that these mistakes are not
repeated in the future (Gibson, & Fernandez, 2018). The major aspects of the discrimination are
taking place against the women in the organization. The males dominate the female employees
of the organization to work according to their schedules and timings, which are definitely not
possible for the women employees to accept as a part of behavior from the male employees of
the company (Groutsis, O'Leary, & Russell, 2018). The other major issues on the part of the
employees of the company might include the discrimination on the basis, of the caste and racism

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 4
in the organization. The discrimination undertaken on such grounds is also illegal in the work
places according to the general rules regarding any kind of discrimination undertaken by the
employees of the company. The females are, provided with certain rights to exercise in case of
discrimination or unjustified behavior is exercised in the organization. The most common type of
discrimination prevailing in the organizations is the age gap differentiation in various
organizations and is considered the most normalized form of discrimination or the differentiation
prevailing in the organizations in Australia.
One of the cases of the related issue is about the, “Corinne Brown one of the job seekers
looking around for a job as she was leadership trainee, with 40 years of experience in the field
and aged around 58 years old, but could not get considered even for an interview”. She felt
disappointed but still used to apply for at least 40 to 50 jobs per month hoping to get at three for
the selection despite holding such long experience of work (Martin, et al, 2014). Some of the
replies from one of the companies said that the oldest employee in the organization is around 35
and the company is too young to hire such old employees for the job vacancies in their
organization. The age discrimination has left many more talented persons behind by not giving
them the consideration due to the age they hold. Many organizations are deprived of such talents,
which might give their organizations a huge pace to grow with the kind of skillset they carry or
own (Murphy, 2018). Another such case is of Gary martin, which says, “the corporates speak
that you’re too old”, professor Gary Martin has heard off the comments from various
organizations, which include the excuses like over qualified for the type of job offered to get rid
of the aged employees in the organization. These types of cases counter to the age discrimination
relevance in the organizations, and the measures to these are the positive approach towards the
aged employees or the job seekers and consideration of their talent and skills for the vacant job

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 5
positions in the companies (Ng, & Sears, 2018). The strategic alignment for this issue is the
workplace must include the diversified people in the organization and must recruit include train,
develop, and lead people of every community irrespective of the age, caste, gender and racism or
any other basis on which the employees of the organization are mal-treated and face unjustified
behavior (Page, 2019).
Implications
These issues affect the productivity of the organization adversely as these affect the
mental ability of the employee to work in the organization and to survive with the deadlines
provided for the targets of the company (Johnson, et al, 2019). The productivity is hampered as
this kind of behavior contributes to the wastage of time on the part of employees thinking about
how to overcome these issues (Keith, & Griffiths, 2019). The leaders of the organization are
responsible for eradicating such kind of behavior in the organization. The leadership skills of the
organization help to modify the working environment of the company for better results and
enhanced productivity on the side of the employees (Li, et al, 2006). There are certain activities,
which can be considered by the organizations to be initiated in the companies to eradicate the
discrimination issues prevailing in the organization. Certain programs and workshops are helpful
to inform women or the female employees of the organization about their voting rights which
they can exercise in the work places if any kind of unjustified behavior is undertaken towards
them (Loretto, & White, 2006). The working systems of the companies should focus on these
issues as they affect the profitability of the company adversely.
The policies, practices, and attitudes of certain organizations are reflected on their
recruitment practices. They tend to avoid the recruitment and selection of employees with old

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 6
age. This gives the encouragement to the discrimination based on the age of workers willing to
work for the desired organization but are deprived of the opportunity leading to the age they hold
(Serrat, et al, 2018). The organizations also discriminate the existing workers in the organization
regarding the issues like pay and rewards in the organization as they consider that old workers
would not be able to work their best, give their 100% to the organization, and perceive that they
do not possess the capabilities to fulfill the responsibilities they hold. As a result, the
organizations decrease or reduce their pay or the rewards they deserve based on their age factor
despite of the capabilities they actually have to provide to organization for its development
(Shaw, 2019). The perceptions and the policies of certain organizations regarding the acceptance
of the aged workers consider the fact that these add value to their organization regardless of the
age. The employers also consider the capacities and the aspirations of the workers towards the
organizations and the sustainability of the employability of the employees at the work places
(Sherbin, & Rashid, 2017).
The age discrimination is the companies also act as hindrance for the old people to generate
income. The organization refuse to accept their skills because of the age factor and they are left
without a job despite the abundance of the talent they own which can give the organization a new
pace for the development with the experienced working towards the job vacancy. The aged
people are likely to have more experience than the young employees and that can be used by the
developing companies in better decision-making as experience enhances the decision-making
process of the organization in any organization. Consideration of the talent of the old employees,
as this will provide the old people a chance to develop a source of income. Using the talent and
skills they possess in the manner they want to contribute towards the organization and enhance
the profits of the same. The companies demand work experience while recruiting employees for

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 7
the job vacancy. If the experience holders are neglected because of the age factor the chances of
growth and development will fall to zero. In order to promote the benefits of both the parties the
consideration of the talented old people is very significant for both the parties.
Diversity can never stick without inclusion in the organization, as the diverse culture in
the organization cannot sustain without the inclusion of every employee from different
communities working in the organization. This demands the correct leadership skills possessed
by the leaders of the company to maintain the teamwork and the acceptance of people of the
diversified communities as a part of the company or the organization. This helps to establish the
positive work environment in the organization and the motivation for the future growth and
development of the company both internally and externally in the market. The research studies
depict that the employees who are discriminated in the organization reflect negative
consequences on the commitment towards the company and tend to retire early because of the
negative impact of the discrimination on their mental state and towards the organization they are
working. The employees of the organization feel demotivated because of the changes in the
working system of the organization. This affects the morale of the employees of the company
and makes them compel to retire early from the employability.
Inclusiveness in the diversity of the organization is the only measure to eradicate the issues
of differentiation among the employees of the organization over various aspects or the concerns
involving the age, gender, sexuality, and caste. This effect on the morale of the employees is
adverse and leads to the negative results in the organization. The differences among the
employees of the company are a major issue in the company as the productivity of the company
and hence the profits and growth of the organization are affected. The leaders of the organization
should make continuous efforts for the sustainability of the inclusive culture of the diversity in

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 8
the company. Enhances the work ability of the employees as the workers are at mental peace and
focus on the positive side of the working environment as they strive to work hard and contribute
towards the growth and development of the organization. The acceptance of the diverse culture is
the key solution to the problem of discrimination in the companies. The communication style of
the companies should not be complex and should have easy system to have access to
communicate to the upper level management leaders of the organization. The employees should
have the right to take action against such issues prevailing in the organization (West, et al, 2018).
Conclusion
The discrimination in the organizations is a common issue in the current scenario
many organizations have promoted the laws for the safe and healthy environment in their
organization. The companies have now enforced certain rules describes that any kind of
unjustified misbehavior undertaken by any of the employee holds the penalty of the job
termination from the company and the employee accused of involving in the crime will be
blacklisted across the world and will not be employed by any of the organizations in the future.
These strict laws and regulations are undertaken almost by all the multinational companies to
avoid such kind of behavior prevailing in the organization. With the implementation of these
kinds of laws the working system of the organizations will improve and will contribute increased
productivity and better results leading to growth and development of the organization. The
government of Australia has issued certain laws and regulations regarding the discrimination
continuing in the organizations. The laws and regulations formulated by the government has
provided a safe and acceptable culture in the companies for the employees and these provide the
rights to the employees to complaint against the unjustified behavior of the members of the
company towards the discriminative community of the work place. The company should focus

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 9
on the diverse culture inclusion to enhance the productivity and the profitable aspects of growth
of the company. The diverse workforce in the organization contributes to the economic growth
helps to get a greater share in the market against the competitors of the company. Diversity also
promotes the qualified work force in the organization as talents in a diverse cultural company
welcome talent from every community of the society irrespective of the caste, race, gender or
age. The team spirit or the collaborative efforts of the companies help to gain the competitive
advantage over the competitors of the market.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 10
References
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https://www.accenture.com/us-en/company-us-diversity#block-our-workforce-
demographics-united-states
Ali, M., & French, E. (2019). Age diversity management and organisational outcomes: The role
of diversity perspectives. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(2), 287-307.
Bernstein, R. S., Bulger, M., Salipante, P., & Weisinger, J. Y. (2019). From Diversity to
Inclusion to Equity: A Theory of Generative Interactions. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-
16.
Brimhall, K. C., & Mor Barak, M. E. (2018). The critical role of workplace inclusion in fostering
innovation, job satisfaction, and quality of care in a diverse human service
organization. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership &
Governance, 42(5), 474-492.
Butler-Henderson, K., Kemp, T., McLeod, K., & Harris, L. (2018). Diverse gender, sex and
sexuality: Managing culturally safe workplaces. HIM-Interchange, 8(3), 10-14.
Chen, C., & Tang, N. (2018). Does perceived inclusion matter in the workplace?. Journal of
Managerial Psychology, 33(1), 43-57.
Egan, M. (2018). LGBTI staff, and diversity within the Australian accounting profession.
Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 9(5), 595-614.
Gates, T. G., Rich, T., & Blackwood, R. (2019). Workplace friendships among social work,
counseling, and human service educators: Exploring the impact of sexual orientation and

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 11
friendships in workplace empowerment. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 34(1),
20-37.
Gibson, S., & Fernandez, J. (2018). Gender diversity and non-binary inclusion in the workplace:
The essential guide for employers. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Groutsis, D., O’Leary, J., & Russell, G. (2018). Capitalizing on the cultural and linguistic
diversity of mobile talent: lessons from an Australian study. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 29(15), 2231-2252.
Johnson, M., Douglas, M., Grumbach, K., Muramoto, M., Ramanathan, A., Wilson, B., ... &
Davis, A. (2019). ADVANCING DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND HEALTH EQUITY
TO THE NEXT LEVEL. The Annals of Family Medicine, 17(1), 89-89.
Keith, L., & Griffiths, W. (2019). Science festivals and diversity: Human centred design as a
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Li, Y., Perera, S., Kulik, C. T., & Metz, I. (2019). Inclusion climate: A multilevel investigation
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perceptions of policies and practices for training older workers. Ageing & Society, 34(6),
992-1018.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 12
Murphy, W. (2018). Distinguishing Diversity from Inclusion in the Workplace: Legal Necessity
or Common Sense Conclusion?. The Journal of Business Diversity, 18(4), 65-83.
Ng, E. S., & Sears, G. J. (2018). Walking the talk on diversity: CEO beliefs, moral values, and
the implementation of workplace diversity practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-14.
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Shaw, S. (2019). The chaos of inclusion? Examining anti-homophobia policy development in
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Sherbin, L., & Rashid, R. (2017). Diversity doesn’t stick without inclusion. Harvard Business
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DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 13
Appendices
PBL Template
Facts: What are the
facts about the
scenario?
Ideas: What are
relative ideas
regarding the same?
Learning: What do
you need to know
more about?
Actions: How are
you going to find out
more?
The facts regarding
Diversity and
Inclusion comprises
of the discrimination
of several employees
of the organizations
based on age, caste,
gender, race, etc. but
the common issue
concerned here is the
discrimination of the
employees of the
organization based on
age.
The relative ideas in
concern of the issue
are these employees,
are not even offered
or considered for the
job vacancies, as the
leaders do not want to
them to be the part of
their organization
because of their age
factor.
Many of the
Australian firms or
the organizations
follow the practices of
discriminative
policies over issue the
age issue of the
employees. However,
with enforcement of
certain laws regarding
the job interest of the
employees is
protected in the
organizations.
By conducting, more
research on the issue
and leading to the
results about what
laws should be
implemented in order
to eradicate this issue
of the concerned
organization.