How diverse is “diversity” to be?

As organizations realize the advantages of diversity in the workplace, there has been a greater emphasis on hiring more diversely. But what qualifies as a “diverse” workplace? Does it mean that employers are of a variety of different races and genders? Or does it mean they’ve had a variety of life experiences? Understanding diversity is the first important step towards having a more diverse workplace. It ensures that an organization’s approach to diversity is not tokenistic or superficial. The term diversity today is no longer limited to genders and races. At the outset of any diversity initiative, an organization needs to decide for itself how it will define diversity.

Diversity initiatives usually interpret the term ‘diversity’ in a narrow manner. The narrow definition limits the discussion to gender and disabilities. This can prove to be problematic. A narrow definition focusing only on a few visible characteristics is not only too exclusive but is also too closely linked to affirmative action. A narrow definition will also fail to accomplish long-term cultural change that focuses on utilizing the best talents of everyone, a primary objective for diversifying the workplace. It is indeed strange that the term has been interpreted in a narrow manner. After all, every individual is a unique blend of predispositions, experiences, skills, and education.

The word ‘diversity’ itself has a very wide and all-encompassing meaning. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines diversity as ‘the condition of having or being composed of differing elements’. Ideally, when talking about a workplace, diversity should be about recognising the differences in individuals and being positive about those differences and respecting them in the workplace. Such a “broad definition” of diversity allows an organization to include the many ways in which people identify themselves that are important and meaningful.

To understand how diverse identities can be it is important to categorize these for our understanding. The various diversities in the workplace can be put into three distinct categories:

1. Surface-level diversity: Diversity in the form of characteristics of individuals that are readily visible including, but not limited to, age, body size, visible disabilities, race or sex.
2. Deep-level diversity: Diversity in characteristics that are non-observable such as attitudes, values, and beliefs, such as religion.
3. Hidden Diversity: Diversity in characteristics that are deep-level but may be concealed or revealed at discretion by individuals who possess them, such as sexual orientation.

What falls within each of these three categories is ever-expanding. The number of factors that define diversity is truly unlimited. Having said that, there are 34 types of diversities that should commonly be considered while discussing diversity in the workplace.