Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/52321
Defining Diversity Five different forms of diversity mark the EU workplace— and businesses must be prepared to address them all. BY RICHARD WYNNE Europe is serious about the issue of diversity at work. Recent years have seen the EU Commission pass nationally binding directives that deal with racial equality and equality in employment, and cur- rently there is discussion about a new directive aimed at combating discrimination. Two important factors have made diversity hiring an impera- tive in Europe: The aging of the population has guaranteed that fewer young employees are entering the workforce every year; and the expansion of the European Union has brought a host of new popula- tions into the economy. European businesses must learn how to hire and retain diverse employees or find themselves without enough workers to keep their operations running. For many people, the word "diversity" is shorthand for "eth- nic diversity," but in fact, there are many ways that people differ from one another. And it is unfor- tunately true that people with both visible and invisible differences tend to be discriminated against in the workplace. There are at least five major forms of diversity, and businesses that want diverse workforces must find ways to accommodate them all. For that to happen, business schools must train their future leaders to recognize workers from these five groups and understand how they can enrich the workplace. 32 January/February 2012 BizEd 1. Older workers. Despite ambi- tious targets agreed upon by EU governments, only five coun- tries—the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Luxem- bourg—had employment rates above the target of 70 percent for older workers in 2010. Employers sometimes hesitate to hire older individuals, fearing that they will be too slow, resistant to new tech- nology, and frequently sidelined with health issues. But these workers will become increasingly valuable to European businesses as birth rates change and fewer young people enter the workforce. Older workers are valu- able employees because their long ers. Another is to give them tasks that are creative and meaningful. In the right kind of work environment, older workers can remain employed and useful for a very long time. 2. Members of ethnic minorities. Data from the 2008 Employment in Europe report shows that there are significantly lower levels of employ- ment among immigrants than native populations. The gap varies from as little as 6 percent in Greece to as high as 15 percent in Denmark, and in many areas the situation has deteriorated since 2007. There are many reasons for the disparity. Some employers don't want to hire minorities because European businesses must learn how to hire and retain diverse employees or find themselves without enough workers to keep their operations running. work history usually means they possess institutional knowledge and experience, they're skilled at conflict resolution, and they are familiar with many different solu- tions for specific problems. Companies can retain these workers by keeping them healthy, productive, motivated, and involved. One way to utilize their skills and keep them engaged is to turn them into coaches who share their fund of knowledge with oth- they're uncomfortable with such workers or fear current employees will be; others don't know how to retain these workers once they're hired. But a major reason is that people in ethnic minorities often have to travel "a larger distance to the labor market." That is, they're held back because they don't have the right educational background, might not speak the language, or they're uncomfortable with the cor- porate culture.