Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies. Dr. Shirley Davis

place to work” environments, which may lead to job hopping.

       You know how a smartwatch can track your steps and health activity? Imagine sensors that employers can use monitor employees, not just at work but all the time

       Driverless cars may make commuting faster.

Increasingly Global

      Globalization occurs when a business operates in a country outside its original location. Globalization allows for business growth because it provides a platform for companies to offer products in many locales, regions, and countries. Labor costs and the price of manufacturing vary all over the globe, and countries often offer economic incentives such as tax breaks and land grants to win international business. Expanding to another country presents an opportunity to employ labor from that particular location, which means an opportunity for cultural additions and diversity education.

      As companies expand their global footprints, their global workforces expand as well. But this process isn’t as simple as it may sound. Essentially, successful global expansion hinges on the following:

       Knowledge management: What does the company know about the countries it wants to expand to or the country where it employs workers? How is the company utilizing that information?

       Skillfulness and acumen: How is the organization using its data analytics to develop and execute strategy for the production stream, operations, and people management?

       Agility: How quickly and appropriately is the company responding to market changes across the globe? And is your workforce mobile (can employees work from anywhere and move quickly)?

      Capturing and then strategically utilizing appropriate data is an important factor in effective global expansion. This data should reveal information about the organization and its market. Also, optimizing your data infrastructure is something to consider when expanding globally. What are your current and future IT needs, and how will a transition to the cloud impact those needs while allowing you to grow?

      Another important factor is having in-country talent and a knowledge base that ensures your organization’s ability to enter or exit a market as business needs change. Establishing partnerships and alliances in the people management and talent development space allows you to meet human resource needs such as hiring, payroll, and performance management.

      

Many of today’s employees want the ability to live anywhere and work anywhere.

So how do you then attract the best talent from anywhere in the world to work anywhere in the world? Following are three important considerations for hiring globally:

       Establish a legal presence in the locale through a foreign subsidiary.

       Hire an independent contractor from overseas. This approach may be a more viable option until you’re ready for a direct hire.

       Manage compliance. Adhering to local and national laws of operations is essential, and to do so, you need talent onboard to manage this area.

      If you’re interested in recruiting talent to work globally, here are a few tips:

       Provide the employee with a “best place to work” experience, beginning with the recruitment and onboarding processes.

       Provide a diverse work community.

       Establish excellent corporate social responsibility practices.

       Offer comprehensive and competitive benefits and services.

       Allow for flexibility in how and when workers work and get paid.

Increasingly Diverse

      With increased globalization comes an increasingly diverse workforce. Five generations are currently in the workplace (seniors, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, and Generation Z), with millennials and Gen Zers making up approximately 50 percent of the workforce. Add gender, race, ability, LGBTQ identity, diversity of thought, and many other attributes, and you’re looking at an intricate mosaic of individuals.

      In this section, I break down in more detail some examples of how diverse groups will change and what specific challenges organizations will need to address. This is not an exhaustive list, but the implications for these groups can be applied to all diverse groups.

      Generational diversity

The biggest demographic shift impacting the diverse workforce is generational diversity. Because people are living longer and healthier lives, they’re also working much longer, past the average retirement age of 65. In fact, the United Kingdom recently removed its mandatory retirement age of 65. In the United States, millennials make up 50 percent of the workforce, and that number is expected to reach 75 percent by 2030.

      Although people are living and working longer, baby boomers are just now retiring from the traditional full-time workplace. In addition, Gen Xers are looking toward retiring the 40- to 60-hour workweek for more much more flexibility in how and when they work. That makes sense, because Gen Xers are now the in-between generation caring for aging parents and raising children.

      With that said, considering how the generational shift will impact your workplace is important. For instance, do you have succession plans and promotion plans in place?

      

An organization’s competitive advantage often boils down to its human capital — in other words, the people who possess the knowledge, skills, and experience needed in the company. So think of the diversity landscape as a garden of talent that needs to be cultivated. Cultivation takes foresight, planning, execution, and a desired outcome for the growing talent harvest. Think about what your executable plans for growing your talent are.

      You can also utilize the following tips toward the shifting aging workforce:

       Make the most of workers’ skillsets through efficient and productive work design.

       Maintain skilled leaders and managers who can effectively lead across generations.

       Deal with conflict by managing it fairly, communicatively, and equitably.

       Foster an inclusive environment that demonstrates value for all ages and the dimensions of diversity.

      The huge demographic shift of the aging workforce has the potential to disrupt the productive flow of the workplace. But it also provides an opportunity for lesson-learning and adapting so that the workplace can flourish by gleaning from the top talent aging toward retirement and cultivating the talent in the middle and beginning of the career path.

      Gender diversity

Gender diversity is often the first aspect of change within the diversity, equity, and inclusion space. Companies tend to begin their DEI work by increasing the gender diversity within management and leadership roles. According to a 2020 McKinsey & Company study, companies whose leadership was gender and culturally diverse financially outperformed their peers. The study found that companies with more women in its executive ranks were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies with less females in its executive ranks.

      The broken rung

      McKinsey & Company’s Women in the Workplace 2020 Report found that although women are outpacing men in terms of earning degrees, the disparity in pay and leadership positions in organizations still remains. In fact, the progress toward pay equity is slow. To this point, the United States acknowledges an Equal Pay Day every year to bring light and action toward pay equity for women