What is diversity management?

Diversity management aims to create conditions in which everyone is respected. It should make sure that nobody is put at a disadvantage by unspoken norms, heteronormativity for example. It is about shaping language, benefits, team culture and leadership style so that no unintended exclusion takes place.

Diversity management is concerned with encouraging the social, cultural and ethnic diversity of employees, and it is an important element of a modern company culture. Origin, gender, age, physical disability, sexual orientation and religious affiliation all define the diversity of the people who work in a company. Diversity management meets these individual differences openly and, beyond that, highlights them positively and with appreciation. Application processes should rest on openness and non-discrimination and assess people solely on their competences, skills and talents. Where diversity management in companies used to be mainly about preventing discrimination on the grounds listed above and integrating so-called disadvantaged groups, the focus today is on building a heterogeneous workforce. Companies benefit from the different backgrounds of their specialists. Successful diversity management therefore offers a real opportunity to put the diversity of employees to work for the success of the business.

When did diversity management emerge?

In the United States, diversity management originally emerged in the 1960s as a socio-political women’s rights movement. Since the early 2000s, German, Austrian and Swiss companies have also been working harder on more diversity in the workplace. Here, though, diversity management is still in its early stages. That is why it matters that equal opportunity and openness keep being encouraged and become defining features of the selection process.

The benefits of diversity management

Diversity management for more variety

Successful diversity management needs people who actively shape diversity and recruit accordingly. That is exactly the job of diversity managers: they bring expertise in equality and inclusion and make sure that diversity in the company is not only visible but effective. That includes analysing how diverse the company actually is, in terms of origin, gender, age, religion or disability, among others. Questions such as «is our company accessible?» or «which unconscious biases influence our selection processes, and how do we deal with them?» are central too. The aim is to offer all employees the same development opportunities, regardless of individual characteristics.

Diversity increases the capacity to innovate

Numerous studies show it: companies that encourage diversity are more innovative, more creative and more successful economically. Teams with different backgrounds develop more perspectives, make better decisions and solve complex problems more efficiently. According to a McKinsey study from 2020, companies with high diversity at leadership level are up to 36 per cent more likely to be more profitable than average. Employee satisfaction rises as well, because people who feel seen, respected and included are more motivated and more engaged. At the same time, diversity management makes it easier to understand diverse customer groups, a decisive advantage in increasingly diverse markets.

Diversity in the workplace

A company that commits to diversity and stands clearly for equal opportunity and non-discrimination does not only benefit economically. Young talent tends to place a lot of weight on characteristics like these, so companies that are ethnically diverse and inclusive have a distinctly better chance of winning over top specialists. For recruiting, that mainly means standing up for diversity actively, defining objective selection criteria and adjusting the wording of job advertisements. Refline’s e-recruiting software is a reliable support here and frees up valuable resources for personal contact with potential employees. The right communication is indispensable too: senior staff, team leads and the management level in particular have to understand why diversity matters so much and what part diversity management plays in it. Only then is an open and diverse company culture achievable over the long term.

Diversity is not a trend, it is part of corporate responsibility

Diversity management should not be pursued because it happens to be in the media or political spotlight, or because it is fashionable, but because it is a central component of a modern company culture. It is not about symbolic politics or short-term reputation management, but about the deliberate decision to see diversity as an opportunity: for innovation, for better decisions, for broader perspectives and for a company culture in which people can bring in and develop their different backgrounds. Taking diversity seriously is a direct investment in the company’s ability to hold up in future.