Annotated Bibliography
Empathetic leadership is important
Diversity and inclusion are often viewed as a program that belongs solely to the human resources department of an organization (Smulowitz, Becerra, & Mayo, 2019). However, every leader needs to indulge in the value of belonging both intellectually and emotionally for real change to happen. Diversity and inclusion policies of an organization thrive can mainly thrive when all the executives at the corporate level step up. Reddy (2019) stated that the structure of a company should ensure that the leaders are equipped to make the diversity story their own, feel it within themselves, and be able to explain why they care, why it matters, and why their direct reports should matter. Diversity on top-level leadership can give the company an outlook that other employees in the company can look up when performing their duties. For example, a management team that has an equal ethnic and gender balance can encourage women of different ethnic backgrounds to work hard for promotions because the company embraces a diverse leadership team which can improve the overall performance of employees.
A top-down approach is not enough
According to Guillaume, Dawson, Otaye‐Ebede, Woods, and West (2017), top-down approaches drive compliance and not engagement. From senior leaders to front line employees, each employee must see and recognize their position in the culture of the company by identifying differences in employee experience and values across the organization so that change can be made relevant to each individual. Diversity can make it easier to facilitate these changes hence avoiding frictions that the process might bring. Employees should be tasked with duties that they are comfortable with and with teams that complement each other. Putting up teams with people from different cultures and ethnicities will allow for innovation and diversification of ideas.
References
Guillaume, Y. R. F., Dawson, J. F., Otaye‐Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2040
Reddy, R. (2019). Liberal gender equality and social difference: An institutional ethnography. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 39(9/10), 680-694. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-06-2019-0114
Smulowitz, S., Becerra, M., & Mayo, M. (2019). Racial diversity and its asymmetry within and across hierarchical levels: The effects on financial performance. Human Relations, 72(10), 1671-1696. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718812602
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