A call to all managers: how you can create a diverse workplace.

November 2002

The Buzz

At Catalyst, we know that every manager has a role--as well as an investment--in creating environments in which all employees, including women, can contribute fully and have the opportunity to advance. In this issue of Perspective, Catalyst tells you and all managers throughout your organization how to participate actively in creating inclusive workplaces by becoming "champions" of diversity. It just makes good business sense.

In our work with companies and firms, Catalyst finds that managers often feel that they do not play a major part in promoting women's advancement--or that diversity is an issue for human resources professionals alone. But we know that successful diversity efforts require the support and action of all employees--and that, in fact, your role as a manager is especially critical.

Catalyst President Sheila Wellington explains that as part of your day-to-day managerial responsibilities. you make decisions that shape the career paths of your employees. "It is your decisions regarding hiring, promotions, and lateral moves--as well as your willingness to take risks with people who are different--that determine whether or not women get advancement opportunities," Ms. Wellington said. "These decisions establish the patterns of who works for and with your organization to accomplish diversity objectives." To benefit from inclusive work environments, as a manager, you must challenge organizational patterns and make change. As a result, you will not only improve your organization, but will also reap business and personal benefits as well (see box).

The Benefits of Promoting Diversity

As a champion of diversity, you can reap the following
personal and business benefits:

* Maximized team performance and innovation by ensuring
that people of various backgrounds--each with their own
unique perspectives, ideas, and experiences--are included.

* Ability to attract new customers and clients by
understanding and responding to needs of a more diverse
range of customers.

* Opportunities to further your career by demonstrating
how well you can manage diverse work teams and marshal
staff resources to help your company succeed.

* A sense of personal satisfaction from helping your
organization and employees maximize their potential.

Action Steps

Once you understand your role in championing diversity, you need to put your commitment in action. By asking pointed questions, examining accepted ways of thinking, and exploring practices and policies that may be exclusionary, you can make a difference--one manager at a time. Follow the action steps below to get started:

Be informed and aware. Examine and challenge any stereotypes and preconceptions you may hold about people's interests, skills, and abilities. Assess behaviors that are based on gender and race/ethnicity dynamics. Formulate your own views about the barriers that exist and determine how you can address them.

Develop people of all backgrounds. Create mentoring opportunities for all your employees--including women, and in discussing career planning, have high expectations for all your staff. Evaluate current job performance with a focus on outcomes. Give employees frequent and useful feedback about their performance along with discussions about short- and long-term career goals.

Be a role model. Publicly commit to diversity and women's advancement by communicating clear and frequent messages about that commitment. Support the use of flexible work arrangements; exercise flexibility yourself and let others know you are doing so. Once you commit to behaving more inclusively, invite your staff to hold you accountable, and request regular updates and feedback sessions with them.

Spotlight 

Managers at the Northern Trust Company recognize the competitive advantage of a diverse workforce. In 2000, Northern Trust won the Catalyst Award for its initiative Sustained Leadership Commitment: Diversity at Work. In addition to general diversity training required for all employees, the initiative includes a specialized program that is designed to teach exemplary skills for managing a diverse workforce and is mandatory for all managers. Managers are also held accountable for the success of the initiative. They are expected to submit goals concerning the hiring of a diverse group of employees, and their past performance in this regard is evaluated. Also, managers are taught about the tools available for development and retention of talented staff and are expected to use them. To this end, 25 percent of managers' annual increase in compensation is linked to their performance as "people managers." To ensure proactive diversity behaviors get factored into this equation, goals identified during the managers' diversity training program get incorporated into the formal appraisal process.

To learn more about how you can create an inclusive work environment, check out Catalyst's new Making Change series at www.catalystwomen.org.

With this issue of Perspective Catalyst recognizes

Deloitte & Touche LLP PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP Vinson & Elkins  LLP

Sponsors of recent Making Change publications