Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Diversity in the Work Force:

Lessons from the South Florida Case

To: YALI – Washington Fellowsby: Fiacre Bienvenu

June 24, 2014

Outline

1. Dynamics of ethnic diversity and segregation in SF

2. Scholarly explanations

3. Issues for future4. Discussion

3 Points to Ponder

• When does multiculturalism (ethnicity) enable conflict and when does it inhibit it?

• How does ethnic diversity in the U.S. compare to Africa?

• Can workplace be a good tool for managing diversity in Africa? How?

Conceptual disclaimer

• Definitional limitations: – Race, Ethnicity, Identity,

Diversity• Lend themselves to

multiple interpretations and usage• Substance varies in time

and space

• Quid diversity?

Miami:Hyperdiverse or Hypersegregated?

Geo-locating Miami

Hyperdiversity: Elsewhere vs Miami• At least 9.5% of the developed world

population is foreign born (this is the average % of foreign-born stock for developed countries according to the United Nations)– Miami: 51%

• no one country of origin accounts for 25 percent or more of the immigrant stock; and

• immigrants come from all regions of the world.

Miami2,496,435

Non-Hispanic African descent425,650

19%

Other Hispanic

31%

“Anglo”383,551

15%

Cuban860,000

35%

<1994559,00

65%

Haitian 120,000

AA

Car150,000

CA212,542

SA273,542

>1994301,000

35% Other142,000

Hyperdiversity: Elsewhere vs Miami• At least 9.5% of the developed

world population is foreign born (this is the average % of foreign-born stock for developed countries according to the UN)– Miami: 51%

• no one country of origin accounts for 25 percent or more of the immigrant stock; and

• immigrants come from all regions of the world.

Hypersegregation in Miami• High degree of

spatial/geographical segregation (Massey/Denton, 1989)– Five dimensions: evenness,

exposure, clustering, centralization, and concentration

– Segregation in all five dimensions = hypersegregation

• The Black communities of Miami are hypersegregated but not the Hispanic communities

Three indices of segregation

• Dissimilarity index: spatial concentration of a group. A high value indicates that the two groups tend to live in different neighborhoods.

• Exposure Index: exposure to members of other groups.

• Isolation Index: degree that groups are isolated from each other. Higher number = more isolation.All indices use 0-100 scale and higher the value signifies greater segregation.

Ethnic dissimilarity in Miami

Ethnic exposure in Miami

Ethnic isolation in Miami

Mutually exposed still separated?

16

17

18

Behind this exception?

• What keeps the city moving on in spite of profound and isolating dissimilarities?

Factors subverting conflicts• Hispanics are everywhere, not

isolated from other Hispanics but from other people

• African Americans live in their own neighborhoods but see others at work

• Work sites are venues where commonalities and other work related conflicts are not visible:– Construction: – Restaurants: – Garment (& manufacturing):

Emerging macro theories• Social capital (Putnam 1993, Fukuyama 2001,

Tocqueville 1956):– Ability to converge for common goal– Differences/conflicts are rationalized

• Contact hypothesis (Allport 1954):– The more contact, the more chance to

tolerate (or proximity effect).• Social identity theory (MA Hogg 2006) in Psie:

– If isolated, less likely you’ll get rid of isolationist thinking. Self-conception

• Bureaucracy (Barenberg 1994; Cheney 1995):– Creates an equal plainfield for all

(perfunctory rules applying for all)– Workplace efficiently manages, maintains,

and controls open conflicts with these macro social forces

Drawing Lessons for Africa

1. Can workplaces become conflict-

mitigating venues in Africa? How and why?

Group Work

2. Discuss ways in which ethnic diversity can

become conducive for Africa’s progress?

3. Can increased intra-Africa migrations

dissolve both internal and trans-national

conflicts? How and why?

Revisiting Africa’s Identity

• Rich and complex– Imperial segmentation:

• Anglophones• Francophones• Lusophones• Hispanophoes

– Indigenous segmentation• Yoruba, • Housas• Peuls • Malinkes, • Linguistic attributes: 1000s of

Africas

• Conclusion– Is so far as ethnic groups

remain pervasive in African societies, it poses a real threat to progress.

3 Points to Remember

1. Bureaucracy cannot work if the degree of conflicts is very high

2. The primary role of HR/workplace is ‘production’

3. Bureaucracy role (in mitigating ethnic differences/conflict) is not the most important factor; it is a factor.

• Is Diversity in the U.S. Challenge-free?

Questions?

Thank you!