Diversity & Inclusion Michelle Ross

Definitions Diversity – “a difference between people, for

example, in race, age, gender, disability, geographic

origin, family status, education, or personality, that

can affect workplace relationships and achievement.

Diversity management aims to value these

differences and encourage each person to fulfill his or

her potential in terms of organizational objectives.

The approach goes beyond equal opportunities,

which stresses the rights of particular disadvantaged

groups rather than those of the individual.”

(“Diversity”, 2007a, p. 2489.)

Inclusion - “a strategy to leverage diversity.

Leveraging diversity requires an environment where

people feel heard and supported to do their personal

best. Diversity always exists in social systems.

Inclusion, on the other hand, must be created.”

(United Way of Mat-Su, 2011).

University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences

Benefits

• Better utilization of employee talents

• Greater employee satisfaction

• Greater customer satisfaction

• Increased creativity and innovation

• Better decision-making

• Enhanced corporate reputation

• Better performance

(“Diversity”, 2007)

Best Management Practices

“1.Top leadership commitment - a vision of diversity

demonstrated and communicated throughout an

organization by top-level management.

2. Diversity as part of an organization's strategic

plan - a diversity strategy and plan that are developed

and aligned with the organization's strategic plan.

3. Diversity linked to performance - the

understanding that a more diverse and inclusive work

environment can yield greater productivity and help

improve individual and organizational performance.

4. Measurement - a set of quantitative and qualitative

measures of the impact of various aspects of an overall

diversity program.

5. Accountability - the means to ensure that leaders

are responsible for diversity by linking their performance

assessment and compensation to the progress of

diversity initiatives.

6. Succession planning - an ongoing, strategic

process for identifying a diverse talent pool and

developing them into an organization's potential future

leaders.

7. Recruitment - Has process of attracting a supply of

qualified, diverse applicants for employment.

8. Employee involvement - employee's contributions

in driving diversity throughout an organization.

9. Diversity training - organizational efforts to inform

and educate management and staff about diversity's

benefits to the organization”

(Kreitz, 2008, p. 103)

Importance of Diversity & Inclusion in Libraries

Libraries serve diverse populations, so it

is imperative that a library’s staff is also

diverse. An inclusive library workplace

creates an inclusive library environment for all patrons. (Gulati, 2010, p. 290)

References

Diversity. (2007a). Bloomsbury business library - Business & management dictionary, 2489.

Diversity. (2007b). The a to z of corporate social responsibility. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyazcsr/diversity.

Gulatii, A. (2007). Diversity in librarianship: The United States perspective. IFLA Journal, 36(4), 288-293. doi: 10.1177/0340035210388244.

Kreitz, P. (2008). Best practices for managing organizational diversity. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 34(4), 101-120.

United Way of Mat-Su (2011). Diversity and Inclusion. Retrieved from http://www.unitedwaymatsu.org/diversity.php.

Image Sources Tulsa Area Human Resources Association. [Diversity and inclusion photograph]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.tahra.org/diversity-amp-inclusion_id59.html.

University of Pittsburgh. [University logo]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.pitt.edu/.

University of Pittsburgh. [School of Information Sciences logo]. (2011). Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pittsburgh_School_of_Information_Sciences.