There are various challenges to achieving diversity, ranging from the difficulties of defining the term to the individual, interpersonal, and organizational challenges involved in implementing diversity practices. Due to the rapidly increasing amount of diversity in varying countries and companies, achieving diversity is of extremely high business value.
Difficulty in Defining Diversity
Diversity can include elements across religion, gender, age, race, sexual orientation, disability status, and other related factors. It can also include work skills and personality types. There are many ways, therefore, that people can be categorized into different "groups," and so identifying what categorization is most useful can be challenging.
Identifying which components of diversity should be overtly emphasized and discussed, along with how to confine their definitions, is the first substantial challenge in diversity management.
Cognitive Biases and Stereotypes
Once the definition of diversity has been decided and its different elements have been prioritized, the organization faces challenges in incorporating different groups. One challenge of creating diversity is the various cognitive biases individuals in the organization may have about others similar to or different from them. This is essentially a tendency to stereotype, which significantly narrows the worldview of the individuals within the organization. This reduces all of the potential benefits of diversity and empowers groupthink.
Homophily
Another challenge is related to a social behavior called homophily—the tendency of individuals to associate with others who are similar to them. This tendency can manifest not only in the recruitment and hiring processes within organizations, but also in the informal socialization patterns of individuals within the firm. It is quite common for individuals of similar backgrounds or beliefs to form bonds, and use these bonds to create preferential group settings. Managers must tackle this challenge through awareness, promotion of grouping based on differences, and clever delegation.
Interpersonal Miscommunication and Conflict
Another challenge faced by organizations striving to foster a more diverse workforce is the management of a diverse population. Managing diversity is more than simply acknowledging differences in people. Managers must understand the customs and cultural predispositions of their subordinates and carefully ensure they do not violate crucial cultural rules. It is the role of the managers to change the existing organizational culture to one of diversity and inclusion.
Communication, be it via language or cultural signals, is also a critical challenge in the interpersonal arena. Ensuring that all professionals (human resources, management, etc.) have access to resources which can assist in localizing or translating issues is a significant challenge in many situations. Communication issues can create complex misinterpretations, which can reduce efficiency in the workplace.
Diversity takes careful consideration to implement effectively. Offsetting the challenges involved in growing more international is an important focal point for companies.