Diversity Works
What is Diversity Works?
Diversity Works is a celebration each fall during which every workplace in the valley is invited to develop at least one activity that recognizes, promotes, or celebrates how diversity helps the organization achieve its mission. It is an outgrowth of the Partners for Workplace Diversity, an alliance of area organizations dedicated to developing successful diversity initiatives for their own needs and for the community at large. The Partners sponsor many programs, two of which provide an annual opportunity for community participation. Each fall, the Partners coordinate Diversity Works, and each spring they co-sponsor a conference with the YSU Williamson College of Business Administration and the Western Reserve Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. Periodic workplace diversity training for specific occupations and the general public is also provided.
" In a society of plurality and change, there may be no detailed moral consensus... but there can and must be a continuing conversation, joined by as many voices as possible, on what makes our society a collective enterprise, a community that embraces many communities."
J. Sacks, 1994
Ongoing Events
Spotlight on Diversity, The Partners for Workplace Diversity seek suggestions for, and information about programs, policies, or structures that foster workplace diversity and diversity competence in Valley workplaces (330.941.2350)
Diversity Defined
The Partners define and understand diversity in its broadest context, including diversity among employees, customers and suppliers etc. You are invited to participate in the opportunities this Partnership has to offer. Every individual brings multiple roles and identities to every interaction and each identity involves distinct values, talents and perspectives. Recognizing this range of perspectives and talents as assets and not problems is central to building an organization that enjoys the full range of market opportunities, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Goals of Diversity Works:
Recognize the competitive advantages of our diverse Valley for building teams, cooperation, and quality of work life.
Celebrate the unity and community of diverse talents, identities, values, and perspectives represented in Valley workplaces, markets, and communities.
Promote the contributions of employees and stakeholders to economic success and community growth.
Diversity In Your Workplace
You are invited to develop at least one activity in your workplace that addresses the goals for this event by demonstrating how diversity helps achieve mission effectiveness.
The Partners believe that recognizing the full variety of perspectives and talents as assets and not problems is central to building an organization that enjoys the full range of market opportunities, regionally, nationally, and globally.
Increase Awareness: Provide occasions to discuss how diversity among your customers, employees and partners in business is relevant to mission effectiveness by having company officers wear our logo and display our posters and/or your own materials
Provide Educational Opportunities: Join in existing educational programming at our workshops or provide internal training. Use October as kick-off opportunity for new policy, orientation, or customer service program.
Promote Diversity Activities of Others: Display our promotional materials and those of a group or organization whose diversity activities you are supporting by funds, volunteer activities or business functions. Choose from those groups you already support or contact us for suggestions.
Some Specific Examples :
-
Promote the success of your multi-functional teams in a series in your newsletter using the puzzle visuals
-
Create displays that show heritage of customers and employees.
-
Create a new mosaic featuring employees, customers and others, acknowledging their individual values, talents etc. as assets.
-
Salute your employees, customers and/or partners in business via newspaper or newsletter promotions.
-
Develop a shadowing program in which employees or possible future employees learn work activities of others in the workplace.
-
Create meals and other opportunities to celebrate heritage traditions, including information about values.
|
