Welcome back to another edition of the ComputerPeople Staffing blog! This month, we are taking the time to reflect on an important aspect of the work environment: diversity. Diversity is not a hard or soft skill you put on a resume, or something that should be taken lightly, but a unique attribute imbedded in every single person. Merriam-Webster defines diversity as “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements, especially, the inclusion of people of different races, cultures, etc. in a group or organization.”

There are several key examples of diversity. Age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, education, marital status, and disability are a few examples of diversity. You may be able to see diversity, but you are also able to hear it through other peoples experiences, and feel it through other peoples emotions.

In past years, diversity was not considered a highly important aspect in the workplace, resulting in groups of people being marginalized, while others got to climb the ladder and succeed. People of color, women, and LGBTQIA+ frequently face the more counts of discrimination, compared to people of Caucasian descent, men and straight/cisgender people. As time moved on, the United States began ushering in new federal laws to protect people against workplace discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, protects employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 protects men and women from sex-based wage discrimination in the payment of wages or benefits, who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), as amended, protects persons 40 years of age or older from age-based employment discrimination. These are a few examples of the progress made in our country to continue to protect individuals from discrimination in the workplace.

In today’s age, the United States and businesses have made great strides to protect people from the evils of workplace discrimination. Marginalized groups are now earning their rightfully deserved seat at the table, and moving up the ladder. While there is still more work to do, we can confidently say that there is unity in diversity, and that every person deserves to have a voice, a story, a goal, a vision, and a place in such company.

Before we wrap up, I leave you with some examples of what diversity means to a wide variety of bright minds and professionals!

“For me, diversity promotes the expression of individuality and encourages collaboration with people who have differernt backgrounds and perspectives and also provides a safe space for people to be themselves and bring their best version of themselves to work.” – Joshua Vantino, Leasing Professional

“To me, diversity in the workplace means the freedom to be my truest self. I think having a diverse workplace is important , because it fosters new ideas from many different viewpoints and perspectives. I believe this is necessary to help an organization stay modern and function smoothly.” – Connor Lloyd, Staffing Manager

“Diversity to me means not having any apprehension to people joining the team based on any bias. Our character and our skills should be prioritized over anything and I feel this is something that still needs reminding of to this day sadly.” – Dario Surphlis, Payment Admin

“I am thankful that my company embraces age diversity.  As one of the more senior employees, I often bring a different perspective than my younger colleagues and conversely, I learn a lot from my co-workers who were raised in a completely different generation.  Age diversity encourages fresh thinking and differing perspectives, which fosters positive collaboration in a team setting.” – Beth Courtney, Sr. Technical Sourcing Specialist

“Workplace diversity means showing black employees that they exist and belong; that they don’t have to overcompensate to achieve.” – Anthony Peoples II, Data Annotation Lead

“To me, diversity means the inclusion of people with different skin colors, genders, sexual orientations, and ethnic backgrounds. Ultimately, it’s bringing a group together with overall different qualities that make then who they are.” – Renee Hersperger, Associate Marketing Analyst

“To me, diversity in the workplace means that there is an environment where different backgrounds are embraced and new ideas are encouraged.” – Abigail Giambra, Senior IT Auditor

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Written by Jeff Weiss