History of Cultural Diversity at Work
A Chronical of Diversity and Cross-cultural ManagementBy Joshua Gabel
In October 1988, Barbara Deane, a consultant and budding writer on intercultural issues, and Carlos Gil, a professor of Latin American history at the University of Washington (Seattle, Washington), teamed up to create a new type of journal. They wanted to focus on the intersections of culture and business, an intersection they had just experienced first-hand while conducting research for a year in Mexico. With the insight to know that business strategies and multicultural efforts go hand-in-hand, they saw the changing workforce demographics in the United States as a worthy place to begin.
Hoping to create a forum for dialogue and debate, they began publishing articles that demonstrated how better communication and management with an intercultural approach could improve the performance of an organization, both internally for its employees, and externally for its brand identity, its relations with customers and communities, even for global market opportunities.
Today, 18 years later, the journal, Cultural Diversity at Work, has evolved into one of the most popular and extensive diversity Web sites on the Internet, DiversityCentral.com. DiversityCentral features the largest archive of its kind, Cultural Diversity at work Archive (CDWA) a compilation of more than 1200 articles, tools and resources focusing on diversity management and cultural differences in the workplace.
This archive is the definitive chronicle of corporate and organizational efforts on diversity in the last decade of the 20th century. Going far beyond the stories of dissonance and conflict portrayed in the mainstream media, the articles present detailed, real-world solutions for creating corporate cultures that welcome all people. The articles identify the processes for implementing the management of diversity and the application of intercultural skills on a daily basis. Businesses of all kinds are learning that diversity represents a critical business issue. Knowing what to do about it requires strategy and know-how. This is exactly what Cultural Diversity at Work has provided - tools, best practices, methods, models, viewpoints, networking, strategies, and resources.
Early in the journal's development, its editors realized that diversity had to be positioned as a change strategy. When asked what diversity meant, the editors began explaining it as potential change on four levels:
- Personal development, the awareness and skills needed by managers and employees in a multicultural work environment;
- Team or group development, acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to field high-performing, multicultural teams;
- Organizational development, the steps and strategies for changing organizational cultures, systems, and practices so that they include all kinds of people and styles;
- External relations development, the recognition of and the ability to build solid relations with customers and suppliers, to attract talented and diverse employees, and to capture business opportunities with new customers and markets, global and domestic.
The journal's archive of articles addresses all four levels, often in one issue. For example, The article, "You Americans are so Arrogant," shows how the lack of skills at the Personal Level contributes to U.S. Americans being harangued for poor international relations. Another article, "Nordstrom Sets the Pace" demonstrates the External Relations Level - the Nordstrom company learned to respond when the Seattle African-American community charged a lack of employment opportunity and lack of relevancy in the chain's products and services.
Another issue that profiles eight CEOs and corporate officers combines both the Personal Level and the Organizational Level; the executives offered advice to peers about the leader's role in managing diversity. Other articles explain more Organizational Development issues, such as the best methods for multicultural recruiting, how organizations respond to behavior involving slurs and stereotypes, and the harassment of employees. Readers of the articles gain context and depth about how and why diversity management works. At the same time, readers delve into the potential changes required throughout the four developmental levels.
Cultural Diversity at Work journal played a unique role: It heralded the changes and shifts now becoming more commonplace in many companies and organizations. The business world is just beginning to leverage diversity and cross-cultural management as cornerstones for success in the 21st century. Many companies, however, still struggle. Some stand at the door of change wondering how best to develop and implement diversity strategies. Others have not even approached the door; they don't see the changes coming for their business or their workers.
The pioneers at Cultural Diversity at Work have helped create the questions and the issues that now shape the growing field of diversity and cross-cultural management. The collection of articles written and cultivated from among managers, consultants and diversity change agents has provided the content for organizational and professional development on diversity for the last 18 years. Cultural Diversity at Work is the only publication in existence with this kind of track record. It is now read worldwide by leaders interested in creating a highly productive and competitive workforce.
Today, the collection of articles published in Cultural Diversity at work and its Web site, DiversityCentral.com, is available in an online database, the CDW Archive. New articles and resources are published monthly on DiversityCentral.com. Visitors to the Web site, DiversityCentral.com, enjoy a variety of tools and resources to advance their organization's diversity efforts and increase their personal awareness and knowledge of cultural differences. One of the best ways to stay abreast of the latest trends, developments and processes for diversity and cross-cultural management is to subscribe to the Cultural Diversity at Work Archive.
Joshua Gabel was the Marketing/Advertising Coordinator for Diversity Central
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