“We’ve got another lawsuit,” my friend and client Lana* told me over the phone. “Really?” I was honestly surprised. “What about all that div
It's a few years old, but the PDF linked in the above article is worth the time to read it for anyone who is interested in diversity training, workplace culture and discrimination, management, or evaluation of different approaches to addressing large cultural issues.
Some highlights;
"The good news is that companies that give diversity councils, or diversity managers, responsibility for getting more women and minorities into good jobs typically see significant increases in the diversity of managers. So do companies that create formal mentoring programs. Much less effective are diversity training sessions, diversity performance evaluations for managers, and affinity groups for women and minorities."
"On average, programs designed to reduce bias among managers responsible for hiring and promotion have not worked. Neither diversity training to extinguish stereotypes, nor diversity performance evaluations to provide feedback and oversight to people making hiring and promotion decisions, have accomplished much."
" In firms where training is mandatory or emphasizes the threat of lawsuits, training actually has negative effects on management diversity."
The tldr is, diversity in management is best increased by mentor programs, diversity taskforces, and diversity managers, NOT mandatory diversity training, which may result in LESS women and minorities in management!
Do note that the PDF is entirely about management and promotion of existing employees rather than outside hiring. I'd be interested in seeing some similar studies about hiring.
