If diversity training doesn’t work, why do companies do it? at Race in the Workplace - how diversity, race and racism influence our working lives

If diversity training doesn’t work, why do companies do it?

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Diversity training is practically useless when it comes to helping companies diversify their management ranks, according to a recent study by Harvard University sociologist Frank Dobbin.

After poring through 30 years of data from more than 700 corporations, Dobbin concluded that the most successful programs were those that established direct accountability for diversity. Networking and mentoring programs also had a modest positive effect. But diversity training was by far the least effective initiative at increasing the number of white women, black women, and black men in management.

Frankly, I’m not surprised by Dobbin’s findings.

From what I’ve seen, diversity training rarely succeeds at reducing stereotyping and bias within organizations.

Why? Because many diversity trainers actually teach people to hide their racism.

Yes, you read that correctly. Many diversity trainers don’t push people to challenge their own racist beliefs. Instead, the seminars teach people to be more aware of the non-verbal cues (the fancy word is “microinequities”) they send out that may tip others off to their racism. The philosophy is: hide your racism in order to create a more harmonious workplace.

Diversity training also fails because so many companies make it mandatory. Think about how that makes the average employee feel:

John walks into the diversity training session room already feeling resentful. The company may have made this mandatory, but his boss still expects him to make up for the lost hours of productivity by working late.

He thinks to himself that this is a total waste of time. He’s not a racist, he doesn’t even notice color! So obviously the diversity training isn’t meant for him. He tunes out the diversity trainer and turns on his Blackberry so he can catch up on email.

Bored, he looks around the room and wonders which one of his colleagues is to blame for this. Someone must have screwed up by saying something racist. And thanks to that jerk, the whole company is being forced to sit through this dog and pony show.

Does this sound like a person who is receptive to exploring his conscious and unconscious prejudices?

So if diversity training doesn’t reduce bias or increase managerial diversity, why do companies continue to spend millions of dollars on it every single year?

Because they’re afraid of costly lawsuits.

Companies are twice as likely to invest in diversity training than any other type of diversity initiative because their real motivation is to mitigate risk.

If a company gets sued for racial discrimination, it can point to its diversity training program as a good faith effort to eliminate racial discrimination and hopefully win the lawsuit.

The sad truth is, many companies could care less about increasing racial diversity among their managers.

Sure, they plaster photos of smiling employees of color all over their web sites, make obligatory recruiting stops at Spelman and Morehouse, and use the same diversity buzzwords as everybody else. But paying lip service to diversity is largely a PR exercise for them.

Ultimately for most companies, diversity training isn’t about nurturing diversity in the workplace. It’s about protecting the company.

Learn how New Demographic can help you facilitate relaxed, authentic, and productive conversations about race and racism.

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Comments

andre koen wrote:

I think you point is well taken.
I believe that it is time to look at diversity differently. Cultural competences might provide a light on how we can more to this new position.

Andre Koen
http://WWW.amhorizons.com

Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 4:22 pm ¶
Craig wrote:

Yes,

Just last week I had to do some diversity e-learning (there’s another target for you.)

It specifically said to hide your prejudices at work.

Sure… whatever dudes.

Hopefully now the word is out they won’t be able to hide behind their mandatory training for much longer.

Posted 20 Sep 2007 at 2:55 am ¶
more cowbell wrote:

I think there is a lot of validity to this. I also think it depends on the training, and the circumstances surrounding who is there (and who isn’t). My employer has sponsered the Undoing Racism training for the past 4 years — a 2day workshop that goes into the history of institutionalized racism and how that has been constructed, white privilege and other things. It’s been very effective for a lot of folks. (Others, not so much, but you’re always going to have that dynamic at any training) I think the key is to get to the real issues, the things that white people may not have ever learned about — not some once a year hour-long required surface deal, or worse, on-line training. Teach WHY the “colorblind” mentality doesn’t work. Show them why they are privileged and why racism includes built-in advantage for some, not just disadvantage for others. Anyway, good post, I do agree that happens a lot. I think the fluff trainings are a waste of time/money and may make things worse, but there are some trainings out there that are effective.

Posted 02 Oct 2007 at 1:13 pm ¶
more cowbell wrote:

Oh, I meant to add that I absolutely agree there is a CYA factor to companies offering diversity training. I’ve seen situations personally where they point to their list of “diversity accomplishments” to absolve themselves of making any kind of meaningful change.

Posted 02 Oct 2007 at 1:16 pm ¶
Max wrote:

I was terminated after filing a EEO Complaint after 4 1/2 years of employment - I was informed that this was an “illegal” action by my employer, what happens next?

Posted 05 Feb 2008 at 1:30 pm ¶
Jim Drummond wrote:

I agree with more cowbell that the success of the training depends on how it is delivered. A 30 minute e-learning course that simply spells out a company’s diversity principles or suggests ways to hide your prejudices will not work. However, if a narrative can be developed with characters and (well written) simulated situations the training can help not only identify incorrect beliefs and behaviors but hopefully get to their origin and begin to bring about change. More needs to be done then just having a training program though. If done well, the training course should be used as a useful first step for an overall diversity initiative.

Posted 01 Jun 2008 at 8:06 pm ¶
Becky wrote:

Wow! You have just scripted EXACTLY what my diversity training was like - except it was me and two guys and they cursed and demeaned women the whole time the trainer (female) was out of the room…and said the same thing - waste of time, women and blacks were to blame…amazing. But I’m blogging about it all…and will add a link to this article. Thanks! http://www.danvilleva.blogspot.com if you want to read it yourself.

Posted 08 Aug 2008 at 11:00 pm ¶
Dr. David Whitfield wrote:

I agree with your posting; it appears that most diversity training is a CYA operation.

Please see my column at: http://www.theolympian.com/490
Plus, not to sound vain, but please see the other 7 column at that URL, especially the one on Misogyny. And let me know what you think.

David

Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 10:56 am ¶
Henry wrote:

What is a better solution to: “hide your racism in order to create a more harmonious workplace”? Companies can do only so much to change the attitudes and behaviors of their employees. How can we ask an employee to change their belief systems like racism to satisfy their employer?

Isn’t it more realistic to work within the bounds of the work environment and work day and get employees to set aside their stereotypes and racist attitudes for the time they are at work? That already is a challenge. Comments?

Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 7:55 pm ¶
Sud wrote:

Henry: Henry - look, the problem with racism isn’t just that someone says a hateful word at the workplace. When people say racism is institutionalized, systemic, etc, one of the things they’re saying is that it doesn’t “just offend people,” it decreases life chances, too. I don’t care if someone calls me a spic anywhere nearly as much as if I can get that raise and be able to afford gas next year. Diversity training shuts people up, and that solves one problem - people saying things that hurt others feelings.

But there are still many, and much bigger problems left over from racism: you still have malicious intent, but now it’s under the surface and festering and coming out in other ways. If I resent the chinese guy at my workplace because I think he has too much “attitude” for a chinese person living in America who barely speaks English, that’s gonna come out in all sorts of ways - I might give him looks all the time or call him names, sure, but more subtle things which diversity training, (no matter how many “do nots” and “set aside your racism” it includes) is never going to get at are:
-Cooperating less on projects
-Badmouthing them to the boss
-Not caring when they get unluckily dumped with a huge workload
-Not involving them in the workplace culture as much (eg, don’t invite them to drink with the boys after work), making the workday more isolating, lonely, and discouraging for that person (perhaps decreasing their productivity)
-Worst of all: From a managerial level, one can flat-out block their advancement. “If that stupid *whatever* thinks he can just come into my company and traipse around like he knows what he’s doing and expect a raise…” you get the picture.

Yeah, you’re right in the sense that personal racism is a major problem that an Employer has neither the responsibility to “correct you” if you’re a screwed up person, nor the right to get into your head and tell you what you should believe about just anything. But as I’ve shown above, racism is a workplace problem, and a company at the very least is responsible for the environment it creates.

We shouldn’t think of the goal of diversity initiatives to be controlling employee thought, (which a company is not in a position to do, as you say). I think a more realistic diversity initiative is creating a pleasant, functional work atmosphere where personal life choices, sex, race, what kind of person one likes to sleep with, are not detrimental to one’s ability to be compensated for one’s efforts. I think that’s something that should be expected of any employer. Workplace favoritism, whether it comes in the form of angry, clique-y over-competitive employees or the subjective judgment-calls of a supervisor, is not acceptable, racism inspired or not.

So how is an employer to deal with this in the workplace? It’s up to them, but they should be accomplishing the same goal (a fair workplace). They can try to do that however they want, but it needs to get done. One way to do it: hire less racists; grill employees on their motivation in doing behavior that was potentially racist, and if it seems unfounded or a matter of emotion, have the supervisor talk to them about why inclusion is a right, and something like “the company can’t afford to have decisions made based on your personal feelings about another employee.”

Of course, a good hiring/negative sanction/better workplace culture plan is easy to say, and you can have a screening process, but is selective hiring really an overall solution? The racists are going to have to get jobs somewhere. And negative sanctioning still works on the whole “race-blind” thing a little bit, and just gets people to shut up and further hide racism, until a pervasive workplace problem is nearly invisible to an outsider or objective arbiter.

Ultimately, the employer needs to make some effort, if it starts seeing problems, to educate people. Racism usually originates from being ignorant - about cultural and social backgrounds, or never having really talked to someone of that background for a while, or having had a bad experience with someone who was _____ and not being able to get over it - usually, a little bit of education (such as that “un-doing racism” lesson, or randomized networking that forces you to interact with those you fear on a normal, functional basis) can go a long way in making people question their assumptions. They may not stop being racist, but at least now, when someone tells them to think twice about __ and __, they might listen, because hey, they know some ___ who are just like you or me, and this could be one of them.

Yeah, there will always be outliers, and there will always be hardcore racists, and that’s what firing and sanctions are for. The best you can do with someone who insists on irrationally punishing or rewarding those around them is damage control- yeah, the basis is educating them, constantly trying to get them to think about what they would want if they were in __’s position, etc., but with people like that, Henry, I think you’re right in that for them it would apply that you just have to tell them “this is not okay, check your racism when dealing with coworkers. We don’t have the time or money to blow on your destructive behavior.” For them, that’s the only thing that may be realistic, you’re right.

But honestly, for most people, a company could be doing a lot better. Pulling apart racist attitudes and assumptions, though it takes a little more effort, deals with the problem much more effectively.

Posted 19 Aug 2008 at 10:16 am ¶
Bgrits wrote:

The Penn & Teller show BULLSHIT-Showtime has a great episode about this

Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 3:18 pm ¶
Melinda wrote:

As with my last post, I left a job at mid-management level after almost 12 years, and one of the big components of that was a fellow co-worker who is extremely toxic and someone I consider extremely racist. I went to my boss on several occasions to discuss different situations with no success. Rather, she was revered etc and the attitude was always “that’s just how she is” and I was forced to be among the other employees in an environment of forced tolerance when it came to this person and attitudes. I just couldn’t take it anymore and chose to remove myself from the situation.

Posted 25 Aug 2008 at 11:27 am ¶
Wendy wrote:

This is so true even in the public schools. Administrators have staff development days where someone comes in and lectures to us and then has us do exercises. What they don’t seem to realize is that there is a continuous dialogue and “conflict”, at the high school level at least, where we disagree and agree to disagree. We call each other on inappropriate comments and even those subtle “jokes”. Teaching students and hearing their comments makes one truly aware of what we say and think and convey.
It is somehow easy to discuss race in my school, yet when gender, or sexual preference is mentioned the whispering starts.
Thanks for making me think about this a week before I am back with my colleagues and students.

Posted 25 Aug 2008 at 8:14 pm ¶
Michele Paynter wrote:

~I am so relieved, yet saddened to read this expose’ on diversity training within most companies. The sentiment(s) and observations expressed here, were those of my own!

For many years, as one African-American employee, I “have been passionate” about the issue of diversity within my agency, however, much like what this article has stated, if colleagues and executive directors aren’t passionate about this very issue and truly understand the efficacy of diversifying their agency, from a humanistic stance, then it’s NOT going to be done- with or without these trainings! How sad to me, in the 21st century, people of color continue to be scapegoated in the workplace due to others’ negative racial biases.

Posted 14 Sep 2008 at 9:44 am ¶
Einna wrote:

So interesting! And true, I believe. I was just reading an article about Canadian politicians and how many are now publicly apologizing for oppressive comments that they’ve made. But they seem only to be concerned with covering up, like “hey, don’t say that in front of the media”, but no one is questioning their actual beliefs or the beliefs of the party that they represent. That really scares me! They need to recieve your emails. Perhaps I will forward them to them!

Posted 19 Sep 2008 at 9:47 am ¶