Some 20 years ago, as an executive staff member of a Fortune 500 company, I was informed that I had to attend one of the diversity training sessions scheduled over a three-week period. While most of my colleagues signed-up for one of the initial sessions, I stalled, hoping it wouldn’t be noticed that I had not attended. It didn’t work.
Employees involved in a typical diversity training exercise. (lothery.com)
I saw it as just another human resources check-off program to satisfy our corporate attorneys, should a cultural lawsuit land on their desk. The ability to show a judge good faith evidence that 100 percent of the company’s management had participated in diversity training was a plus.
Basically, as a public relations professional, I recognized the importance of diversity awareness, but saw it is a mere extension of the “publics” in the scope of my position. I also saw the diversity training as another hook for personnel training companies, who saw dollar signs. Have you ever wondered what trainers did before the invention of Post-It notes, tear off flip charts and white boards?
We were told that the business world was changing and that firms with a variety of cultures, races, lifestyles and religions made diversity training a must. And, to be successful in today’s business environment, we were told that workplace diversity training was required.
When I spotted the headline, “Diversity Training Fails,” over a Notable & Quotable column in the Aug. 30, 2016 Wall Street Journal, … finally, I thought, my initial skepticism was accurate.
While the column states, “It shouldn’t be surprising that most diversity programs aren’t increasing diversity,” it also reports that “companies are basically doubling down on the same approaches they’ve used since the 1960s, which often make things worse, not better.” Go figure.
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