Organizational Diversity Processes

Organizational Diversity Processes I. Women and Minorities in Today’s Organizations * Glass ceiling – is a concept popularized in the 1980s to describe a barrier so subtle that is transparent, yet so strong that it prevents women and minorities from moving up in the management hierarchy (Morrison and Von Glinow) * The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that “color discrimination in employment seems to be on the rise”. Recent studies have found that black job applicants with lighter skin were more likely to be hired than those with darker skin, even when identical qualifications were presented (Cazares, 2007). * Schwartz (1989) differentiated between women on the career track and woman on a “mommy track” who were assumed to want flexible work arrangements and family support in exchange for fewer opportunities for advancement. A. Stereotyping and Discrimination * Bias in the organization has two components (Cox, 1990): * Prejudice – refers to the negative attitudes toward an organization member based on his/her culture group identity. * Discrimination – refers to observable behavior for the same reason. B. Relational Barriers in Organizational Systems 1. There is compelling evidence that women and ethnic minorities experience limited access to or exclusion from informal communication networks (Ibarra, 1993). 2. A second relational experience that is different for white men and women and people of color involves that of establishing mentor-protégé relationships (Noe, 1988; Ragins & Cotton, 1991). Kram was one of the first researchers to discuss the importance of mentoring relationships, defining a mentor as “an experienced, productive manager who relates well to a less-experienced employee and facilitates his or her personal development for the benefit of the individual as well as that of the organization”. 3. Tokenism – in many organizations, white male represent the vast majority of employees,