Rochester Area Quality Council

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Rochester Area Quality Council

• Its Tomorrow, Today!
• Diversity Council
• April 1, 2008

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• Diversity Council Mission
• Our mission is to create an inclusive and
  welcoming community through education.
• Vision to eliminate discrimination

Diversity.Its All About Respect
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• Executive Director, Kay Hocker
• MA Management, MA HHSA, St. Marys University of
  Minnesota
• Development and Communication Director, Courtney
  Lawson
• MPH, University of Michigan

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• Globalization of the workforce requires that all
  people strive to work together in respectful,
  responsible and effective ways. Immigration and
  in-migration will be an increasingly important
  component in the demographic shifts in the
  workforce that have started to take place in
  Minnesota, and world wide.

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• Diversity describes the extent to which an
  organization has people from diverse backgrounds,
  with diverse human characteristics and from
  diverse communities working as staff, volunteers,
  board members.

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• Inclusiveness valuing the perspectives and
  contributions of all people. Striving to
  incorporate the needs and viewpoints of diverse
  stakeholders into the design of the
  organizations services.
• The act of encouraging belonging.
• Respect for pluralism members of diverse groups
  maintain traditional cultures, values and special
  interests within a common, shared culture.

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Change in Olmsted County

• Between 1990 and 2000
• Non-white populations have increased by an
  average of 170
• Most notable increases among blacks and
  Hispanics/Latinos
• The white population has increased by 10
• Almost half of the countys population growth is
  people of color

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Looking Ahead to Change

• Older workforce
• The leading edge of the Boom generation turns 62
  in 2008 and 65 in 2011.
• Slower workforce growth
• Increased diversity
• Primarily in children, young adults
• Smaller and older households

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Alls Fair in Love, War Recruiting
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International All-Call!

• For better educated, skilled young adults
• Public education efforts
• Skills to compete in a global workforce
• For migration to the area
• An increasingly important component to offsetting
  slower labor force growth
• For establishment of an inclusive and welcoming
  work environment

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Economic Theory

• Economic growth depends on
• Growth in the workforce
• Growth in productivity per worker
• Productivity per worker depends on
• Technology and machines
• Public infrastructure
• Knowledge, skills, training and education

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Examining Education
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Trends in Schools
Source Mn Dept of Education data, Districts of
more than 100 enrollment. SE Mn 61 specific
non-English languages.
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You Can Impact Productivity

• Technology and machines
• Employers have significant influence
• Public infrastructure
• Employers have some influence
• Knowledge, skills, training and education
• Caveat An environment in which an employee can
  express the above!
• Employers have MAJOR influence

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Difference Makes a Difference

• To the products you sell and the services you
  provide
• To spend less and make more on advertising
• To attract the best and brightest employees
• To our community at large

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• Some characteristics of inclusive organizations
  
• Knowing that all people do not respond in the
  same way to messages.
• Recognition of the importance of communicating in
  culturally appropriate and sensitive ways.
• Self-aware these organizations seek information
  and feedback about themselves.
• Have leadership that is open to change, willing
  to look inward and willing to conduct and hear
  honest dialogue.

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• Benefits of inclusion
• Lower turnover
• Higher productivity
• Higher morale
• Improved problem-solving
• Increased creativity and innovation
• Improve products and services

• Its tomorrow, today!
• Better serve and understand customers
• Capitalize on changing demographic conditions
• Leverage difference for competitive advantage

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• Processes
• Create a value statement which encompasses
  diversity/inclusion
• Construct a marketplace rationale for
  diversity/inclusion
• Conduct a readiness assessment
• Embed requirements into company
  benchmarks/outcomes/goals diversity metrics
• Assign responsibility, accountability and time
  frames
• Allocate resources
• Measure success

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• Creating a more inclusive organization is most
  successful when both of the following occur ..
• 1.) Individuals within the organization develop a
  greater awareness and understanding of human
  difference and power dynamics and they affect
  individuals, workplaces and societies.

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• 2.) Organizations transform their work and
  workplace in order to better respond to the
  assets brought by the diverse workforce.
• Leadership is committed, demands accountability
  and understands the competitive advantage.

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• Components of inclusion...
• CEO and Board commitment
• Human capital
• Corporate communication
• Supplier diversity

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• Case studies
• Bank of America
• The Pepsi Bottling Group
• ATT
• The Coca-Cola Co.

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• What gets in our way?
• Individual
• Bias
• Stereotypes
• Prejudice
• Discrimination
• Knowledge, critical thinking, self esteem and
  empathy.

• Organizational ..
• Culture. Policies, practices, values and
  expectations that define a workplace and guide
  the treatment of customers and employees.
• Barriers to performance

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• Barriers to inclusion ..
• These are hidden or unhidden obstacles that exist
  in organizations. Often unintentional, but can be
  intentional. Often not recognized by leadership.
• Based on residual stereotypes about innate
  ability attributed to human difference
• Systems upholding outdated and outmoded
  expectations and structures
• Formal or informal methods of gaining information
  or access to information

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• Patterns of Cultural Difference
• Different communication styles
• Different attitudes towards conflict
• Different approaches to completing tasks
• Different decision-making styles
• Different attitudes toward disclosure
• Different approaches to knowing
• Working on Common Cross-Cultural Communication
  Challenges, DuPaw, Axner

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• See the difference, stomp it out
• See the difference, make it wrong
• See the difference, act like you dont
• See the difference, respond inadequately
• See the difference, understand the difference
  that difference makes
• Inclusion See the differences and respond
  positively and affirmingly

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• Residency
• Native Born
• Immersed in language and culture since birth
• Immigrant
• Meets US immigrations requirements and
  restrictions. May have multiple choices in
  relocation such as time, education, job skills.
  May have opportunity to prepare and possess
  willingness to learn language, culture and norms,
  likely to have some willingness to assimilate.
• Refugee
• Meets US refugee regulations lived in refugee
  camp(s). Must prove that life is at risk or in
  danger through documentation and interviews. Has
  fewer choices flee or die, no time to prepare,
  education (if available) generally does not
  transfer, has lived within war experience
  including fear, death, lack of systems such as
  government, education,health care. Job skills not
  useable without language skills, experiences
  culture shock and post traumatic stress disorder,
  less willing to assimilate.

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• Migrant
• Refers to employment. Travel for work
  opportunities.
• In-migration
• Young working adults seeking opportunity
• Documented vs Undocumented
• Legal Alien vs Illegal Alien
• About 30 of immigrants return home
• Most refugees hope to return home when safety is
  restored
• Under 10 of migrant workers are undocumented
  immigrants. Vast majority are US citizens. 80
  90

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Immigration causes the U.S. economy to grow. An
estimated 17.9 million immigrants are currently
working in the U.S.--14 of the total work force.
Compared to the native-born, a significantly
higher percentage of immigrants are of working
age. Immigrants are just as likely to start new
businesses as the native-born. They generate
employment, innovate, and take jobs that native
born workers are less likely to fill. Immigrants
help keep the U.S. internationally competitive
and give businesses a global perspective.
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While all immigrants are required to pay
taxesincluding sales, income, and property
taxesmost immigrants are not eligible for public
assistance. Only refugees and certain legal
immigrants are eligible for benefits, and only
for a limited time. Undocumented immigrants are
not eligible for any public benefits except for
emergency medical assistance. Furthermore,
immigrants are large contributors to Social
Security and will play an integral role in
financing Social Security as the U.S. population
ages.
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Although the actual number of immigrants
currently living in the U.S. continues to grow,
when considered as a percentage of the
population, levels are lower than in the past.
Currently about 12.4 of the U.S. population is
foreign-born. Between 1890 and 1910, about 15 of
the population was foreign-born.
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About 1 million immigrants were legally admitted
to the U.S. in 2004. About half that many enter
illegally or overstay their visas each year. 66
of legal immigrants in 2004 came to be reunited
with family members. 16 were sponsored by U.S.
employers to fill positions for which no U.S.
worker was available. 8 came as refugees fleeing
persecution and looking for safety and freedom.
Like generations before them, all
immigrantsdocumented or notcome to this country
looking for a better life.
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Immigrants generate employment. Immigrants are
often those willing to take a chance on a new
path, and many possess entrepreneurial skills.
Immigrants established up to a quarter of all
Silicon Valley firms, generating more than 19.5
billion in sales and nearly 73,000 jobs in 2000.
The number of immigrant women business owners,
most of whom are from Latin America, the
Caribbean, and Asia, has increased nearly 468
since 1980.
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Urban areas that receive new immigrants are most
often transformed and revitalized by these
newcomers. An array of new arrivals revitalized
Nicollet Avenue (now known as Eat Street) and
Lake Street in Minneapolis, as well as University
Avenue in St. Paul. Immigrants also reinvigorate
rural communities by bringing in new ideas and
reversing a trend of declining populations.
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Immigrants make unique contributions to the
economy by creating new jobs through
entrepreneurship, filling jobs for which there
are no qualified U.S. workers, and taking
positions that would otherwise be shipped
overseas or replaced with computers. Both high-
and low-skilled immigrant workers help meet the
growing demand for labor in a variety of
industries.