“The End of Diversity as We Know It” by Martin N. Davidson addressed a lot of main
ideas and issues when it comes to implementing diversity in the workplace. The text does an
extraordinary job of explaining the benefits and opportunities available by having a diverse
organization. Some of the main points that were very beneficial to any organization striving for
success in diversity are hiring for diversity is tough, managing diversity mindset and leveraging
difference mindset, seeing difference concept and engaging difference concept. All of these ideas
help one to take a look at a different perspective from their own and truly understand how and
why diversity matters.
One of the main ideas discussed in the book, “The End of Diversity as We Know It,” was
‘hiring for diversity is tough.’ In order to successfully utilize diversity within an organization, it
is essential to hire those who are qualified and capable to perform the job adequately.
Unfortunately, gathering qualified candidates of diverse backgrounds has proven to be a huge
challenge for hiring managers. “According to one survey of more than 2,500 senior HR
executives in North America, 29 percent reported that although their managers valued diversity,
they didn’t know how to recruit people who were different” (Davidson, 2011). Although there
are many different strategies organizations use to recruit new candidates, the recruiting systems
are consistently failing to connect with the right people.
One of the factors that lead to this issue is the “inadequate access to talent pools of the
people who have the desired difference” (Davidson, 2011). Hiring managers have been using
some of the same strategies to recruit for years and have not altered them whatsoever to attract
more diverse, yet qualified applicants. For example, “it’s standard practice to seek out these
candidates at job fairs or to access culturally specific organizations – the Hispanic Association of
Colleges and Universities, for instance, or historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)”
(Davidson, 2011). Hiring managers need to broaden their horizons in order to seek diverse
candidates. For example, an article in Forbes suggests, “seeking out candidates where they are”
by “going beyond the standard Monster and Indeed” and “companies seeking women can try
boards like Hire Tech Ladies or PowerToFly” (Bradford, 2018). The only way to hire people
who are different from the existing employees is to seek different approaches to finding them.
Another factor that lead to the issue of ‘hiring for diversity is tough’ is that “job
descriptions may not adequately capture real job requirements” (Davidson, 2011). Wording plays
a huge part in how something is perceived, specifically a job description. For example, according
to an article in the Huffington post, “the term ‘ninja’ is usually skewed towards male stereotypes,
attracting more male candidates to apply instead of females” (Wittenberg, 2017). Unfortunately,
