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CHAPTER 16
MANAGING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE
INTRODUCTION
The workforce in the United States is more diverse than it has ever been, reflecting the
entry of women into the workforce, immigration from other countries, the aging of the
population, and shifting patterns of work and retirement. Equal opportunity laws and
changing societal expectations have challenged corporations to manage workforce
PREVIEW CASE
Ultimate Software
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. THE CHANGING FACE OF THE WORKFORCE
II. GENDER AND RACE IN THE WORKPLACE
Teaching Tip: Preview Case
The instructor may ask students to go to the Great Places to Work
website’s section on diversity:
www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/diversity
Teaching Tip: Gender in the Workplace
Students may be asked to prepare a family tree, reaching back three or
four generations, indicating the major life activity or occupation of
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A. Women and Minorities at Work
B. The Gender and Racial Pay Gap
C. Where Women and Persons of Color Manage
D. Breaking the Glass Ceiling
E. Women and Minority Business Ownership
III. GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN SECURING EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY
A. Equal Employment Opportunity
B. Affirmative Action
C. Sexual and Racial Harassment
Teaching Tip: Women and Persons of Color in the Workplace
Students may be asked to examine a business with which they are
familiar, or their own university, preparing a table showing the
proportion of women or persons of color in different positions and at
Teaching Tip: Affirmative Action
The debate for and against affirmative action lends itself readily to
classroom discussion and debate, because compelling arguments can be
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IV. WHAT BUSINESS CAN DO: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION POLICIES
AND PRACTICES
A. Balancing Work and Life
B. Child Care and Elder Care
C. Work Flexibility
GETTING STARTED
KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES
LO 16-1: Knowing in what ways the workforce of the United States is diverse, and
evaluating how it might change in the future.
LO 16-2: Understanding where women and persons of color work, how much they
Teaching Tip: Sexual and Racial Harassment
Students may be asked to identify a corporate executive alleged by the
#MeToo movement to have engaged in improper sexual behavior or
harassment. A list is available in this story in Time magazine:
http://time.com/5321130/414-executives-metoo/.
Instructors may ask students:
What were the allegations?
Teaching Tip: Diversity Policies
Many students assume that “family-friendly” corporate policies and
programs, such as those discussed in the chapter, are intended for and
used primarily by women. It is useful in the classroom, therefore, to
men use them more widely?
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are paid, and what roles they play as managers and business owners.
LO 16-3: Identifying the role government plays in securing equal employment
opportunity for historically disadvantaged groups, and debating whether or not
affirmative action is an effective strategy for promoting equal opportunity.
LO 16-4: Assessing the ways in which diversity confers a competitive advantage.
LO 16-5: Formulating how companies can best manage workforce diversity,
making the workplace welcoming, fair, and accommodating to all employees.
LO 16-6: Understanding what corporate policies and practices are most effective
in helping today’s employees manage the complex, multiple demands of work
and family obligations.
KEY TERMS
affirmative action
child care
Copyright © 2020 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
family-friendly corporation
family leave
glass ceiling
inclusion
occupational segregation
parental leave
INTERNET RESOURCES
www.eeoc.gov U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
www.familiesandwork.org Families and Work Institute
www.abcdependentcare.com American Business Collaboration for Quality
Dependent Care
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www.diversityinc.com Diversity Inc. magazine and other resources
www.workingmother.com Working Mother magazine and other resources
www.hrc.org Human Rights Campaign Foundation
DISCUSSION CASE
APPLE AND THE DREAMERS
Discussion Questions
1. Do you consider being a Dreamer a form of workplace diversity? How is it
similar to and different from other kinds of workplace diversity discussed in this
chapter?
2. What are the benefits and risks to employers, such as Apple and others
mentioned in this case, of continuing to hire or employ Dreamers?
Teaching Tip: Apple and the Dreamers
As of the time of writing, the status of DACA was in flux, as multiple
lawsuits made their way through the courts. As an exercise, the
Copyright © 2020 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
3. Beyond employers, which stakeholders benefit, and which are harmed when a
business hires Dreamers?
4. Do you agree with Apple’s response to the public policy threat to DACA? What
else should Apple’s managers do now, and why?
5. If you were a human resources manager at Apple, what steps would you take (or
not take) if DACA protections were rescinded by the government?