Discrimination, and as an extension low diversity, is a problem that plagues businesses around the globe. Because of its large impact on employee satisfaction, discrimination often causes low morale, significantly decreased job satisfaction, and increased stress in those who are affected. In our ever-expanding globalized world, the prospect of a workplace with employees and executives made up of people with many different ethnic backgrounds is no longer an alien concept. As well, the entry of women into the workplace and labour force has, generally, been accepted by the vast majority of people in Western industrialized countries. Canada, in particular, has always appeared, to me, to be a bastion of multiculturalism, openness, understanding, and progressiveness in the world. So does that mean that Canada, then, does not face this issue? The answer is a loud and thunderous

NO!

A survey conducted by Randstad, a human-resources organization, found that “One in five Canadians say they’ve been discriminated against at work because of their gender …” This rate places Canada next to Mexico in the category of gender-based discrimination. Moreover, “26 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they’ve experienced age-based discrimination at work”, “Seventeen per cent of Canadians said they’ve been the subject of racial discrimination at work, while 16 per cent said they’ve been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.”

What does this information explain? It reveals to us that, even in what many consider to be a wealthy, developed, and highly diverse country, discrimination still exists and thrives. The question, then, should not be whether or not discrimination exists, but rather what we should do to tackle and fight against it. Besides discrimination’s impact on employee satisfaction, what else results from discrimination and low diversity in the workplace?

Firms and businesses with low levels of diversity are less productive than their more diverse counterparts as low-diversity firms do not enjoy the varied employee skill sets, an outcome of differences in cultural upbringings, that diverse firms do. As well, businesses with low employee diversity experience lower levels of creativity and innovation due to less variation of employee perspectives and insights that is an outcome of total homogeny. To me, this information further emphasizes the importance of being accepting of diversity and personal differences in the workplace as well as being against discrimination, as both the discriminated group AND the business lose.

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