Workplace Diversity

In search of an article on workplace diversity, it was surprising to come across an article that read; Over the past few years, such corporate giants as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., General Electric Co., Fannie Mae, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have pulled out all the stops to embrace diversity at every level of their organizations. Yet despite these efforts, only 11% of Fortune 500 companies have women on their boards, and a mere 4% have minority representation. The consensus is that, although opportunities for minorities and women in the workplace have increased substantially, they still face many barriers to career advancement.The expanded definition of diversity has not helped. "Women and minorities are no longer the sole focus," says Lisbeth Claus, professor of human-resource management at the Fisher Graduate School of International Business in Monterey, California. "Workplace diversity now goes beyond gender and race to include age, disabilities, family structure, sexual orientation, ethnic culture and religious affiliation (The Wall Street Journal, 2002)."…