Compassion or compliance?

An article in Personnel Today questions how far companies are implementing diversity policies because of legislation and the need to be seen to be doing something about diversity.

Estimates from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) show that nearly 70% of UK organisations now have diversity policies in place and a key part of this is diversity training.

The article asks what the true motive behind the commercial world's increasing interest in diversity training is.

"Deep devotion to the cause or simply the need to comply?"

Karen Waltham, diversity expert at career management consultancy Fairplace Diversity, says instituting a programme because legislation requires it is doing it for the wrong reasons.

"Training should be seen as an attempt to change thoughts and culture," she says. "A half-day course cannot achieve this."

According to the article, the most common complaint about diversity training is that organisations do it just to comply with anti-discrimination legislation and to ensure that they are covered in the event of an employment tribunal case. Some critics even claim that it can breed prejudice where there was none, by drawing attention to people's differences.

Others believe that many organisations simply want to be seen to be doing something about diversity.

Read the full article at Personnel Today