When it comes to the workplace, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y populations may be more similar than previously thought, according to a Conference Board of Canada study released Monday.

The study, entitled "Winning the Generation Wars: Making the Most of Generational Differences and Similarities in the Workplace," suggests ways to beat negative and inaccurate stereotypes that can dominate the office environment and hinder team performance.

"This research shows each generation includes workers with similar personality types, workplace motivations, and social behaviours. Workers from all three generations want respect, flexibility, fairness, and the opportunity to do interesting and rewarding work," Tim Krywulak, senior research associate on the study, said.

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Tags: canada, workplace, generations, baby boomers, generation x, generation y, diversity

Categories: International | News | Research

Women have come a long way in the workplace, helped by legislation and the recognition by many companies that diversity and gender is something they should "get." But diversity's move into the mainstream corporate world has its disadvantages. It can make more subtle discrimination harder to spot and tougher to deal with.

And news about gender often tells a different story to the happy corporate spin about progress for women at work.

News outlets reported on Monday for example that two guardians of Britain's historic Tower of London have been suspended after the first woman warden or "Beefeater" in the Tower's 524-year history accused them of harassment. "If you talk today to people in the workplace they construct the workplace as gender neutral," said Elisabeth Kelan, author of a new book, "Performing Gender at Work."

"They assume that gender no longer matters in 2009 because the issue has long been solved."

Kelan calls this phenomenon "gender fatigue," which she says will make it more challenging to tackle the discrimination that still happens in the workplace but in more subtle ways.

"Gender fatigue actually refers to the phenomenon that people lack the energy to construct the workplace again and again as gender neutral despite the fact that discrimination continues to exist."

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Tags: london, gender issues, workplace, diversity

Categories: International | News

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL®) and the NAWL Foundation® released the results of the fourth annual Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms. The Survey is the only national study of the nation’s 200 largest law firms which annually tracks the progress of women lawyers at all levels of private practice, including the most senior positions, and collects data on firms as a whole rather than from a subset of individual lawyers.

“The 2009 NAWL Survey explores new territory, including the impact on women of the unprecedented downsizing of major U.S. law firms, and the frequency with which women are represented in the top ranks of “rainmakers,” those lawyers who generate the most new business for their firms,” said NAWL President Lisa Gilford, Partner with Alston & Bird LLP. “Each year’s Survey helps us drill down further into the data, with the goal of learning why women’s advancement in law has been stalled and what can be done to enable more women to succeed.”

NAWL Foundation President Stephanie Scharf, Partner at Schoeman Updike Kaufman & Scharf in Chicago, stated: “The NAWL Survey continues to break new ground in identifying both the opportunities and obstacles facing women attorneys seeking to advance in private practice. In these challenging economic times it may be unrealistic to expect women to make significant headway; however, it is particularly disappointing to see the dearth of women rainmakers, a role that is essential for success in private practice. It was also disconcerting to see major firms terminating a disproportionate number of women who were practicing part-time. Part-time practice for women attorneys, as for other women professionals, typically lasts only a few years. Terminating these women can only further thin the ranks of talented women who could become equity partners and law firm leaders in the future."

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Tags: generational issues, workplace, economy, legal, business news, diversity

Categories: News

Computerworld - When people think of diversity programs, they tend to think of annual seminars urging managers to hire and promote employees from a variety backgrounds. While that's important, diversity can mean much more, according to Kristina Draper, chief application officer in Wells Fargo & Co.'s Scottsdale, Ariz., office.

In an interview, Draper said diversity also involves learning how to serve different departments, market to customer segments, use an array of suppliers and work with colleagues who have different opinions.

Based on her experience as former chairwoman of the bank's Technology and Operations Diversity Council, Draper offered the following tips for making diversity part of the organizational culture:

• Hold quarterly "diversity cafes" -- one-hour sessions with senior managers -- to discuss topics such as supplier diversity or marketing to customer niches...

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Tags: it, diversity, training

Categories: News

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - City officials in Springfield say plans are in the works to require city workers to take diversity and sensitivity training after two nooses were found hanging at city facilities.

The nooses were found earlier this summer hanging at the city's water and electricity department. One of the nooses was found at the work station of a black employee.

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Tags: diversity, illinois, public sector, workplace, diversity training

Categories: News

WASHINGTON (American Forces Press Service) -- Defense Department officials are developing a new training program that will teach military members and civilians how to be culturally competent and aware when interacting with people from different lands, a senior official told reporters here today.

Cross-cultural competence is “something that we want to bring to the department as a critical piece of training that we think needs to be incorporated into our overall training establishment,” Gail H. McGinn, deputy undersecretary of defense for plans, said during an interview with Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.

Among her many responsibilities, which include performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, McGinn also is the senior language authority for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She is responsible for improving foreign language capability within the department and also oversees policy development for the diversity and equal opportunity programs.

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Tags: military, training, diversity

Categories: News

(From DiversityInc) Employers undeniably face a more diverse workforce than ever before, both among those that they currently employ and those that they will look to employ in the future. Between age, ethnicity, language, and disability, employers must consider how the face of the American worker is changing:

• It is graying. While many Baby Boomers are approaching retirement-age, not all can or will consider retirement, especially in light of today's economy. Sixty-nine percent of workers over 45 plan to continue working past age 65 . Even those who anticipate retirement may change their plans as the recession marches on and retirement savings dwindle.
• It is becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse. By the middle of this century, over half of the working population will be minorities.
• It is becoming more diverse in terms of disability. Estimates suggest that up to 20% of working age Americans have a disability. And this figure will increase as the working-age population extends beyond age 65 and workers develop age-related health conditions.

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Tags: diversity, workplace, inclusion

Categories: News

(From telegraph.co.uk) BBC executives should be sacked if they fail to meet diversity targets, according to Pat Younge, one of the corporation's top black bosses.

The television industry is still dominated by the white middle and upper classes, he said.

Speaking at an event on diversity, Younge said that although ethnic minority communities are now better represented on screen, little had changed behind the scenes since he started in television in 1991.

"There has been a lot of pressure for change over the years from outside the industry, but there's been no internal pressure, which is what will bring about progress," he told Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

"At Edinburgh last year, I said that senior executives should be held to account and lose their jobs if they fail to meet diversity targets. I will have my own targets when I join BBC Vision and I must live up to what I've said – or face losing my job. "Diversity will be a big focus for me when I return to the corporation."

Younge, who started his career at LWT (London Weekend Television), singled out ITV for particular criticism at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts event, titled Diversity in the media: personal perspective, which also featured former MP Oona King.

"As far as I'm aware, ITV doesn't have one black or Asian commissioning editor and it really shows," he said.

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Tags: diversity, business news, workplace, uk

Categories: News

Tags: diversity, el paso, texas, workplace, training

Categories: News

DALLAS, July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T* today announced that it has been named as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity by Black Enterprise magazine, a premier publication and resource for African-Americans focusing on business, entrepreneurship, careers and financial management.

The 2009 40 Best Companies for Diversity were determined by analyzing responses from a survey administered to major corporations, which consisted of a comprehensive outreach effort to the CEOs and diversity executives of the top 1,000 publicly traded companies, as well as the diversity executives of the 50 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations.

The survey, which focused on activities related to the participation of African-Americans, measured companies in one or more of four key categories: board representation, employee base, senior management and supplier diversity. AT&T was recognized for its strengths in the areas of employee base and supplier diversity. This is the fourth year that AT&T has been included among Black Enterprise's Best Companies for Diversity.

The special report on the best companies for diversity is featured in the July 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine. The full list of the Black Enterprise 40 Best Companies for Diversity is available by visiting http://www.blackenterprise.com/diversity/diversity-list-2009-companies.

(Read more on PRNewswire.)

Tags: diversity, business news, workplace

Categories: News