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A Diverse Workforce

Decent Essays

The problem iNOVA does not have a diverse workforce. Of the 103 employees, 78 of the employees are male. 89 of the 103 are white. (INOVA REPORT) There are a number of reasons why this could have happened. In smaller companies like iNOVA, many new employees are friends or associates of current employees who have been recommended. (Miller) People often associate with those similar to themselves, so those who they recommend will be like themselves, creating a homogenous environment. Likewise, it has been proven that hiring managers tend to hire people that they themselves get along with on a personal level rather than their qualifications. (Miller) People who are different and may bring diversity to a workplace are thus overlooked by managers in favor of those who the hiring staff relate to because they share similar interests or backgrounds. Oftentimes ethnicity also plays a role in human bias. A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that having a “white sounding” name can lead to as many job offers as someone with an African-American sounding name who possesses an additional eight years of research. (Francis) Regardless of whether this bias is conscious or not, it has a negative impact upon companies that lack diversity (such as ourselves) as we are often missing out on much more qualified and talented candidates due to human bias when hiring. Benefits of Diversity Besides improving a company’s social perception, there are many proven benefits to a

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