Diversity Training Doesn't Work

Peter Bregman:

"We've got another lawsuit," my friend and client Lana* told me over the phone.

"Really?" I was honestly surprised. "What about all that diversity training everyone went through?"

"Well, apparently we need to do it again."

Lana was the head of Human Resources for Bedia, a company in the media industry that felt, at times, like an old boy's network. Diversity wasn't just a professional issue for her; she cared about it personally.

Over the years, there had been a number of incidents at Bedia in which individuals had felt misunderstood, mistreated, or disrespected. Eventually, someone sued.

In the most recent situation, someone used a word in a letter that felt derogatory to a number of African Americans. Before that, someone sent a sexist joke around the office and a female co-worker was offended. There were other incidents too.

Related: Why you should stop attending diversity training by Suzanne Lucas and Diversity Training Ineffective by Phil Bowermaster.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 6, 2012 3:09 AM
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