Global Diversity Initiatives

• Published in: The International lawyer 2012-12, Vol.46 (4), p.987-1006
• Main Author: Collins, Erika C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Corporate regulation; Corporations; Diversity training; Employment; Employment discrimination; Gender discrimination; Gender equality; Government initiatives; Human resource management; Influence; Labor law; Laws, regulations and rules; Minority & ethnic groups; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Pay equity; Privacy, Right of; Recessions; Work quotas; Workers with disabilities; Workplace diversity; Workplace multiculturalism; Workplaces
• ISSN: 0020-7810; 2169-6578

Over the last thirty years, many countries have passed some form of regulation to promote diversity in the workplace. The evolution of these legal and regulatory developments reveals a landscape filled with varied and multidimensional approaches to a common imperative. This article will survey a broad spectrum of regional approaches to global workplace diversity initiatives, focusing on the cultural and legal definitions of protected categories, advances in positive discrimination legislation, and the possible tensions between the promise and the reality of diversity regulation. In the past several years, different regions of the world have experienced unique successes and challenges in achieving workplace diversity. While the United States has embraced diversity initiatives as a whole, the European Union has pioneered efforts to achieve gender parity in corporate management, and countries in Asia have set progressive quotas to increase the representation of persons with disabilities in the workplace. From recruitment and retention to promotion and wage setting, multinational organizations, no matter where they are headquartered, must meet the legal challenges posed by both domestic and international antidiscrimination legislation. This article will address the collision of international privacy regulation and the demands of equal opportunity laws, particularly in the development of strategies to collect and report employee diversity statistics. This comprehensive survey will conclude with a discussion of recent trends in global diversity awareness, such as an increased focus on pay equity legislation and the impact of the global recession on cross-border diversity initiatives.