EEO Consultant

What Every Consultant Needs to Know About Diversity Consulting and Training

Diversity consulting is unlike other areas where you can become proficient if you are an experienced consultant and know how to develop content. Diversity consulting takes some additional skills.

To be successful you have to live it, and have a passion for the subject. It's crucial that you have a clear definition of what diversity is and what it's not. Diversity in organizations encompasses all differences that people bring to their work environment. It includes but is not limited to race, age, gender, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, work level and function, economic background, communication and learning styles. There are consultants who specialize in specific areas such as race, gender or sexual orientation. While they may be experts in a particular area they are not really diversity consultants.

As a diversity consultant you must:

Understand all dimensions of diversity and their impact on the work environment.

Have worked on and continue to work on your own biases and assumptions.

Be able to push your clients beyond their comfort zones and be willing to go beyond your own.

There is a common misconception that diversity is only about race or that it is affirmative action or EEO. It's a mindset about creating an inclusive organization where all people are allowed to do their best work. It's a long-term business strategy that includes all systems and processes of an organization, while affirmative action and EEO have more to do with laws and eliminating discrimination in hiring based on race and gender.

Chevron Corporation is an example of a successful company that has linked diversity to its vision. Their values statement says, "We have an inclusive work environment and actively embrace a diversity of people, ideas, talents and experiences."

When diversity consulting became "popular" in corporations over ten years ago, a lot of trainers and consultants jumped on the bandwagon, but fell off fairly quickly. They saw it as another subject to teach and didn't understand why companies didn't change or contracts didn't last. That's because if the diversity initiative is not tied to the bottom line, and integrated into all aspects of the business strategy, it will fail. Organizations do not want to throw money into programs or processes that will not benefit their business in some way.