One of the keys t
o social justice within business is to ensure that the workplace remains a place of diversity. Not only does this ensure recognition of basic rights and liberties, but it also creates an atmosphere of trust that is often lacking between company and consumer.
Diversity now, however, does not have the same meaning as diversity in the past. One theory states that businesses must gain a clear understanding of what diversity means before they can implement a strategy to get it.
According to this theory, many people are still focused on old models of diversity, which focus on social justice issues such as concerning gender or race. Conversely, diversity now should focus on creating an atmosphere that fosters connection.
A second theory requires leveraging diversity in order to attract new customers. By building a diverse team of employees, a business will be better able to reach specific audiences. Staffing a corporation with one demographic would make it very hard to connect with anyone outside of that demographic.
A third theory requires that businesses focus more on understanding the customer, rather than focusing on workplace diversity. Making a product marketable is more about clear advertising, rather than anything that goes on behind the scenes.
When it comes down to it, there are many different definitions of diversity and many different ways to achieve it. It has now been a long time since anti-discrimination laws were entered into the books, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop focusing on them.
Ensuring a diverse working class is a key to maintaining social justice on multiple levels. It is important that we never forget its importance and always be a tool for positive change whenever possible!