The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition

Truth 42. The Value of Diversity on Teams

The past four decades have seen a marked increase in interest in workforce diversity. It’s not unusual today for large organizations to have diversity goals, diversity initiatives, and diversity training. This focus on increasing workforce diversity can be largely traced back to the civil rights and women’s liberation movements. The white, male-dominated organizations of the 1960s have given way to organizations that are diverse in terms of gender, race, and nationality. This begs the question: Are diverse teams as effective as their homogeneous counterparts?

Most team activities require a variety of skills and knowledge. Given this requirement, it would be reasonable to conclude that heterogeneous teams—those ...