Diversity and Inclusion Essay Abstract

4.3. Cases of discrimination.
Although diversity and inclusion statements do not have a legally binding effect, there has to be an
underplaying obligation to comply with what they assert is important for them. Some deeper research
on the company’s diversity policy revealed that there have been several cases related to racial and
ethnic discrimination (Bennet, 2018; Samuel, 2009; Chrisafis, 2007). L’Oréal which asserts gender

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equality in all terms has been involved in the racial discrimination lawsuit of one of its top woman
managers. As Amanda Johnson (Bennet, 2018) sues her former employer she alleges inappropriate
treatment from her colleagues and her subsequent unjustified firing. Another case of racial
discrimination involved barring black, Arab, and Asian women from its advertisements (Samuel,2009).
According to the court ruling company’s actions were inappropriate and found guilty of discrimination
against race and fined.
This type of issue can put the company’s commitment and inclusivity statement into question.
However, despite the issues related to discrimination in the working place, there is significant evidence
that the company is committed to its values and constantly takes action to promote diversity. Not only
this is seen in numbers but also the acknowledgment of their endeavors in this relation by various
awards it gets year to year.
5. What can be recommended
Diversity and inclusion statements should serve a purpose. For it to be an effective statement it has to
have these elements: value, plausibility, and accountability. The terms ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ seem
to be used interchangeably. The former focuses on combining experiences and knowledge of people
from different backgrounds, while the latter is defined as enabling them to work in an environment,
where they can perform at their best and differences among people with various characteristics would
work for their company’s benefit.
As much as the company asserts diversity in its workplace and that inclusion is a priority management
policy, it should follow its objectives to achieve them. The dangers of empty discourse, and
inconsistency between words and reality, have to be avoided when designing a diversity statement. It
is desired that diversity statements be not generally descriptive but support the desired values. In this
sense, it is recommended that more training and diversity awareness initiatives be organized for the
staff.
In a dynamic, technology-driven world, with company stakeholders from diverse cultures in order to be
innovative, a company has to develop new perspectives into diversity. There are examples of
companies hiring felons, the example of AT&T or American Express; hiring women who have taken
career breaks for different reasons by PayPal or Goldman Sachs, etc. It is suggested that L’Oreal be
innovative and come up with new methods of introducing diversity within its organization.
Another way to improve diversity can be providing training in the language necessary for working for a
company, as the company has subsidiaries in over 60 countries. This allows recruiting from a wider
base of candidates. Language barriers should not be a reason for not considering a qualified
candidate.
Companies that embrace diversity as one of their mission statements need to ensure that practices
and policies are in place to stay compliant with state regulations. It has to be highlighted that an
organization takes care of the impact of policies/practices on different groups of employees. One
suggestion for L’Oreal is to establish a system of giving feedback with surveys and suggestion boxes
in order to understand how the workers feel about those policies. This will enable them to further
enhance existing practices. Both positive and negative feedback should be viewed as valuable. Any
policy that is observed to be an obstruction or not helpful for an employee should be changed and

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adapted accordingly.
Moreover, putting written policies can be not enough; it has to be ensured that the non-written rules of
the company are explained to all workers.