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May 8, 2024

The Diversity Essay: How to Write an Excellent Diversity Essay

What is a diversity essay in a school application? And why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Most importantly, how should you go about writing such an essay?

Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how every student will contribute to the diversity on their campus. A diversity essay gives applicants with disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, an unusual education, a distinctive experience, or a unique family history an opportunity to write about how these elements of their background have prepared them to play a useful role in increasing and encouraging diversity among their target program’s student body and broader community.

The purpose of all application essays is to help the adcom better understand who an applicant is and what they care about. Your essays are your chance to share your voice and humanize your application. This is especially true for the diversity essay, which aims to reveal your unique perspectives and experiences, as well as the ways in which you might contribute to a college community.

In this post, we’ll discuss what exactly a diversity essay is, look at examples of actual prompts and a sample essay, and offer tips for writing a standout essay.

In this post, you’ll find the following:

What a diversity essay covers

How to show you can add to a school’s diversity, why diversity matters to schools.

Seven examples that reveal diversity

Sample diversity essay prompts

How to write about your diversity.

A diversity essay example

Upon hearing the word “diversity” in relation to an application essay, many people assume that they will have to write about gender, sexuality, class, or race. To many, this can feel overly personal or irrelevant, and some students might worry that their identity isn’t unique or interesting enough. In reality, the diversity essay is much broader than many people realize.

Identity means different things to different people. The important thing is that you demonstrate your uniqueness and what matters to you. In addition to writing about one of the traditional identity features we just mentioned (gender, sexuality, class, race), you could consider writing about a more unusual feature of yourself or your life – or even the intersection of two or more identities.

Consider these questions as you think about what to include in your diversity essay:

Do you have a unique or unusual talent or skill?
Do you have beliefs or values that are markedly different from those of the people around you?
Do you have a hobby or interest that sets you apart from your peers?
Have you done or experienced something that few people have? Note that if you choose to write about a single event as a diverse identity feature, that event needs to have had a pretty substantial impact on you and your life. For example, perhaps you’re part of the 0.2% of the world’s population that has run a marathon, or you’ve had the chance to watch wolves hunt in the wild.
Do you have a role in life that gives you a special outlook on the world? For example, maybe one of your siblings has a rare disability, or you grew up in a town with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

If you are an immigrant to the United States, the child of immigrants, or someone whose ethnicity is underrepresented in the States, your response to “How will you add to the diversity of our class/community?” and similar questions might help your application efforts. Why? Because you have the opportunity to show the adcom how your background will contribute a distinctive perspective to the program you are applying to.

Of course, if you’re not underrepresented in your field or part of a disadvantaged group, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to write about in a diversity essay.

For example, you might have an unusual or special experience to share, such as serving in the military, being a member of a dance troupe, or caring for a disabled relative. These and other distinctive experiences can convey how you will contribute to the diversity of the school’s campus.

Maybe you are the first member of your family to apply to college or the first person in your household to learn English. Perhaps you have worked your way through college or helped raise your siblings. You might also have been an ally to those who are underrepresented, disadvantaged, or marginalized in your community, at your school, or in a work setting.

As you can see, diversity is not limited to one’s religion, ethnicity, culture, language, or sexual orientation. It refers to whatever element of your identity distinguishes you from others and shows that you, too, value diversity.

The diversity essay provides colleges the chance to build a student body that includes different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, and so on. Applicants are asked to illuminate what sets them apart so that the adcoms can see what kind of diverse views and opinions they can bring to the campus.

Admissions officers believe that diversity in the classroom improves the educational experience of all the students involved. They also believe that having a diverse workforce better serves society as a whole.

The more diverse perspectives found in the classroom, throughout the dorms, in the dining halls, and mixed into study groups, the richer people’s discussions will be.

Plus, learning and growing in this kind of multicultural environment will prepare students for working in our increasingly multicultural and global world.

In medicine, for example, a heterogeneous workforce benefits people from previously underrepresented cultures. Businesses realize that they will market more effectively if they can speak to different audiences, which is possible when members of their workforce come from various backgrounds and cultures. Schools simply want to prepare graduates for the 21st century job market.

Seven examples that reveal diversity

Adcoms want to know about the diverse elements of your character and how these have helped you develop particular personality traits , as well as about any unusual experiences that have shaped you.

Here are seven examples an applicant could write about:

1. They grew up in an environment with a strong emphasis on respecting their elders, attending family events, and/or learning their parents’ native language and culture.

2. They are close to their grandparents and extended family members who have taught them how teamwork can help everyone thrive.

3. They have had to face difficulties that stem from their parents’ values being in conflict with theirs or those of their peers.

4. Teachers have not always understood the elements of their culture or lifestyle and how those elements influence their performance.

5. They have suffered discrimination and succeeded despite it because of their grit, values, and character.

6. They learned skills from a lifestyle that is outside the norm (e.g., living in foreign countries as the child of a diplomat or contractor; performing professionally in theater, dance, music, or sports; having a deaf sibling).

7. They’ve encountered racism or other prejudice (either toward themselves or others) and responded by actively promoting diverse, tolerant values.

And remember, diversity is not about who your parents are. It’s about who you are – at the core.

Your background, influences, religious observances, native language, ideas, work environment, community experiences – all these factors come together to create a unique individual, one who will contribute to a varied class of distinct individuals taking their place in a diverse world.

The best-known diversity essay prompt is from the Common App . It states:

“Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”

Some schools have individual diversity essay prompts. For example, this one is from Duke University :

“We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.”

And the Rice University application includes the following prompt:

“Rice is strengthened by its diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders and change agents across the spectrum of human endeavor. What perspectives shaped by your background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity inspire you to join our community of change agents at Rice?”

In all instances, colleges want you to demonstrate how and what you’ll contribute to their communities.

Your answer to a school’s diversity essay question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective.

The school might ask how you think of diversity or how you will bring or add to the diversity of the school, your chosen profession, or your community. Make sure you answer the specific question posed by highlighting distinctive elements of your profile that will add to the class mosaic every adcom is trying to create. You don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out in a positive way while also complementing the school’s canvas.

Here’s a simple, three-part framework that will help you think of diversity more broadly:

Who are you? What has contributed to your identity? How do you distinguish yourself? Your identity can include any of the following: gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, nontraditional work experience, nontraditional educational background, multicultural background, and family’s educational level.

What have you done? What have you accomplished? This could include any of the following: achievements inside and/or outside your field of study, leadership opportunities, community service, internship or professional experience, research opportunities, hobbies, and travel. Any or all of these could be unique. Also, what life-derailing, throw-you-for-a-loop challenges have you faced and overcome?

How do you think? How do you approach things? What drives you? What influences you? Are you the person who can break up a tense meeting with some well-timed humor? Are you the one who intuitively sees how to bring people together?

Read more about this three-part framework in Episode 193 of Accepted’s Admissions Straight Talk podcast or listen wherever you get your favorite podcast s.

Think about each question within this framework and how you could apply your diversity elements to your target school’s classroom or community. Any of these elements can serve as the framework for your essay.

Don’t worry if you can’t think of something totally “out there.” You don’t need to be a tightrope walker living in the Andes or a Buddhist monk from Japan to be able to contribute to a school’s diversity!

And please remember, the examples we have offered here are not exhaustive. There are many other ways to show diversity!

All you need to do to be able to write successfully about how you will contribute to the diversity of your target school’s community is examine your identity, deeds, and ideas, with an eye toward your personal distinctiveness and individuality. There is only one you .

Take a look at the sample diversity essay in the next section of this post, and pay attention to how the writer underscores their appreciation for, and experience with, diversity.

A diversity essay sample

When I was starting 11th grade, my dad, an agricultural scientist, was assigned to a 3-month research project in a farm village in Niigata (northwest Honshu in Japan). Rather than stay behind with my mom and siblings, I begged to go with him. As a straight-A student, I convinced my parents and the principal that I could handle my schoolwork remotely (pre-COVID) for that stretch. It was time to leap beyond my comfortable suburban Wisconsin life—and my Western orientation, reinforced by travel to Europe the year before.

We roomed in a sprawling farmhouse with a family participating in my dad’s study. I thought I’d experience an “English-free zone,” but the high school students all studied and wanted to practice English, so I did meet peers even though I didn’t attend their school. Of the many eye-opening, influential, cultural experiences, the one that resonates most powerfully to me is experiencing their community. It was a living, organic whole. Elementary school kids spent time helping with the rice harvest. People who foraged for seasonal wild edibles gave them to acquaintances throughout the town. In fact, there was a constant sharing of food among residents—garden veggies carried in straw baskets, fish or meat in coolers. The pharmacist would drive prescriptions to people who couldn’t easily get out—new mothers, the elderly—not as a business service but as a good neighbor. If rain suddenly threatened, neighbors would bring in each other’s drying laundry. When an empty-nest 50-year-old woman had to be hospitalized suddenly for a near-fatal snakebite, neighbors maintained her veggie patch until she returned. The community embodied constant awareness of others’ needs and circumstances. The community flowed!

Yet, people there lamented that this lifestyle was vanishing; more young people left than stayed or came. And it wasn’t idyllic: I heard about ubiquitous gossip, long-standing personal enmities, busybody-ness. But these very human foibles didn’t dam the flow. This dynamic community organism couldn’t have been more different from my suburban life back home, with its insular nuclear families. We nod hello to neighbors in passing.

This wonderful experience contained a personal challenge. Blond and blue-eyed, I became “the other” for the first time. Except for my dad, I saw no Westerner there. Curious eyes followed me. Stepping into a market or walking down the street, I drew gazes. People swiftly looked away if they accidentally caught my eye. It was not at all hostile, I knew, but I felt like an object. I began making extra sure to appear “presentable” before going outside. The sense of being watched sometimes generated mild stress or resentment. Returning to my lovely tatami room, I would decompress, grateful to be alone. I realized this challenge was a minute fraction of what others experience in my own country. The toll that feeling—and being— “other” takes on non-white and visibly different people in the US can be extremely painful. Experiencing it firsthand, albeit briefly, benignly, and in relative comfort, I got it.

Unlike the organic Niigata community, work teams, and the workplace itself, have externally driven purposes. Within this different environment, I will strive to exemplify the ongoing mutual awareness that fueled the community life in Niigata. Does it benefit the bottom line, improve the results? I don’t know. But it helps me be the mature, engaged person I want to be, and to appreciate the individuals who are my colleagues and who comprise my professional community. I am now far more conscious of people feeling their “otherness”—even when it’s not in response to negative treatment, it can arise simply from awareness of being in some way different.

What did you think of this essay? Does this middle class Midwesterner have the unique experience of being different from the surrounding majority, something she had not experienced in the United States? Did she encounter diversity from the perspective of “the other”?

Here a few things to note about why this diversity essay works so well:

1. The writer comes from “a comfortable, suburban, Wisconsin life,” suggesting that her background might not be ethnically, racially, or in any other way diverse.

2. The diversity “points” scored all come from her fascinating experience of having lived in a Japanese farm village, where she immersed herself in a totally different culture.

3. The lessons learned about the meaning of community are what broaden and deepen the writer’s perspective about life, about a purpose-driven life, and about the concept of “otherness.”

By writing about a time when you experienced diversity in one of its many forms, you can write a memorable and meaningful diversity essay.

Working on your diversity essay?

Want to ensure that your application demonstrates the diversity that your dream school is seeking? Work with one of our admissions experts . This checklist includes more than 30 different ways to think about diversity to jump-start your creative engine.

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications, and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Sundas has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

Different Dimensions of Diversity , podcast Episode 193
What Should You Do If You Belong to an Overrepresented MBA Applicant Group?
Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions , a free guide

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How to Write the Diversity Essay – With Examples

May 1, 2024

The diversity essay has newfound significance in college application packages following the 2023 SCOTUS ruling against race-conscious admissions. Affirmative action began as an attempt to redress unequal access to economic and social mobility associated with higher education. But before the 2023 ruling, colleges frequently defended the policy based on their “compelling interest” in fostering diverse campuses. The reasoning goes that there are certain educational benefits that come from heterogeneous learning environments. Now, the diversity essay has become key for admissions officials in achieving their compelling interest in campus diversity. Thus, unlocking how to write a diversity essay enhances an applicant’s ability to describe their fit with a campus environment. This article describes the genre and provides diversity essay examples to help any applicant express how they conceptualize and contribute to diversity.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Defining the Genre

Diversity essays in many ways resemble the personal statement genre. Like personal statements, they help readers get to know applicants beyond their academic and extracurricular achievements. What makes an applicant unique? Precisely what motivates or inspires them? What is their demeanor like and how do they interact with others? All these questions are useful ways of thinking about the purpose and value of the diversity essay.

It’s important to realize that the essay does not need to focus on aspects like race, religion, or sexuality. Some applicants may choose to write about their relationship to these or other protected identity categories. But applicants shouldn’t feel obligated to ‘come out’ in a diversity essay. Conversely, they should not be anxious if they feel their background doesn’t qualify them as ‘diverse.’

Instead, the diversity essay helps demonstrate broader thinking about what makes applicants unique that admissions officials can’t glean elsewhere. Usually, it also directly or indirectly indicates how an applicant will enhance the campus community they hope to join. Diversity essays can explicitly connect past experiences with future plans. Or they can offer a more general sense of how one’s background will influence their actions in college.

Thus, the diversity essay conveys both aspects that make an applicant unique and arguments for how those aspects will contribute on campus. The somewhat daunting genre is, in fact, a great opportunity for applicants to articulate how their background, identity, or formative experiences will shape their academic, intellectual, social, and professional trajectories.

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Sharing a Story

All diversity essays ask applicants to share what makes them unique and convey how that equips them for university life. However, colleges will typically ask applicants to approach this broad topic from a variety of different angles. Since it’s likely applicants will encounter some version of the genre in either required or supplemental essay assignments, it’s a good idea to have a template diversity essay ready to adapt to each specific prompt.

One of the most standard prompts is the “share a story” prompt. For example, here’s the diversity-related Common App prompt:

This prompt is deliberately broad, inviting applicants to articulate their distinctive qualities in myriad ways. What is unsaid, but likely expected, is some statement about how the story evidences the ability to enhance campus diversity.

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Describing Contribution

Another common prompt explicitly asks students to reflect on diversity while centering what they will contribute in college. A good example of this prompt comes from the University of Miami’s supplemental essay:

Located within one of the most dynamic cities in the world, the University of Miami is a distinctive community with a variety of cultures, traditions, histories, languages, and backgrounds. The University of Miami is a values-based and purpose-driven postsecondary institution that embraces diversity and inclusivity in all its forms and strives to create a culture of belonging, where every person feels valued and has an opportunity to contribute.

Please describe how your unique experiences, challenges overcome, or skills acquired would contribute to our distinctive University community. (250 words)

In essays responding to these kinds of prompts, its smart to more deliberately tailor your essay to what you know about the institution and its values around diversity. You’ll need a substantial part of the essay to address not only your “story” but your anticipated institutional contribution.

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Navigating Difference

The last type of diversity essay prompt worth mentioning asks applicants to explain how they experience and navigate difference. It could be a prompt about dealing with “diverse perspectives.” Or it could ask the applicant to tell a story involving someone different than them. Regardless of the framing, these types of prompts ask you to unfold a theory of diversity stemming from social encounters. Applicants might still think of how they can use the essay to frame what makes them unique. However, here colleges are also hoping for insight into how applicants will deal with the immense diversity of college life beyond their unique experiences. In these cases, it’s especially important to use a story kernel to draw attention to fundamental beliefs and values around diversity.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Tips for Writing

Before we get to the diversity college essay examples, some general tips for writing the diversity essay:

Be authentic: This is not the place to embellish, exaggerate, or overstate your experiences. Writing with humility and awareness of your own limitations can only help you with the diversity essay. So don’t write about who you think the admissions committee wants to see – write about yourself.
Find dynamic intersections: One effective brainstorming strategy is to think of two or more aspects of your background, identity, and interests you might combine. For example, in one of the examples below, the writer talks about their speech impediment alongside their passion for poetry. By thinking of aspects of your experience to combine, you’ll likely generate more original material than focusing on just one.
Include a thesis: Diversity essays follow more general conventions of personal statement writing. That means you should tell a story about yourself, but also make it double as an argumentative piece of writing. Including a thesis in the first paragraph can clearly signal the argumentative hook of the essay for your reader.
Include your definition of diversity: Early in the essay you should define what diversity means to you. It’s important that this definition is as original as possible, preferably connecting to the story you are narrating. To avoid cliché, you might write out a bunch of definitions of diversity. Then, review them and get rid of any that seem like something you’d see in a dictionary or an inspirational poster. Get those clichéd definitions out of your system early, so you can wow your audience with your own carefully considered definition.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Tips for Writing (Cont.)

Zoom out to diversity more broadly: This tip is especially important you are not writing about protected minority identities like race, religion, and sexuality. Again, it’s fine to not focus on these aspects of diversity. But you’ll want to have some space in the essay where you connect your very specific understanding of diversity to a larger system of values that can include those identities.

Revision is another, evergreen tip for writing good diversity essays. You should also remember that you are writing in a personal and narrative-based genre. So, try to be as creative as possible! If you find enjoyment in writing it, chances are better your audience will find entertainment value in reading it.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Diversity Essay Examples

The first example addresses the “share a story” prompt. It is written in the voice of Karim Amir, the main character of Hanif Kureishi’s novel The Buddha of Suburbia .

As a child of the suburbs, I have frequently navigated the labyrinthine alleys of identity. Born to an English mother and an Indian father, I inherited a rich blend of traditions, customs, and perspectives. From an early age, I found myself straddling two worlds, trying to reconcile the conflicting expectations of my dual heritage. Yet, it was only through the lens of acting that I began to understand the true fluidity of identity.

A fairly typical table setting first paragraph, foregrounding themes of identity and performance
Includes a “thesis” in the final sentence suggesting the essay’s narrative and argumentative arc

Diversity, to me, is more than just a buzzword describing a melting pot of ethnic backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations. Instead, it evokes the unfathomable heterogeneity of human experience that I aim to help capture through performance. On the stage, I have often been slotted into Asian and other ethnic minority roles. I’ve had to deal with discriminatory directors who complain I am not Indian enough. Sometimes, it has even been tempting to play into established stereotypes attached to the parts I am playing. However, acting has ultimately helped me to see that the social types we imagine when we think of the word ‘diversity’ are ultimately fantastical constructions. Prescribed identities may help us to feel a sense of belonging, but they also distort what makes us radically unique.

Includes an original definition of diversity, which the writer compellingly contrasts with clichéd definitions
Good narrative dynamism, stressing how the writer has experienced growth over time

Diversity Essay Examples Continued – Example One

The main challenge for an actor is to dig beneath the “type” of character to find the real human being underneath. Rising to this challenge entails discarding with lazy stereotypes and scaling what can seem to be insurmountable differences. Bringing human drama to life, making it believable, requires us to realize a more fundamental meaning of diversity. It means locating each character at their own unique intersection of identity. My story, like all the stories I aspire to tell as an actor, can inspire others to search for and celebrate their specificity.

Focuses in on the kernel of wisdom acquired over the course of the narrative
Indirectly suggests what the applicant can contribute to the admitted class

Acting has ultimately underlined an important takeaway of my dual heritage: all identities are, in a sense, performed. This doesn’t mean that heritage is not important, or that identities are not significant rallying points for community. Instead, it means recognizing that identity isn’t a prison, but a stage.

Draws the reader back to where the essay began, locating them at the intersection of two aspects of writer’s background
Sharply and deftly weaves a course between saying identities are fictions and saying that identities matter (rather than potentially alienating reader by picking one over the other)

Diversity Essay Examples Continued – Example Two

The second example addresses a prompt about what the applicant can contribute to a diverse campus. It is written from the perspective of Jason Taylor, David Mitchell’s protagonist in Black Swan Green .

Growing up with a stutter, each word was a hesitant step, every sentence a delicate balance between perseverance and frustration. I came to think of the written word as a sanctuary away from the staccato rhythm of my speech. In crafting melodically flowing poems, I discovered a language unfettered by the constraints of my impediment. However, diving deeper into poetry eventually made me realize how my stammer had a humanistic rhythm all its own.

Situates us at the intersection of two themes – a speech impediment and poetry – and uses the thesis to gesture to their synthesis
Nicely matches form and content. The writer uses this opportunity to demonstrate their facility with literary language.

Immersing myself in the genius of Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, and Maya Angelou, I learned to embrace the beauty of diversity in language, rhythm, and life itself. Angelou wrote that “Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.” For me, this quote illuminates how diversity is not simply a static expression of discrete differences. Instead, diversity teaches us the beauty of a multitude of rhythms we can learn from and incorporate in a mutual dance. If “everything in the universe has a rhythm,” then it’s also possible that anything can be poetry. Even my stuttering speech can dance.

Provides a unique definition of diversity
Conveys growth over time
Connects kernel of wisdom back to the essay’s narrative starting point

As I embark on this new chapter of my life, I bring with me the lessons learned from the interplay of rhythm and verse. I bring a perspective rooted in empathy, an unwavering commitment to inclusivity, and a belief in language as the ultimate tool of transformative social connection. I am prepared to enter your university community, adding a unique voice that refuses to be silent.

Directly addresses how background and experiences will contribute to campus life
Conveys contributions in an analytic mode (second sentence) and more literary and personal mode (third sentence)

Additional Resources

Diversity essays can seem intimidating because of the political baggage we bring to the word ‘diversity.’ But applicants should feel liberated by the opportunity to describe what makes them unique. It doesn’t matter if applicants choose to write about aspects of identity, life experiences, or personal challenges. What matters is telling a compelling story of personal growth. Also significant is relating that story to an original theory of the function and value of diversity in society. At the end of the day, committees want to know their applicants deeper and get a holistic sense of how they will improve the educational lives of those around them.

Additional Reading and Resources

10 Instructive Common App Essay Examples
How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
Common App Essay Prompts
Why This College Essay – Tips for Success
How to Write a Body Paragraph for a College Essay
UC Essay Examples
College Essay

Tyler Talbott

Tyler holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Missouri and two Master of Arts degrees in English, one from the University of Maryland and another from Northwestern University. Currently, he is a PhD candidate in English at Northwestern University, where he also works as a graduate writing fellow.

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How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

Published on November 1, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on May 31, 2023.

What is a diversity essay, identify how you will enrich the campus community, share stories about your lived experience, explain how your background or identity has affected your life, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Diversity essays ask students to highlight an important aspect of their identity, background, culture, experience, viewpoints, beliefs, skills, passions, goals, etc.

Diversity essays can come in many forms. Some scholarships are offered specifically for students who come from an underrepresented background or identity in higher education. At highly competitive schools, supplemental diversity essays require students to address how they will enhance the student body with a unique perspective, identity, or background.

In the Common Application and applications for several other colleges, some main essay prompts ask about how your background, identity, or experience has affected you.

Why schools want a diversity essay

Many universities believe a student body representing different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community.

Through the diversity essay, admissions officers want students to articulate the following:

What makes them different from other applicants
Stories related to their background, identity, or experience
How their unique lived experience has affected their outlook, activities, and goals

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Think about what aspects of your identity or background make you unique, and choose one that has significantly impacted your life.

For some students, it may be easy to identify what sets them apart from their peers. But if you’re having trouble identifying what makes you different from other applicants, consider your life from an outsider’s perspective. Don’t presume your lived experiences are normal or boring just because you’re used to them.

Some examples of identities or experiences that you might write about include the following:

Race/ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Nationality
Socioeconomic status
Immigration background
Religion/belief system
Place of residence
Family circumstances
Extracurricular activities related to diversity

Include vulnerable, authentic stories about your lived experiences. Maintain focus on your experience rather than going into too much detail comparing yourself to others or describing their experiences.

Keep the focus on you

Tell a story about how your background, identity, or experience has impacted you. While you can briefly mention another person’s experience to provide context, be sure to keep the essay focused on you. Admissions officers are mostly interested in learning about your lived experience, not anyone else’s.

When I was a baby, my grandmother took me in, even though that meant postponing her retirement and continuing to work full-time at the local hairdresser. Even working every shift she could, she never missed a single school play or soccer game.

She and I had a really special bond, even creating our own special language to leave each other secret notes and messages. She always pushed me to succeed in school, and celebrated every academic achievement like it was worthy of a Nobel Prize. Every month, any leftover tip money she received at work went to a special 509 savings plan for my college education.

When I was in the 10th grade, my grandmother was diagnosed with ALS. We didn’t have health insurance, and what began with quitting soccer eventually led to dropping out of school as her condition worsened. In between her doctor’s appointments, keeping the house tidy, and keeping her comfortable, I took advantage of those few free moments to study for the GED.

In school pictures at Raleigh Elementary School, you could immediately spot me as “that Asian girl.” At lunch, I used to bring leftover fun see noodles, but after my classmates remarked how they smelled disgusting, I begged my mom to make a “regular” lunch of sliced bread, mayonnaise, and deli meat.

Although born and raised in North Carolina, I felt a cultural obligation to learn my “mother tongue” and reconnect with my “homeland.” After two years of all-day Saturday Chinese school, I finally visited Beijing for the first time, expecting I would finally belong. While my face initially assured locals of my Chinese identity, the moment I spoke, my cover was blown. My Chinese was littered with tonal errors, and I was instantly labeled as an “ABC,” American-born Chinese.

I felt culturally homeless.

Speak from your own experience

Highlight your actions, difficulties, and feelings rather than comparing yourself to others. While it may be tempting to write about how you have been more or less fortunate than those around you, keep the focus on you and your unique experiences, as shown below.

I began to despair when the FAFSA website once again filled with red error messages.

I had been at the local library for hours and hadn’t even been able to finish the form, much less the other to-do items for my application.

I am the first person in my family to even consider going to college. My parents work two jobs each, but even then, it’s sometimes very hard to make ends meet. Rather than playing soccer or competing in speech and debate, I help my family by taking care of my younger siblings after school and on the weekends.

“We only speak one language here. Speak proper English!” roared a store owner when I had attempted to buy bread and accidentally used the wrong preposition.

In middle school, I had relentlessly studied English grammar textbooks and received the highest marks.

Leaving Seoul was hard, but living in West Orange, New Jersey was much harder一especially navigating everyday communication with Americans.

After sharing relevant personal stories, make sure to provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your perspective, activities, and goals. You should also explain how your background led you to apply to this university and why you’re a good fit.

Include your outlook, actions, and goals

Conclude your essay with an insight about how your background or identity has affected your outlook, actions, and goals. You should include specific actions and activities that you have done as a result of your insight.

One night, before the midnight premiere of Avengers: Endgame , I stopped by my best friend Maria’s house. Her mother prepared tamales, churros, and Mexican hot chocolate, packing them all neatly in an Igloo lunch box. As we sat in the line snaking around the AMC theater, I thought back to when Maria and I took salsa classes together and when we belted out Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” at karaoke. In that moment, as I munched on a chicken tamale, I realized how much I admired the beauty, complexity, and joy in Maria’s culture but had suppressed and devalued my own.

The following semester, I joined Model UN. Since then, I have learned how to proudly represent other countries and have gained cultural perspectives other than my own. I now understand that all cultures, including my own, are equal. I still struggle with small triggers, like when I go through airport security and feel a suspicious glance toward me, or when I feel self-conscious for bringing kabsa to school lunch. But in the future, I hope to study and work in international relations to continue learning about other cultures and impart a positive impression of Saudi culture to the world.

The smell of the early morning dew and the welcoming whinnies of my family’s horses are some of my most treasured childhood memories. To this day, our farm remains so rural that we do not have broadband access, and we’re too far away from the closest town for the postal service to reach us.

Going to school regularly was always a struggle: between the unceasing demands of the farm and our lack of connectivity, it was hard to keep up with my studies. Despite being a voracious reader, avid amateur chemist, and active participant in the classroom, emergencies and unforeseen events at the farm meant that I had a lot of unexcused absences.

Although it had challenges, my upbringing taught me resilience, the value of hard work, and the importance of family. Staying up all night to watch a foal being born, successfully saving the animals from a minor fire, and finding ways to soothe a nervous mare afraid of thunder have led to an unbreakable family bond.

Our farm is my family’s birthright and our livelihood, and I am eager to learn how to ensure the farm’s financial and technological success for future generations. In college, I am looking forward to joining a chapter of Future Farmers of America and studying agricultural business to carry my family’s legacy forward.

Tailor your answer to the university

After explaining how your identity or background will enrich the university’s existing student body, you can mention the university organizations, groups, or courses in which you’re interested.

Maybe a larger public school setting will allow you to broaden your community, or a small liberal arts college has a specialized program that will give you space to discover your voice and identity. Perhaps this particular university has an active affinity group you’d like to join.

Demonstrating how a university’s specific programs or clubs are relevant to you can show that you’ve done your research and would be a great addition to the university.

At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to study engineering not only to emulate my mother’s achievements and strength, but also to forge my own path as an engineer with disabilities. I appreciate the University of Michigan’s long-standing dedication to supporting students with disabilities in ways ranging from accessible housing to assistive technology. At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to receive a top-notch education and use it to inspire others to strive for their best, regardless of their circumstances.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

Writing process
Transition words
Passive voice
Paraphrasing

Communication

How to end an email
Ms, mrs, miss
How to start an email
I hope this email finds you well
Hope you are doing well

Parts of speech

Personal pronouns
Conjunctions

In addition to your main college essay , some schools and scholarships may ask for a supplementary essay focused on an aspect of your identity or background. This is sometimes called a diversity essay .

Many universities believe a student body composed of different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community, which is why they assign a diversity essay .

To write an effective diversity essay , include vulnerable, authentic stories about your unique identity, background, or perspective. Provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your outlook, activities, and goals. If relevant, you should also mention how your background has led you to apply for this university and why you’re a good fit.

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The Diversity College Essay: How to Write a Stellar Essay

What’s covered:, what’s covered in a diversity essay, what is a diversity essay, examples of the diversity essay prompt, how to write the diversity college essay after the end of affirmative action, tips for writing a diversity college essay.

The Diversity Essay exists because colleges want a student body that includes different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, and so on. The essay asks students to illuminate what sets them apart so that admissions committees can see what kind of diverse views and opinions they can bring to the campus.

In this post, we’ll be going over what exactly a diversity essay is, examples of real prompts and essays, and tips for writing a standout essay. You’ll be well prepared to answer this common essay prompt after reading this post!

Upon hearing the word diversity, many people assume that they have to write about gender and sexuality, class, or race. To many, this can feel overly personal or forced, or can cause students to worry that their identity isn’t unique or interesting enough. In reality, the diversity essay is much broader than many people realize.

Identity means different things to different people, and the important thing is that you demonstrate your uniqueness and what’s important to you. You might write about one of the classic, traditional identity features mentioned above, but you also could consider writing about a more unusual feature of yourself or your life—or even the intersection of two or more identities.

Consider these questions as you think about what to include in your diversity essay:

Do you have a unique or unusual talent or skill? For example, you might be a person with perfect pitch, or one with a very accurate innate sense of direction.
Do you have beliefs or values that are markedly different from the beliefs or values of those around you? Perhaps you hold a particular passion for scientific curiosity or truthfulness, even when it’s inconvenient.
Do you have a hobby or interest that sets you apart from your peers? Maybe you’re an avid birder, or perhaps you love to watch old horror movies.
Have you done or experienced something that few people have? Note that if you choose to write about a single event as a diverse identity feature, that event should have had a pretty substantial impact on you and your life. Perhaps you’re part of the 0.2% of the world that has run a marathon, or you’ve had the chance to watch wolves hunt in the wild.
Do you have a role in life that gives you a special outlook on the world? Maybe one of your siblings has a rare disability, or you grew up in a town of less than 500 people.

Of course, if you would rather write about a more classic identity feature, you absolutely should! These questions are intended to help you brainstorm and get you thinking creatively about this prompt. You don’t need to dig deep for an extremely unusual diverse facet of yourself or your personality. If writing about something like ability, ethnicity, or gender feels more representative of your life experience, that can be an equally strong choice!

You should think expansively about your options and about what really demonstrates your individuality, but the most important thing is to be authentic and choose a topic that is truly meaningful to you.

Diversity essay prompts come up in both personal statements and supplemental essays. As with all college essays, the purpose of any prompt is to better understand who you are and what you care about. Your essays are your chance to share your voice and humanize your application. This is especially true for the diversity essay, which aims to understand your unique perspectives and experiences, as well as the ways in which you might contribute to a college community.

It’s worth noting that diversity essays are used in all kinds of selection processes beyond undergrad admissions—they’re seen in everything from graduate admissions to scholarship opportunities. You may very well need to write another diversity essay later in life, so it’s a good idea to get familiar with this essay archetype now.

If you’re not sure whether your prompt is best answered by a diversity essay, consider checking out our posts on other essay archetypes, like “Why This College?” , “Why This Major?” , and the Extracurricular Activity Essay .

The best-known diversity essay prompt is from the Common App . The first prompt states:

Some schools also have individual diversity essay prompts. For example, here’s one from Duke University :

And here’s one from Rice :

In all instances, colleges want you to demonstrate how and what you’ll contribute to their communities.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court overturned the use of affirmative action in college admissions, meaning that colleges are no longer able to directly factor race into admissions decisions. Despite this ruling, you can still discuss your racial or ethnic background in your Common App or supplemental essays.

If your race or ethnic heritage is important to you, we strongly recommend writing about it in one of your essays, as this is now one of the only ways that admissions committees are able to consider it as a factor in your admission.

Many universities still want to hear about your racial background and how it has impacted you, so you are likely to see diversity essays show up more frequently as part of supplemental essay packets. Remember, if you are seeing this kind of prompt, it’s because colleges care about your unique identity and life experience, and believe that these constitute an important part of viewing your application holistically. To learn more about how the end of affirmative action is impacting college admissions, check out our post for more details .

1. Highlight what makes you stand out.

A common misconception is that diversity only refers to aspects—such as ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. While these are standard measures of diversity, you can be diverse in other ways. These ways includes (but aren’t limited to) your:

Interests, hobbies, and talents
Perspectives, values, and opinions
Experiences
Personality traits

Ask yourself which aspects of your identity are most central to who you are. Are these aspects properly showcased in other portions of your application? Do you have any interests, experiences, or traits you want to highlight?

For instance, maybe you’re passionate about reducing food waste. You might love hiking and the outdoors. Or, maybe you’re a talented self-taught barber who’s given hundreds of free haircuts in exchange for donations to charity.

The topic of your essay doesn’t have to be crazy or even especially unique. You just want to highlight whatever is important to you, and how this thing shapes who you are. You might still want to write about a more common aspect of identity. If so, there are strong ways to do so.

If you do choose to write about a more common trait (for example, maybe your love of running), do so in a way that tells your story. Don’t just write an ode to running and how it’s stress-relieving and pushes you past your limits. Share your journey with us⁠—for instance, maybe you used to hate it, but you changed your mind one day and eventually trained to run a half marathon. Or, take us through your thought process during a race. The topic in itself is important, but how you write about it is even more important.

2. Share an anecdote.

One easy way to make your essay more engaging is to share a relevant and related story. The beginning of your essay is a great place for that, as it draws the reader in immediately. For instance, the following student chose to write about their Jewish identity, and opened the essay with a vivid experience of being discriminated against:

“I was thirsty. In my wallet was a lone $10 bill, ultimately useless at my school’s vending machine. Tasked with scrounging together the $1 cost of a water bottle, I fished out and arranged the spare change that normally hid at the bottom of my backpack in neat piles of nickels and dimes on my desk. I swept them into a spare Ziploc and began to leave when a classmate snatched the bag and held it above my head.

“Want your money back, Jew?” she chanted, waving the coins around. I had forgotten the Star-of-David around my neck, but quickly realized she must have seen it and connected it to the stacks of coins. I am no stranger to experiencing and confronting antisemitism, but I had never been targeted in my school before.”

An anecdote allows readers to experience what you’re describing, and to feel as if they’re there with you. This can ultimately help readers better relate to you.

Brainstorm some real-life stories relevant to the trait you want to feature. Possibilities include: a meaningful interaction, achieving a goal, a conflict, a time you felt proud of the trait (or ashamed of it), or the most memorable experience related to the trait. Your story could even be something as simple as describing your mental and emotional state while you’re doing a certain activity.

Whatever you decide on, consider sharing that moment in media res , or “in the middle of things.” Take us directly to the action in your story so we can experience it with you.

3. Show, don’t tell.

If you simply state what makes you diverse, it’s really easy for your essay to end up sounding bland. The writer of the previous essay example could’ve simply stated “I’m Jewish and I’ve had to face antisemitism.” This is a broad statement that doesn’t highlight their unique personal experiences. It doesn’t have the same emotional impact.

Instead, the writer illustrated an actual instance where they experienced antisemitism, which made the essay more vivid and easier to relate to. Even if we’re not Jewish ourselves, we can feel the anger and pain of being taunted for our background. This story is also unique to the writer’s life⁠—while others may have experienced discrimination, no one else will have had the exact same encounter.

As you’re writing, constantly evaluate whether or not you’re sharing a unique perspective. If what you write could’ve been written by someone else with a similar background or interest, you need to get more granular. Your personal experiences are what will make your essay unique, so share those with your reader.

4. Discuss how your diversity shapes your outlook and actions.

It’s important to describe not only what your unique traits and experiences are, but also how they shape who you are. You don’t have to explicitly say “this is how X trait impacts me” (you actually shouldn’t, as that would be telling instead of showing). Instead, you can reveal the impact of your diversity through the details you share.

Maybe playing guitar taught you the importance of consistent effort. Show us this through a story of how you tackled an extremely difficult piece you weren’t sure you could handle. Show us the calluses on your fingers, the knit brows as you tinkered with the chords, the countless lessons with your teacher. Show us your elation as you finally performed the piece.

Remember that colleges learn not just about who you are, but also about what you might contribute to their community. Take your essay one step farther and show admissions officers how your diversity impacts the way you approach your life.

Where to Get Your Diversity Essay Edited

Do you want feedback on your diversity essay? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Diversity Training Goals, Limitations, and Promise: A Review of the Multidisciplinary Literature

Patricia g. devine.

1 Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA;

Tory L. Ash

2 Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA;

In this review, we utilize a narrative approach to synthesize the multidisciplinary literature on diversity training. In examining hundreds of articles on the topic, we discovered that the literature is amorphous and complex and does not allow us to reach decisive conclusions regarding best practices in diversity training. We note that scholars of diversity training, when testing the efficacy of their approaches, too often use proxy measures for success that are far removed from the types of consequential outcomes that reflect the purported goals of such trainings. We suggest that the enthusiasm for, and monetary investment in, diversity training has outpaced the available evidence that such programs are effective in achieving their goals. We recommend that researchers and practitioners work together for future investigations to propel the science of diversity training forward. We conclude with a roadmap for how to create a more rigorous and relevant science of diversity training.

INTRODUCTION

Public discourse and popular media are flooded with stories of companies implementing diversity training (DT) in response to highly publicized, and often reputation damaging, instances of bias. In a particularly salient case, Starbucks closed all 175,000 stores to host a four-hour antibias training following the controversial arrest of two Black patrons purportedly loitering while waiting for an associate to arrive ( Stewart 2018 ). In response to the outrage following the expulsion of Black passengers for allegedly laughing too loudly on the Napa Valley Train, the CEO of the company publicly promised to provide DT for all his employees ( Bhattacharjee 2016 ). In another example, Delta Air Lines offered unconscious bias training for all 23,000 flight attendants after a Black physician’s credentials were questioned when she attempted to provide emergency medical care to a fellow passenger ( Crespo 2018 ). Although the public is all too familiar with promises of reform via employee DT, much less attention is paid to the content, objectives, and effectiveness of DT. Specifically, what are the goals of DT? What should be included in DT? How would an interested consumer recognize an effective DT program? And is DT effective in reducing bias, or is it rife with empty promises?

Many scholars and laypeople alike argue that DT may be effective across a variety of contexts for reducing intergroup anxiety, preventing discrimination, and ultimately, promoting social justice. We find the hunger for knowledge regarding what practitioners can do to create more inclusive environments encouraging, as motivation to address bias is the necessary first step to achieving greater equity ( Devine 1989 ). However, the well-intentioned, yet uninformed, consumer may quickly become overwhelmed by the breadth of DT programs currently available. DT programs go by many names and range from diversity and inclusion certification programs at accredited universities to bias training via online modules and consultation services from diversity, equity, and inclusion experts. Although many programs boast endorsements from well-known companies that vouch for the efficacy of their services, their websites provide little evidence supporting the effectiveness of their programs. Despite stylish web pages featuring photos of diverse work teams, lofty promises, and persuasive customer testimonials, there is a lack of information about the particular content, techniques, and evidentiary basis underlying the application of each training. Moreover, diligent browsers are often frustrated in their efforts because many websites prohibit prospective clients from gaining more information without signing up for a listserv, consultation, or free trial.

Despite the abundance of DT programs available to purchase by the public, the practice of offering DT has gotten too far ahead of the evidence suggesting they are helpful (e.g., Green & Hagiwara 2020 , Moss-Racusin et al. 2014 , Paluck et al. 2020 ). Furthermore, some scholars explicitly question the ethics of implementing such trainings without evidence of their efficacy ( Paluck 2012 ). Others have sounded the alarm that such trainings may even be counterproductive and may be associated with a decrease in the representation of employees from historically marginalized groups ( Dobbin & Kalev 2016 , Dover et al. 2020 ).

This review summarizes the goals, content, and efficacy of DT across a variety of disciplines and settings. In light of the boom in DT and in response to calls for a more rigorous evaluation of the efficacy of DT programs ( Paluck 2012 , Paluck & Green 2009 ), this review focuses on the extent to which the science of DT has gained traction in establishing the efficacy of DT programs. And if not, where do we go from here?

Given that others have noted that “diversity training” can be considered a catch-all term (e.g., Paluck 2006 ), we cast a wide net in performing our literature search on DT. Articles included in our review evaluated DT programs targeted to address outcomes relevant to institutionalized settings. All of the studies reviewed share an emphasis on relevant samples (i.e., nurses, teachers, employees), field settings (i.e., classroom, workplace, professional conference), and training programs (rather than brief lab-based manipulations). This review is distinct in highlighting DT, specifically, and it departs from previous reviews that examine the effects of contact ( Pettigrew & Tropp 2006 ) or the broad array of prejudice reduction manipulations designed to enhance intergroup relations ( Paluck et al. 2020 ).

We used a variety of search terms and did not restrict our search to any particular field or set of journals. Search terms included: diversity training, bias/prejudice reduction interventions, antibias training, diversity education, cultural competence, bias literacy, multicultural education, ethnic studies, implicit/unconscious bias training, and racial sensitivity training. We limited our search to articles that were peer-reviewed, had adult samples, and were published during or after the year 2000. Although DT for children and adolescents is a growing topic of inquiry, this body of literature involves considerations (e.g., the developmental appropriateness of the program’s content) that fall outside the scope of this review. We restricted our database to articles published after the year 2000 for two reasons. First, that year largely marks the beginning of the big business boom of DT as a for-profit and pervasive industry ( Paluck 2006 ). Second, comprehensive reviews of the DT literature prior to 2000 already exist (e.g., Bezrukova et al. 2016 , Paluck & Green 2009 ). Our goal was to evaluate the extent to which the more recent science of DT has progressed to the point of offering clear guidelines regarding best DT practices.

Our literature search began in June of 2019 and continued until the end of 2020. In total, we collected 250 articles, which were then coded across 35 different criteria. The majority of the coding was conducted by the second author; all other coding was conducted by trained research assistants and checked by the second author. To obtain interrater reliability, two coders independently reviewed all of the articles and coded for 6 of the 35 variables, for a total of approximately 15% of the data. These 6 variables correspond to the findings reported throughout our review; interrater reliability was satisfactory (97.60% agreement).

Variables of interest were selected as being likely important for evaluating the effectiveness of DT based on prior literature reviews and meta-analyses (e.g., Bezrukova et al. 2016 , Paluck & Green 2009 , Pettigrew & Tropp 2006 ). We distinguished articles based on their setting, purpose, kind of training, and duration. To account for the scientific rigor of articles, we coded for the research design utilized, the sample selection and size, whether outcomes were self-reported or behavioral, and whether assessments were immediate or delayed. Throughout, we highlight the variables that are most germane for our review; however, readers interested in learning more about the other variables can do so on our page on the Open Science Framework website ( https://osf.io/p7sxr/ ).

Our review includes studies that were conducted in one of three settings—organizational, human services, and education—each with its own definition of DT and specific goals that the DT is meant to address. Studies conducted in organizational settings concerned diversity initiatives for employees in workplace settings. Articles within the subfield of human services discussed training for service providers (e.g., doctors, mental health professionals, and teachers) to promote equitable care. And studies positioned in educational settings evaluated the efficacy of diversity-related curricula directed at a general student audience.

Each of these subfields has an extensive DT literature, and evaluating them separately allows for an analysis of the unique strengths and shortcomings of the research in each context. In organizing our review around these subfields, we depart from prior meta-analyses that include DT but do not make such distinctions (e.g., Bezrukova et al. 2016 , Paluck & Green 2009 , Paluck et al. 2020 ). Evaluating whether DT is effective requires considering the specific goals that motivate the implementation of particular trainings. Trainings implemented to increase minority representation in a workplace, for example, have different objectives, targeted outcomes, and content compared to a training aimed at reducing patient treatment discrepancies in health care settings. As such, making direct comparisons across subfields is challenging, and inferences regarding DT made in one discipline may or may not generalize to another subfield.

Due to the disparate methodologies and wide-ranging practices encompassed by the cross-disciplinary term “diversity training,” we used a narrative approach in summarizing the literature. Within each discipline we identify the goals and approach of DT for that field, the most common methods used, the outcomes assessed, and the state of the evidence regarding the efficacy of DT. We then offer a critique of the work and some field-specific recommendations for advancing the science of DT. We conclude each section with a table summarizing the work done in that particular field and our field-specific recommendations.

DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATIONAL SETTINGS

We begin our summary of DT with studies positioned in workplace or organizational settings. Within the United States, employee DT was born in response to the advent of affirmative action policies implemented in US workplaces following the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, DT was simply used to inform employees of antidiscrimination laws and to assimilate women and people of color into workplace culture. Today, many motivations likely underlie companies’ utilization of DT, such as the promotion of a diverse workforce, the provision of effective communication with a diverse customer base, the avoidance of workplace discrimination, and the cultivation of creative problem solving. Irrespective of motivation, as demographics continue to shift, corporations are tasked with creating increasingly multicultural, multiracial, and multigendered workplace communities. As a result, DT has become a big and booming industry. Undeniably, DT sells, and it sells well; by one estimate, companies invest $8 billion in DT each year ( Lipman 2018 ). Currently, more than half of mid-sized and large US companies offer some form of DT ( Dobbin & Kalev 2016 ). What is unknown, at this point, is whether the returns, in terms of benefits, warrant the huge investments in DT.

Goals and Approach

The goals for organizational DT include the “full integration of members of minority social categories into the social, structural, and power relationships of an organization or institution” ( Brewer et al. 1999 , p. 337). These goals encompass the recruitment and retention of employees from underrepresented backgrounds as well as increased group cohesion, creativity, and equity within a given workplace. Stated simply, organizational DT has the overarching goal of fostering an inclusive company climate ( Bezrukova et al. 2016 ). Therefore, our review of the literature evaluated questions such as, Does DT lead to increased feelings of belonging among members of historically marginalized groups? Does representation of members of historically marginalized groups improve following DT, and is this increase maintained over time? Do employees from both historically advantaged and disadvantaged groups who undergo DT report more inclusive work climates, compared to employees from organizations that do not offer DT?

Articles are included in this section if they discuss topics or use samples characteristic of organizational settings. For example, Combs & Luthans (2007) studied participants from a government agency, insurance company, and manufacturing firm. Others investigated government contract trainees ( Rehg et al. 2012 ), managers within a government agency ( Sanchez & Medkik 2004 ), and even taxicab drivers ( Reynolds 2010 ). Many studies recruited business graduate students (e.g., Bush & Ingram 2001 , Sanchez-Burks et al. 2007 ), hospitality students ( Madera et al. 2011 ), and undergraduate students either enrolled in a workplace diversity course ( Hostager & De Meuse 2008 ) or engaged in a professional setting as research ( Roberson et al. 2009 ) or teaching ( Roberson et al. 2001 ) assistants. A sizeable portion of the articles (17.02%) examined the impact of trainings targeting gender bias in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) organizations and departments (e.g., Hennes et al. 2018 , Moss-Racusin et al. 2018 ).

Many trainings pertained to the general promotion and inclusion of marginalized groups. Others, however, were specific about the group targeted, such as women (e.g., Chang et al. 2019 , Jackson et al. 2014 ), older individuals ( Reynolds 2010 ), English language learners ( Madera et al. 2011 ), and individuals with disabilities ( Phillips et al. 2016 ).

DT within organizational settings is most commonly delivered in a lecture-based format by an outside consultant ( Paluck 2006 ). Throughout the presentation, trainers often discuss the definition, benefits, and potential challenges of workplace diversity. The presentation is typically followed by group activities, such as reviewing cases of work-based prejudice ( Sanchez & Medkik 2004 ), simulating common disabilities associated with aging ( Reynolds 2010 ), and determining whether different scenarios constitute workplace discrimination ( Preusser et al. 2011 ).

As found by prior reviews, the selection of particular DT strategies appears to be most often motivated by personal preference or intuition about what trainers believe would be effective rather than by a specific theoretical approach or empirical evidence ( Cox & Devine 2019 , Pendry et al. 2007 ). Many studies from organizational settings did not include information explaining the content of the training (e.g., Holladay & Quiñones 2008 ) or justifying the use of the strategies employed (e.g., Sanchez & Medkik 2004 ).

Research Designs and Assessment of Outcomes

Of the 47 articles that discussed DT in organizational settings, 15 articles were correlational, theoretical, or qualitative; 32 studies delivered and quantitatively evaluated a training. Researchers most often utilized single-group repeated measures designs (i.e., pre–post; 43.75%), others used group designs with random assignment (i.e., experimental; 37.50%), and a few utilized group designs without random assignment (i.e., quasi-experimental; 18.75%). 1

Most studies (62.50%) assessed trainees’ cognitive and affective responses to the DT as their primary outcome of interest. 2 Specifically, many studies’ primary outcome was employees’ self-reported learning or recalled knowledge of the material presented within the training, such as knowledge of how stereotypes may influence one’s judgments in professional settings ( Roberson et al. 2009 ), what constitutes bias ( Hennes et al. 2018 ), and knowledge of cultural differences ( Rehg et al. 2012 ). Several studies also examined trainees’ perceptions of the training itself (e.g., liking, interest) through a program evaluation survey (e.g., Reynolds 2010 , Sanchez & Medkik 2004 ). Other studies examined participants’ attitudes following DT, such as supportive attitudes toward women in the workplace (e.g., Chang et al. 2019 ), attitudes toward LGBTQ+ employees (e.g., Hood et al. 2001 ), and attitudes toward non-English speakers ( Madera et al. 2011 ).

Although most studies focused on trainees’ self-reported outcomes, some studies (28.13%) did not. Instead, these studies examined how the DT affected participants’ responses to hypothetical workplace diversity incidents ( Roberson et al. 2009 ), supervisors’ ratings of trainees’ interpersonal skills ( Sanchez & Medkik 2004 ), and creative problem solving within nationally diverse teams ( Homan et al. 2015 ). In a methodologically rigorous study, Chang and colleagues (2019) assessed the impact of the training on the number of female employees nominated for excellent performance in an ostensibly unrelated workplace initiative.

State of the Evidence

Although many trainings demonstrated favorable post-intervention effects with respect to employees’ self-reported cognitive, affective, and skill-based outcomes ( Kalinonski et al. 2013 ), other studies demonstrated more complicated patterns of results. For example, in a quasi-experimental field study, Sanchez & Medkik (2004) found that diversity awareness training actually led to an increase in managers’ unfriendly treatment toward non-White employees, as rated by a coworker specifically assigned to monitor the behavior of each participant. Based on post-intervention interviews, the authors concluded that adverse outcomes arose out of resentment because the trainees believed they had been referred to the mandatory DT following complaints of biased behavior.

Studies that incorporated delayed measures (40.63%) found conflicting evidence that immediate effects translated into enduring changes. For example, Chang and colleagues (2019) investigated the effects of an online DT and found that although some participants reported more positive attitudes toward women immediately after the intervention, there was limited evidence to support the training’s efficacy in delayed behavioral measures collected 3 weeks later. Hill & Augoustinos (2001) studied a program aimed at reducing prejudice toward Aboriginal Australians among employees in a large Australian-based public service organization. Although negative stereotypes and prejudice decreased immediately following the program, these changes did not persist when evaluated 3 months later. Adding to the mixed nature of the findings, Combs & Luthans (2007) found that 1 year after the training, participants who had received DT valued diversity more compared to employees in the control condition. Given that the differences across these studies are numerous (i.e., the particular organizational setting of the training, the content of the DT, the outcomes examined, etc.), it is unclear what underlies the differences observed regarding the long-term effects of DT.

Contradictory findings concerning the impact of DT in organizational settings may highlight the importance of contextual factors that can moderate a program’s effects, such as whether training is mandatory or optional. Research has indicated that compulsory DT can often result in backlash (e.g., Legault et al. 2011 , Sanchez & Medkik 2004 ) and may actually lead to less diversity in the workforce ( Dobbin & Kalev 2016 ). However, voluntary training may only benefit participants who already appreciate diversity at the onset ( Kulik et al. 2007 ). Although the mandatory versus voluntary training debate is beyond the scope of this review, recent research has provided a potential avenue of resolution. Rather than assigning all members of an organization to attend DT, organizations may be better served by equipping socially connected and highly respected individuals with the tools and motivation to inform and persuade other members of a social network to promote greater equity ( Forscher 2017 , Paluck et al. 2016 ).

In our review of the literature, measurements of systemic bias—such as minority representation, prevalence of workplace discrimination, and the promotion rates of historically marginalized employees—were largely absent. Of the articles that adapted a systems-level lens, Waight & Madera (2011) found that in a survey of hospitality employees, offering workplace DT was positively related to job satisfaction, was negatively associated with perceived workplace discrimination, and reduced turnover intentions, but only for employees from historically marginalized groups. In a rigorous cluster-randomized, controlled trial, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison implemented a theoretically and empirically motivated gender bias habit-breaking intervention within STEM departments and evaluated the effects not only on self-reported outcomes (e.g., awareness of bias, self-efficacy to address bias) but also on departmental climate, as assessed in an unrelated annual survey of workplace climate conducted within the university. Faculty in intervention departments reported better fit, felt that their scholarship was more valued by colleagues, and felt more comfortable raising family obligations than did faculty in control departments ( Carnes et al. 2015 ). In an evaluation of the training 2 years later, Devine and colleagues (2017) found that intervention departments demonstrated increased hiring of female faculty compared to control departments.

Taken as a whole, our review of the literature on DT reveals that, in light of the overarching goals of DT in these settings, the evidence regarding the efficacy of DT is for the most part wanting. The lack of systemic and rigorous research investigating company-wide DT, combined with the mixed nature of evidence regarding the efficacy of the programs, prevents us from drawing clear conclusions regarding best practices for organizational DT.

Limitations and Recommendations

Though the evidence amassed to date is limited, it provides some clues as to how to move forward to deliver better investigations of DT within organizations. In evaluating diversity initiatives within organizational settings, researchers must focus on the stated goals of the programs. The common indicators of success seem to be the completion of the program and its favorable evaluation by the trainees, rather than clear progress toward the program’s targeted goals. Given the significance of workplace DT for fostering inclusion and comfort in the face of a diversifying workforce, it is important to evaluate if these goals are being met using scientific methods that allow for testing these hypotheses. Research designed to test the intended objectives of DT should employ large-scale, longitudinal, and contextually relevant methodology as well as objective indicators of success, such as the representation, retention, and advancement of employees from historically marginalized groups ( Moss-Racusin et al. 2014 , Paluck 2006 ). In contrast, our review revealed an overreliance on immediate, self-reported, and individual-level measures that cannot speak to the systems-level goals of DT.

Our review brought into sharp relief the distinction between two types of measures—individual- and systems-level outcomes—that are used to evaluate the extent to which DT brings about change. Although the overarching goals of DT are to create systemic changes (i.e., retention of historically marginalized employees, improved perceptions of workplace climate, decreased frequency of workplace discrimination), researchers most often assess outcomes at the level of the individual (e.g., self-reported measures of knowledge, liking of the program, and attitude), which are often taken as evidence of the training’s effectiveness under the assumption that individual-level changes will translate into systems-level changes. However, individual-level, self-reported cognitive and affective outcomes are, at best, indirect indicators of the intended systems-level changes.

This measurement problem is not unique to DT research. It is well documented, for example, in clinical research when researchers examine the impact of an intervention or treatment on an ultimate outcome by assessing surrogate measures, which are theoretically related outcomes that are often easier, faster, or less costly to measure ( VanderWeele 2013 ). It is likely the ease with which self-reported attitudes and diversity-related knowledge are assessed that led to their continued use as a surrogate outcome for inclusive workplace environments. Although the relationship between individual attitudes and behaviors seems intuitive, the literature on the correspondence between attitudes and behaviors reveals a more complicated relationship ( LaPiere 1934 , Wicker 1969 ). A burgeoning body of literature exposes the substantial disconnect between individuals’ self-reported prejudice-related attitudes and their observed discriminatory behaviors ( Forscher et al. 2019 , Paluck et al. 2020 ).

It is the responsibility of researchers within organizational DT who continue to employ individual-level measures to establish the validity of these measures as surrogate indicators of the ultimate and systems-level outcomes of interest. Evaluating the efficacy of DT training programs requires either ( a ) demonstrating that individual-level outcomes are directly related to the systems-level changes or ( b ) assessing system-level outcomes over time to reveal if the training is truly effective in creating an enduring improvement in the experiences of historically marginalized individuals within an organization. In so doing, researchers can conduct more relevant investigations of DT and better justify the use of individual attitudes and knowledge as a reasonable surrogate measure when evaluating whether the goals of a particular DT are met within an organization.

In support of emphasizing systems-level change, converging evidence suggests that individual DT was more impactful on surrogate outcomes when delivered alongside larger workplace diversity initiatives ( Bezrukova et al. 2016 ) or when openly supported by upper-level management ( Rynes & Rosen 1995 ). This finding is consistent with other researchers’ observations: The effectiveness of DT is limited when company policy does not reflect the concerns of people from traditionally underrepresented groups ( Dobbin & Kalev 2016 , Pendry et al. 2007 ). When company policies appreciate and advocate for historically marginalized employees, it signals the company’s values, scaffolds the creation of prosocial norms, and communicates authorities’ explicit commitment to creating an inclusive company climate. As such, any effective DT should be implemented in tandem with leadership endorsement of diversity initiatives that promote employees from diverse backgrounds rather than delivered in a “one-and-done” approach (see Table 1 for a summary of the literature and our recommendations for DT in organizational settings).

Summary of the literature and our recommendations for DT in organizational settings

DT in organizational settings

Abbreviation: DT, diversity training.

DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR HUMAN SERVICE PROVIDERS

Members of historically marginalized groups experience lower quality of care and are less likely to receive routine and preventative treatments; they also experience greater difficulties accessing adequate mental health services. As a result, members of marginalized groups face higher rates of morbidity and mortality than nonminority individuals do ( Carratala & Maxwell 2020 ).

To achieve equitable care, many recommend training human service providers to deliver culturally competent care. In the United States, the Office of Minority Health has developed the National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, which continue to be adopted throughout the country. According to these guidelines, culturally competent care takes into account clients’ cultural beliefs, health literacy, and communication needs to provide respectful, accessible, and equitable services. These criteria were developed with the ultimate goals of advancing equity within human services, improving the quality of interactions with clients, and eliminating extant disparities within health-related settings.

During cultural competence trainings, trainees are provided with skills and knowledge presumed to bridge cultural divides and facilitate effective intervention despite a cultural mismatch between clients and providers. DT is proposed to be a vehicle by which to improve the experiences of marginalized clients within human services and reduce inequities in health-related outcomes. Given these goals, as we reviewed the literature we asked, Does cultural competence training lead to improved quality of care in services received by historically marginalized clients? Do culturally competent providers achieve more equitable client outcomes compared to providers without cultural competency training?

Our search for relevant literature yielded 142 articles. The majority of the studies examined the development of cultural competence among medical, health service psychology, social work, and nursing students. Others examined outcomes for health care professionals, including nurses (e.g., Berlin et al. 2010 , Brathwaite & Majumdar 2006 ), hospice staff ( Schim et al. 2006 ), practitioners who specialize in sickle cell disease ( Thomas & Cohn 2006 ), and individuals who work specifically with culturally and linguistically diverse communities ( Henderson et al. 2011 ). Additionally, several studies examined cultural competence training for mental health and wellness professionals, such as counseling graduate students (e.g., Kagnici 2014 ), alcohol and drug counselors ( Luger 2011 ), clinical managers ( Abernethy 2005 ), and occupational therapists ( Leyva et al. 2014 ).

We also included articles (11.97%) that involved trainings for teachers and preservice teachers. Although teaching does not fit neatly with the type of human service provision described previously, the type of DT most often conduced with teachers has goals consistent with cultural competence training. Namely, DT for educators is aimed at cultivating teachers’ cultural competencies to improve interactions with historically marginalized students and mitigate widespread disparities within education.

Cultural competence training aims to increase providers’ knowledge of culturally based beliefs that may influence clients’ experiences with human services. As one example, providers are taught that Hispanic communities may endorse fatalismo , or a belief that health and illness are a product of destiny rather than the object of proactive control, and familismo , or an emphasis on the importance of family input in forming treatment decisions ( Flores 2000 ). Other kinds of DT include antiracism training for child welfare employees ( Johnson et al. 2009 ), a weight stigma reduction intervention for clinical psychology trainees ( Brochu 2020 ), and DT concerning equitable care for members of the LGBTQ+ community in a senior care facility ( Holman et al. 2020 ).

Although the majority of studies implemented cultural competence training for human service providers and trainees, the methods employed varied. Many studies (e.g., Carter et al. 2006 , LoboPrabhu et al. 2000 ) had the trainees role-play clinicians treating patients from different cultural groups, and the trainers provided feedback on the trainees’ cultural sensitivity. Dogra (2001) assigned undergraduate premedical students a disability, such as blindness or hearing impairment, and encouraged students to contemplate the positive and negative aspects of having the disability. Some studies emphasized the importance of navigating language barriers in communicating with linguistically diverse patients (e.g., Henderson et al. 2011 , Xu et al. 2010 ), and one even provided health care workers with foreign language courses ( Mazor et al. 2002 ). One study promoted lessons and structured interactions relevant to caring for refugee families ( Griswold et al. 2006 ). Other trainings relied on more participatory learning, in the form of home visits ( Juarez et al. 2006 ), cultural immersion ( Diaz-Lazaro & Cohen 2001 ), and community-based clinical practicum placements ( Amerson 2010 ).

DT for human service providers emphasizes the importance of increasing both the knowledge and the skills relevant to culturally competent care. Rather than simply teaching trainees about widespread inequities, DT often teaches participants tangible skills that can be implemented to provide more equitable services. For example, one training focused on the importance of communication skills aimed at building trust in patients with sickle cell disease who feel negatively labeled by the health care system ( Thomas & Cohn 2006 ). Similarly, Hughes & Hood (2007) provided nursing students with skills in interview-based cultural assessment to better identify the needs of, and develop a plan of care for, culturally diverse patients. Schim and colleagues (2006) accentuated the importance of hospice workers’ communication skills by scaffolding active listening and use of accessible language in patient interactions. Luger (2011) taught alcohol and drug counselors to identify cultural factors related to mental health stigma and risk in patient assessment and intervention.

In our sample of articles concerning DT for human service providers, 98 studies implemented and quantitatively evaluated trainings delivered by researchers. Of these 98 studies, most studies evaluated outcomes pre- and post-intervention (66.33%), others were quasi-experimental (20.41%), and a few were experimental (13.27%). Although the majority of studies relied only on measures collected immediately posttest, a few studies in our sample included delayed assessments of outcomes (23.47%).

Cultural competence trainings are designed to improve outcomes for clients. Nevertheless, the vast majority of studies (85.71%) utilized human service providers’ self-reported ratings as the primary outcome of interest. The most common outcome assessed was providers’ self-reported cultural competence through the use of established surveys. Other studies assessed trainees’ confidence in interacting with culturally diverse patients, such as health care providers’ self-efficacy in communicating with stigmatized patients (e.g., Thomas & Cohn 2006 ) or students’ transcultural self-efficacy (e.g., Amerson 2010 ). A few studies examined changes in implicit (e.g., Castillo et al. 2007 ) and explicit (e.g., Crandall et al. 2003 ) attitudes toward marginalized groups following a cultural competence intervention.

The emphasis on measuring providers’ cultural competence following DT reflects the assumption that these self-reported outcomes translate into actions that will lead to improved outcomes for clients from historically marginalized groups. However, only a minority of studies (13.27%) tested this assumption by evaluating the impact of DT using behavior-based and systems-level outcomes. As one example, during a 4-month follow up, Prescott-Clements and colleagues (2013) evaluated the impact of their intervention on trainees’ responses to standardized patient scenarios in which actors played patients making inappropriate remarks, experiencing communication difficulties, or having religious concerns about a recommended treatment. Other studies examined patient outcomes directly, such as patient satisfaction ( Mazor et al. 2002 ), patient utilization of health and social services ( Majumdar et al. 2004 ), and patient health outcomes ( Thom et al. 2006 ).

Across the majority of studies surveyed, with some exceptions (e.g., Beagan 2003 ), the evidence suggests that cultural competence training was associated with increases in human service providers’ self-reported cultural competence (e.g., Beach et al. 2005 , Renzaho et al. 2013 ). Results showcasing the efficacy of cultural competence training in promoting knowledge of cross-cultural client care are promising. However, there is less information available about how these improvements translate into provider behaviors that are likely to influence the experiences of clients from historically marginalized groups. The evidence suggests that the cultural competence of human service providers was both associated with ( Castro & Ruiz 2009 , Majumdar et al. 2004 , Weech-Maldonado et al. 2012 ) and unrelated to ( Thom et al. 2006 ) positive patient outcomes, such as patient satisfaction, utilization of treatment resources, and patient trust. Given the contradictory findings and the paucity of research on client outcomes, future research should consider client perspectives as a primary outcome when evaluating the impact of trainings for human service providers ( Lie et al. 2011 , Renzaho et al. 2013 ).

Similarly, studies that evaluated training for preservice teachers found that DT elevated self-reported cultural competence ( Rogers-Sirin & Sirin 2009 ), decreased stereotypic attitudes ( Amatea et al. 2012 ), and led to more positive attitudes toward diversity ( Middleton 2002 ). Few studies examined outcomes that extended beyond preservice teachers’ self-reported attitudes and beliefs; however, those that did found evidence of the training’s impact in participants’ responses to videotaped school-based ethical dilemmas ( Rogers-Sirin & Sirin 2009 ) and teaching case conceptualization ( Amatea et al. 2012 ). No studies in our review examined student outcomes in validating the efficacy of a particular DT for preservice or current teachers.

As was true of studies examining DT within organizational settings, researchers evaluating DT for human service providers were overly reliant on surrogate measures, which makes it difficult to evaluate the efficacy of such training in relation to its stated systems-level goals. Until researchers can show that measures of human service providers’ cultural competence are predictive of objective client outcomes, inferences about how DT within health care settings measures up to its goals are speculative.

Cultural competence training has been articulated as important for providing equitable services. However, very few studies have examined the impact of cultural competence training on actual systems-level outcomes, such as quality of care for historically marginalized clients or disparities in treatment, morbidity, and mortality. Instead, many studies from the field determine the efficacy of cultural competence training by relying on surrogate measures of individual-level provider knowledge, awareness, and self-efficacy. As such, the rationale supporting a cultural competence approach remains circular and rests strongly on the theoretical benefits of cultural competence, rather than on rigorous empirical evidence with respect to client outcomes ( Saha et al. 2013 ). Therefore, future researchers should assess the extent to which human service providers’ cultural competence serves as a reasonable surrogate measure for equitable care.

Additional concerns abound regarding the field’s investment in cultural competence as a model for delivering effective care to clients from historically marginalized groups in the absence of a thorough clarification of the concept. Cultural competence, as a construct and curriculum, largely eludes easy definitions or operationalizations ( Ridley et al. 2001 ). As such, cultural competence training remains underspecified and represents a wide range of heterogenous practices, with little attention to the active ingredients of the approach ( Sue 2001 ).

Beyond these concerns, we also encourage sensitivity to potential pitfalls in the approach, that, if not simultaneously attended to, could undermine the enterprise altogether. We caution against using cultural differences in a reductionist way to predict patient behavior and guide clinician-patient interactions. Such an approach can neglect the heterogeneity among members of cultural groups, encourage the use of race as a proxy for culture, and promote stereotyping. The group categorization processes that are necessary for considering clients’ cultural background in treatment also pave the way for cultural stereotypes to inform health care decisions. The use of stereotypes in human service provision can bias the way providers perceive clients, lead them to be inattentive to individuating information, increase the attention to (and weighting of) stereotype-confirming information, and lead to implicit and nonverbal forms of bias in client-clinician interactions ( Burgess et al. 2007 , Stone & Moskowitz 2011 ).

Cultural competence training should be coupled with education and strategies regarding how to guard against the undue influence of stereotypes to mitigate biased decisions related to client care ( Burgess et al. 2007 , Pankey et al. 2018 , Stone & Moskowitz 2011 ). The psychological literature concludes that, absent personal information about an individual, people often rely on stereotypes to make group-based generalizations. To combat these stereotypes, research suggests that human service providers should actively seek individuating information about a client to prevent stereotypes from filling in the gaps (e.g., Ehrke et al. 2014 , Fiske & Neuberg 1990 ) (see Table 2 for a summary of the literature and our recommendations for DT in human service settings).

Summary of the literature and our recommendations for DT in human service settings

DT in human services

DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR STUDENTS IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Schools are becoming increasingly diverse, yet students from historically marginalized groups still underperform in academic pursuits compared to students from majority groups and relative to their potential ( Natl. Assess. Educ. Prog. 2015 ). The achievement gap is apparent across a wide variety of educational outcomes, including standardized test scores, high school graduation rates, admission rates in secondary education, and placement in gifted and talented programs ( Am. Psychol. Assoc. 2012 ). Although many factors likely contribute to the achievement gap, adverse school climates, which undermine feelings of belonging, may be partly responsible.

Walton & Cohen (2007) found that improving feelings of belonging on campus improved the course grades of historically marginalized students. In a more recent study ( Murrar et al. 2020 ), students who reported being treated more inclusively by their peers had an increased sense of belonging and earned better grades. This research provides encouraging evidence to suggest that improving campus climate can promote the performance and retention of historically marginalized students in higher education.

Many scholars stress the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy as a way to promote a positive school climate and improve the experiences of students from historically marginalized groups within education. Numerous universities across the United States require some form of diversity and inclusion curricula, typically in the form of an ethnic studies course ( Greens 2000 ). Diversity as a pedagogical requirement has not been without its critics (e.g., Goldstein 2019 ). These critiques, however, underscore the importance of understanding what content should be included in diversity-related curricula, whether diversity education is efficacious, and who reaps the benefits of diversity and inclusion in course content.

By scaffolding students’ multicultural awareness, diversity and inclusion curricula are designed to improve school climate for members of historically marginalized groups and to mitigate disparities in educational outcomes. Therefore, in our review of the literature we asked, Do historically marginalized students report fewer instances of school-based discrimination, and do they perceive a greater sense of belonging in schools that require diversity-related coursework? Do schools that offer diversity-related programming demonstrate more equitable educational outcomes relative to schools that do not provide such programming?

We narrowed our focus to include articles that implemented curriculum-based DT for a general student audience rather than for student teachers or medical students, as discussed in the previous section on DT for human service providers. The majority of the studies under consideration delivered DT content during a semester-long college course that involved lectures, assignments, and small-group discussions. The topics of the courses varied; whereas some studies involved women studies courses (e.g., Case & Stewart 2010 , Stake & Hoffmann 2001 ), others examined the impact of psychology of prejudice courses (e.g., Hogan & Mallott 2005 , Kernahan & Davis 2010 ), and still others focused on human sexuality courses (e.g., Mansoori-Rostam & Tate 2017 , McDermott et al. 2018 ).

Other scholars examined the impact of a briefer educational activity, such as a particular curriculum unit ( McDermott et al. 2018 ) or experiential learning activity ( Hillman & Martin 2002 ). Some researchers specifically emphasized the importance of intergroup learning through discussions with classmates from diverse backgrounds (e.g., Nagada et al. 2004 , Schmidt et al. 2019 ). Our sample also included studies investigating the impact of panel presentations ( McDermott et al. 2018 ), role playing ( Hillman & Martin 2002 ), study abroad programs ( Clarke et al. 2009 ), and community events that celebrated diverse cultures ( Klak & Martin 2003 ).

Our search yielded 61 articles on DT in educational settings. Of these studies, 51 systematically and quantitatively evaluated diversity-related programming in a higher education setting. Most of these studies (52.94%) used a quasi-experimental design by comparing students in a course with diversity and inclusion pedagogy to students in a control course. Other studies used pre–post designs (33.33%), for example, by collecting data on the first and last days of the semester (e.g., Fischer 2010 ). Few studies (13.73%) used experimental designs. Although most studies assessed outcomes collected immediately following the training, some studies collected delayed outcomes (29.41%).

The primary outcome of interest for most studies (94.12%) were students’ individual-level, cognitive, and affective reactions. For example, researchers examined students’ racial attitudes (e.g., Hogan & Mallott 2005 , Rudman et al. 2001 ), homophobia (e.g., Hillman & Martin 2002 , Hodson et al. 2009 ), and sexism (e.g., Pettijohn & Walzer 2008 , Yoder et al. 2016 ). Other studies examined participants’ acknowledgment of heterosexual ( Case & Stewart 2010 ), White ( Cole et al. 2011 ), and male ( Case 2007 ) privilege. Our sample also contained studies that evaluated the extent to which curriculum-based DT fostered awareness of diversity-related challenges, such as generalized cultural awareness ( Fischer 2010 ), perceived gender equality ( Colvin-Burque et al. 2007 ), and awareness of racism ( Cole et al. 2011 ).

Very few studies (3.92%) examined outcomes beyond the trainees’ self-reported attitudes and knowledge. In rare exceptions, the researchers examined observational data from classroom discussions ( Ross 2014 ) and changes in students’ measures of implicit bias ( Rudman et al. 2001 ).

Many studies evaluated individual differences or contextual factors that may moderate the impact of diversity-related course material on students’ attitudes. Some studies focused on student characteristics such as open-mindedness ( Fischer 2010 ), race and empathy ( Cole et al. 2011 ), need for cognition ( Hogan & Mallott 2005 ), and course engagement ( Pettijohn & Walzer 2008 ). In contrast, Rudman and colleagues (2001) evaluated the impact of interacting with a Black professor on students’ attitudes both with and without the provision of diversity-related instruction.

Many studies demonstrated a reduction in students’ self-reported prejudice following diversity-related coursework, relative to pretest scores at the beginning of the semester (e.g., Chang 2002 , Colvin-Burque et al. 2007 ). Similarly, of the studies that utilized quasi-experimental designs, many found that students who completed a diversity education course reported lower levels of prejudice immediately following the course (e.g., Hussey et al. 2010 , Rudman et al. 2001 ) compared to students enrolled in courses without diversity-related content.

When implementing a quasi-experimental design, however, researchers should be mindful of the possibility of sample bias among students who enroll in diversity-related courses. Although many students take diversity-related coursework as part of their ethnic studies requirement, other students may take these courses because of their interest in cultural differences, experiences with bias, or passion for diversity-related initiatives ( Denson 2009 ). As a result, students who opt into diversity-related courses may possess traits that foster more positive change relative to students in comparison courses ( Case 2007 , Mansoori-Rostam & Tate 2017 ). In contrast, those required to take such courses may show backlash effects, which undercut the goal of promoting inclusion and reducing biases ( Brannon et al. 2018 , Vianden 2018 ). Researchers should be attentive to, and control for, potential self-selection biases in participant samples who enroll in diversity-related courses, and they should guard against the potential adverse effects of requiring participation in these courses.

In addition, pre–post assessments may be particularly vulnerable to demand effects. Demand effects refer to biased findings that occur when participants infer the experimenters’ hypothesis and then respond to measures in a way that tends to confirm the researchers’ prediction ( Weber & Cook 1972 ). Research suggests that demand effects can be exacerbated if participants have positive attitudes toward the experimenter ( Nichols & Maner 2008 ), which is likely true of many studies in which the experimenter administering questionnaires is also the course’s instructor.

As was true in organizational and human service settings, relatively few studies within education quantitatively evaluated the long-term impact of diversity-related programming. When delayed assessments were included, the evidence was decidedly mixed. For example, Hogan & Mallott (2005) observed reduced homophobia immediately following a psychology of prejudice course, but the effect did not persist across semesters. More encouragingly, McDermott and colleagues (2018) evaluated the impact of a panel presentation and trans-themed film and found a reduction in self-reported prejudice that persisted when evaluated 6 weeks later.

Ethnic studies courses and diversity-related education have been proposed as a panacea for greater inclusion on college campuses. However, caution is warranted given the mixed evidence of the long-term efficacy of ethnic studies courses on cognitive measures. In addition, researchers’ use of self-reported attitudes and knowledge is silent on the extent to which DT in school settings measures up to its stated systems-level goals.

Consistent with our findings in other contexts, our review of the literature on diversity-related curricula in educational settings found that researchers relied on students’ individual-level attitudes as surrogate outcomes for measuring inclusive campus climate and concluded that trainings were effective without considering the perspectives of students from historically marginalized groups. We recommend that future work examine changes over time in systems-level outcomes—such as perceptions of school climate, disparities in academic achievement, and historically marginalized students’ sense of belonging—as more appropriate tests of the benefits of DT in educational settings.

Furthermore, diversity courses that target students’ knowledge and awareness without attending to mechanisms of behavioral change are likely not sufficient to create lasting changes in the form of reduced expressions of bias, increased intergroup inclusion, and improved feelings of belonging for marginalized students. Of the studies reviewed, only one study ( Pedersen & Barlow 2008 ) explicitly implemented antiprejudice strategies throughout the course of an educational program; these researchers used tactics such as combating false beliefs, invoking empathy, meeting local needs, and focusing on changing behaviors as much as attitudes.

Incorporating evidence-based prejudice reduction strategies alongside diversity-related course content is likely essential if DT seeks to make meaningful changes in discriminatory behaviors, not just attitudes ( Sanchez & Medkik 2004 ). Given that one of the goals of DT on college campuses is to promote greater inclusion among the student body, educators should strive to do more than teaching students diversity-related content. To achieve the goal of inclusion for members of historically marginalized groups, curriculum-based DT should also take advantage of bias reduction and inclusion-promoting strategies identified as effective in the psychological literature.

Consider, for example, how educational settings can more intentionally target prejudice-related behaviors through social norm change. Although targeted social norm communication can be leveraged effectively in a variety of settings, pressures to belong and conform are amplified in young adults, rendering social norms particularly salient on college campuses. With this in mind, we echo the recommendations of others in suggesting that targeted social norm communication can be a powerful approach for reducing prejudicial behavior within school settings (e.g., Murrar et al. 2020 , Tankard & Paluck 2016 ). Higher education institutions can implement social norm change through the communication of diversity-related values in the form of pro-diversity posters ( Murrar et al. 2020 ), campus events ( Klak & Martin 2003 ), and the recruitment of students from marginalized groups ( Hurtado 2005 ). Fellow students can be particularly influential in the communication of social norms through the confrontation of prejudice ( Czopp & Monteith 2003 ), student-led protests and organizations ( Paluck et al. 2016 ), and diversity-related discussions both in and out of the classroom ( Alimo 2012 ).

Another prejudice reduction strategy from the social psychological literature that may be particularly fruitful within the context of DT for higher education is purposeful intergroup contact. Classroom settings naturally create ideal contexts (e.g., small group discussions, collaborative group projects) in which intergroup contact can meet the requirements needed for reductions in bias ( Allport 1954 ). In a meta-analysis of 16 studies, Denson (2009) found that ethnic studies courses that provided students with additional positive interracial contact produced larger effects on students’ attitudes compared to courses that just focused on teaching diversity-related course content. This research suggests that direct intergroup contact with peers from diverse backgrounds may be important for providing students with a space to apply the content gleaned from their courses, as this enables them to actualize their more positive intergroup attitudes into more inclusive behaviors ( Gurin et al. 2004 , Zúñiga et al. 2002 ).

However, in considering the utility of intergroup contact as a tool for increased inclusion on college campuses, further attention should be allocated to the experiences of contact for people of color. Some research suggests that the positive effects of intergroup contact may not extend to members of historically marginalized groups ( Dixon et al. 2010 , Pettigrew & Tropp 2006 , Schellhaas & Dovidio 2016 ). Given that the ultimate goal of DT in education is to improve the experiences of individuals from historically marginalized groups, future researchers should prioritize evaluating the extent to which intergroup contact improves not only the attitudes of majority group members but also the experiences of marginalized group members. To this end, forthcoming research should ensure that individuals from historically marginalized groups are not overburdened facilitators of intergroup contact without benefit (see Table 3 for a summary of the literature and our recommendations for DT in educational settings).

Summary of the literature and our recommendations for DT in educational settings

DT in educational settings

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIVERSITY TRAINING ACROSS CONTEXTS

We began our deep dive into the literature on DT with the intention of illuminating best practices in the delivery of DT. We discovered that the available scholarship on DT is large and complex, and there is little consensus on the specific definitions of DT, the overarching goals of DT, or the particular practices that comprise DT. Further complicating these efforts, our review of the empirical literature in each discipline revealed a number of shortcomings that limit our ability to draw clear conclusions regarding which, if any, DT programs are effective in reaching their objectives. More troubling, many studies reveal the potential for adverse effects following DT (e.g., Brannon et al. 2018 , Legault et al. 2011 ). Unfortunately, our primary conclusion following our review of the recent literature echoes that of scholars who conducted reviews of the DT literature in the past. Despite multidisciplinary endorsement of the practice of DT, we are far from being able to derive clear and decisive conclusions about what fosters inclusivity and promotes diversity within organizations ( Bezrukova et al. 2016 , Carter et al. 2020 , Green & Hagiwara 2020 , Moss-Racusin et al. 2014 , Paluck 2006 , Paluck & Green 2009 , Paluck et al. 2020 ).

This state of affairs is concerning, particularly in light of the enthusiasm for, and monetary investment in, DT. Implementation of DT has clearly outpaced the available evidence that such programs are effective in achieving their goals. As such, we advise caution and tempered enthusiasm for the widespread implementation of DT. In the spirit of propelling the science of DT forward, we offer some recommendations, which cut across contexts or subfields, for how to build a more rigorous and relevant science of DT. Following these recommendations would allow DT scientists to create an evidence base that would have clear and applied utility for DT practitioners and consumers. We encapsulated the implications of these recommendations into a list of questions that every scholar of DT should be able to answer and every practitioner and consumer of DT should want to know before implementing any given DT (see Table 4 ). Although the list is not exhaustive, it is our hope that readers will use Table 4 to ask hard questions about DT programs and to be more purposeful in the selection, implementation, and evaluation of DT across contexts.

Recommended questions for proponents of DT to consider a

Guiding questions for DT researchers, practitioners, and consumers
What are the goals in implementing this training?
What content is being presented within the intervention?
What is the evidence to support this DT program?
Is the context of implementation promoting or impeding the intervention’s efficacy?

First, no single DT should be marketed as a magic bullet for equity. Rather, we advocate for an approach to the development of DT that is grounded in relevant theory and informed by empirical evidence to justify the content of the training, the rationale for the practices used, the boundary conditions anticipated, and the hypothesized mechanisms by which the program effects change. It is not enough to simply consult prior research and pluck bias reduction strategies from the literature, such as individuation, social norm communication, or intergroup contact. The elements of DT should be selected to align with the particular goals of the organization and to address the specific problem the program is designed to solve. Although existing psychological research can provide practitioners of DT with hypotheses about how bias reduction strategies may operate within a specific DT, these hypotheses need to be assessed within the context of the full training and in reference to the long-term goals of the program. In proposing a systematic approach to the creation of DT programs, we recommend that programs be tailored to the specific context of implementation and revised in an iterative fashion, based on evidence, to enhance their efficacy.

Next, we suggest that DT research needs to become more rigorous. As noted previously, some scholars argue that we should be ethically bound to demonstrate that DT programs are effective and, just as important, do no harm ( Paluck 2012 ). To this end, we advocate for the use of experimental designs with relevant samples to provide persuasive evidence of the utility of a particular approach. Whenever possible, it is recommended that researchers undertake the challenge of randomized controlled trials to provide causal evidence of the hypothesized effects of a DT. In the best possible circumstances, control groups will contain an active component that will enable researchers to test the efficacy of a particular DT program against an alternative training program. When not viable, wait-list controls can be utilized to test the short-term effects of DT and to ensure that a particular DT, if found to be effective, is eventually disseminated to all members of an organization. Whenever randomized controlled trials are not feasible, researchers should stay vigilant to, and control for, potential threats to the validity of their studies. In addition, experimental studies should extend outside the lab, and into the field settings with relevant populations, to evaluate the functionality of a particular approach for practitioners and consumers (see also Paluck et al. 2020 ).

In developing a more rigorous and relevant science of DT, greater attention should be paid to the types of outcomes that will provide evidence that the DT offered is actually effective. This process starts with an analysis of the particular problem an organization is trying to solve by implementing DT. This analysis should then determine the goals for training, the relevant DT approach, and the outcomes that will reveal if the DT was effective ( Campbell & Brauer 2020 , Carter et al. 2020 ). Failing to undertake this type of analysis limits the utility of DT research.

One of the most striking features of current research on DT across disciplines is that the outcomes most often used to examine the impact of DT are, at best, limited in terms of what they can reveal regarding the efficacy of the training. We observed throughout our review an overreliance on surrogate and individual-level measures, all of which could be helpful in achieving goals related to equity, yet few of them bear directly on the stated goals of the DT. To better advance the science of DT, scholars must hold the success of their interventions to a higher standard by attending to more than just individual-level self-reported outcomes. We encourage future researchers to extend beyond commonly used cognitive and affective measures and to assess instead a wide range of outcomes (including consequential, behavioral, and systems-level outcomes) to better shed light on the potential breadth of the effects of a DT program.

DT is marketed to improve the experiences of employees, clients, and students from historically marginalized groups and to achieve greater equity across settings. However, research on DT, as well as its practice, only infrequently attends to the perspectives and experiences of individuals who are at risk for experiencing discrimination. Given this focus, we suggest that historically marginalized individuals should be consulted during the planning process, if DT is to be effective in meeting its goals. Input and involvement from members of historically marginalized groups should be actively sought in determining whether and how to deliver DT within their settings. By ensuring that historically marginalized individuals have a seat at the table in the development and selection of diversity-related initiatives, organizations can certify that these individuals’ voices are heard and their perspectives are represented. Beyond involving members of historically marginalized groups in the early planning stages of DT, evidence supporting the efficacy of DT necessitates a better understanding of the experiences of historically marginalized individuals as a function of diversity, equity, and inclusion programming ( Roberts et al. 2020 ).

Finally, researchers should better determine the long-term impacts of their trainings by conducting follow-up assessments over time. Rather than implementing and evaluating DT within a “one-and-done” approach, the science of DT would be better served by longitudinal assessments of systems-level outcomes to ensure that DT achieves its stated goals. Specifically, we argued for an evaluation of the recruitment, promotion, and retention of employees from historically marginalized groups in organizational settings. We asked researchers in human services to attend to rates of morbidity, mortality, and treatment adherence in validating the benefits of cultural competence training. And we advised scholars of diversity education not to neglect perceived belonging, retention, and achievement of students from historically marginalized groups in higher education.

In advancing these recommendations, we acknowledge that these recommendations impose significant demands on the proponents of DT. The kinds of studies we are advocating represent enormous undertakings that would require tremendous resources in terms of time, money, and personnel. Considering these challenges, it may be easy to understand why many studies to date have involved less rigorous empirical methods and easy-to-collect outcome measures. However, given the immense investment in the practice of DT, a more ambitious research agenda is necessary for DT to measure up to its stated goals. In the service of ensuring that diversity scholarship offers utility to both practitioners and consumers, particularly for individuals facing discrimination, we cannot be complacent about the current state of the evidence in support of DT.

In the pursuit of an improved science of DT, we join other scholars ( Carter et al. 2020 , Paluck 2006 ) who suggest that building this type of rigorous and relevant evidentiary base necessitates the forging of collaborative relationships between social scientists and organizations. Partnerships between scholars and organizations will allow research on DT to strike a balance between scientific rigor and practical utility by providing future researchers with a potential avenue for bringing their work out of the lab and into settings where the benefits of psychological research can be realized. Through these collaborations, practitioners can be better grounded in the empirical literature, and DT research can become better contextualized in applied settings. Supporting this suggestion, we note that some of the most methodologically impressive studies in this review are the result of successful partnerships (e.g., Carnes et al. 2015 , Chang et al. 2019 , Moss-Racusin et al. 2018 ). Although field experiments of this kind require careful consideration on the part of both practitioners and researchers, such partnerships would be mutually beneficial and, importantly, would offer the best way to ensure that DT lives up to consumer expectations and rigorous experimental standards.

In closing, we acknowledge that our review could be viewed as a general rebuke of DT as an enterprise. We would like to clarify that this is not at all the case. Indeed, we are strong proponents of the importance of creating conditions whereby members of historically marginalized groups can be included, feel respected, and thrive. We appreciate the potential benefits of diversity-related initiatives and value the goals upon which the practice of DT has been built. We urge the field to create a more rigorous and relevant science of DT in the service of making it possible for the practice of DT to achieve its goals. We recognize that the challenge we laid out for the science of DT is enormous and echoes, in many ways, the calls advanced in prior reviews of DT (e.g., Moss-Racusin et al. 2014 , Paluck & Green 2009 , Paluck et al. 2020 ). The enormity of the challenge, however, pales in comparison to the potential benefits of DT. We hope that our call to action and the roadmap for how to build a better diversity science will make it possible for the next review of the DT literature to offer effective, evidence-based best practices in DT.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank undergraduate members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Prejudice and Intergroup Relations Lab for their work collecting and coding articles for this review. In addition, we appreciate the thoughtful feedback received from Megan Bruun, Emily Dix, Katharine Scott, and Katherine Swerbenski on earlier versions of this manuscript. In particular, we would like to thank Nicole Huth for her substantial contributions to the project and her helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. Preparation of this review was also supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant R011R35GM127043-01). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the National Institutes of Health.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

The authors are not aware of any affiliations, memberships, funding, or financial holdings that might be perceived as affecting the objectivity of this review.

1 Studies were coded once for design, and the most rigorous design feature was recorded. For example, although many studies with random assignment to condition included pre- and post-assessments, these were coded as experimental.

2 Although most studies included multiple outcomes, the studies were coded for their primary outcome, as specified in the abstract, which usually coincided with the variable that demonstrated effects ( Paluck et al. 2020 ). However, in the case of studies that included a behavioral or implicit (i.e., not self-reported) outcome, this was prioritized as the primary outcome of interest.

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More From Forbes

The importance of diversity and inclusion training.

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By Andrew Fayad, CEO of ELM Learning , a creative agency focused on designing custom multimedia and digital learning experiences.

Diversity and inclusion is an important part of creating a welcoming environment at work. It’s also a way to improve employee satisfaction, retention and productivity. And, as a direct result of implementing effective D&I strategies, organizations benefit financially, too!

Employees who feel valued by their employers are more likely to stay with their employers and perform better than employees who do not feel valued. While employee retention shouldn’t be the sole reason to make D&I a leadership priority, there’s no denying the indirect payoff that it (D&I) brings.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the cost of replacing an employee with an annual salary of $60,000 can run anywhere between $30,000 and $45,000. That’s 50% to 75% of the departing employee’s annual pay. That turnover premium can go as high as 213% of the annual salary for highly trained employees. Retaining D&I-seeking employees through appropriate D&I policies can reduce replacement costs resulting from such departures—cost savings that can potentially go toward funding D&I programs.

And there’s more: According to a study by the Harvard Business Review , more diverse organizations ranked higher in innovation (19% higher) and financial performance (9%). Clearly, what’s important to the workforce also translates to the bottom line!

Understanding The Impact Of Culture On D&I

A diverse workforce helps organizations achieve success because it reflects the communities in which they operate. Having the benefit of those (different) cultural perspectives is important for business leaders, as they craft customer-focused programs and initiatives. However, there are challenges when trying to recruit and retain people from underrepresented groups. This includes women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals and others.

Corporate leaders must understand the opportunities they forego by not integrating D&I into their core strategies. For example, culturally diverse talent pools deliver better opportunities to hire the best and the brightest individuals. A deep understanding of cultural norms (e.g., social traditions, religious celebrations, historical perspectives) gives business leaders an opportunity to produce more targeted product/service positioning, branding and marketing messages.

But not being diverse and inclusive hurts, too. One research study showed that companies ranked in the bottom quartile for gender and ethnic/cultural diversity were less likely (by 27%) to achieve above-par profitability than their higher-ranked peers.

Building An Effective D&I Strategy

D&I will not take root without senior-level sponsorship and commitment. Even with top leadership buy-in, D&I doesn’t “just happen.” It takes planning, organizing and backing from organizational resources to establish a culture of D&I across the organization. Unfortunately, despite the huge benefits that D&I promises, a McKinsey & Company study showed that 9 out of 10 executives struggled in building effective D&I strategies.

The numbers bear witness to this lack of effectiveness, where just one out of every six employees from under-represented groups—such as women, LGBTQ+ employees, people of color and working parents—felt more supported in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and its aftermath.

To build an effective D&I strategy, start by understanding the current state of your workplace. What does diversity mean to you? How do you define diversity? Do you have any policies or programs in place to support diversity? If not, what steps should you take to develop one?

Having a D&I policy statement, or even fleshing out a detailed strategy, doesn’t necessarily equate to having an effective D&I strategy. To make the strategy effective, leadership at every level must proactively endorse and show their support for D&I. Such effectiveness manifests itself in all other policies and strategies within the company, including recruitment, training and development, the establishment of D&I employee resource groups, employee recognition and rewards, and corporate branding, as well as external partnerships.

Implementing D&I At Scale

Organizations must adapt quickly to ensure their employees feel safe and supported during this unprecedented time. However, when leading a geographically dispersed workforce, where virtual teams, mobile workers and remote work are the norm, scaling D&I to purpose is a leadership challenge. This is especially difficult when leaders must account for local cultural norms. Those challenges aren’t insurmountable, though.

In the HBR essay cited previously, the authors proposed a six-step recipe for cultivating broad-based diversity:

• ensuring that everyone in the organization has a voice

• creating an environment where all team members feel safe when offering novel ideas

• empowering teams with authority to make decisions

• acknowledging everyone’s contribution to organizational success

• providing a constructive, practicable critique (as opposed to a constant stream of negative feedback)

• actioning practical feedback and ideas from the rank and file

Scaling diversity globally also requires cultivating grassroots employee representative networks that can help leaders navigate organization-wide D&I challenges. A good start to implementing D&I at scale is setting goals for recruiting diverse leadership teams and funding and implementing “cradle-to-career” leadership development programs .

Creating A Diverse Workforce

A diverse workforce is critical to an organization’s success. It helps companies attract top talent, build stronger teams and improve organizational effectiveness. With the right D&I vision, corporate leaders can help make their organizations a more welcoming place for people across a broader spectrum of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and socio-economic backgrounds.

Leaders must consider a two-dimensional approach to D&I when building diverse workplaces, including inherent (race, gender, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, religious background, disability and nationality) and acquired D&I (global mindsets, language skills, cross-functional knowledge, cultural fluency).

Leaders who embrace this 2-D approach to D&I can see tangible results for their organizations. An HBR study indicates that 2-D diverse organizations are likely to see more growth (45%) in market share and an even greater (70%) likelihood of breaking into new markets. Not only do employees reward diverse and inclusive employers through loyalty, integrity and dedication, but statistical and empirical evidence shows that business stakeholders do the same!

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Diversity & Inclusion Training

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Diversity and inclusion training.

21 min read Diversity and inclusion training is essential for improving equality throughout your workplace. What is it, and how can you go further to ensure a culture of belonging that permeates your whole organization?

It’s well known that organizations with a diverse workforce that includes people of various races, nationalities, cultures, religions, gender identities, sexual orientation, ages, experiences, physical and mental ability, and ways of thinking are more resilient, adaptable, profitable, and industry-leading . These diversity-rich organizations embrace the different and brilliant thoughts and ideas that their people contribute. Diversity gives them the competitive edge that sets the company apart.

According to research by Limeade , when employees feel included, they:

Are 28% more engaged
Enjoy 19% greater well-being in their lives
Have 43% more commitment to their company
Are 51% more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work
Intend to stay with their company typically 3 times longer

And, according to Deloitte , when companies have inclusive cultures, they are:

Eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes
Six times more likely to be innovative and agile
Three times as likely to be high performing
Twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets

But not all companies support a sufficiently inclusive workplace or inclusive culture that make all employees feel they belong.

This is where diversity training comes in; an employee training program designed to create an environment free from unconscious bias , racial biases, and sexual harassment — all of which are very bad news for business.

Free eBook: How to apply DEI to your employee experience program

What is diversity and inclusion training?

Diversity and inclusion training helps every employee embrace and celebrate all the unique things about a diverse workforce, and work together harmoniously. It goes way further than token ‘political correctness’ and into the arena of embracing difference and valuing the unique perspective of every employee. At the very least, inclusion training programs will help employees:

Be more aware of workplace diversity issues, such as those affecting underrepresented groups, in their daily interactions
Explore and challenge their own beliefs and unconscious biases about diversity, and acknowledge discrimination
Understand what motivates (and demotivates) their co-workers
Learn interaction and collaboration skills that help them work more effectively with people who have different qualities from their own
Stand up to discrimination such as racial bias or sexual harassment
Contribute to an inclusive workplace culture where comprehensive diversity is the norm

What is the return on investment (ROI) for diversity and inclusion training in the workplace?

The investment you make in diversity and inclusion training to create a culture of belonging will be returned — and then some — in a surprisingly comprehensive array of measurable outcomes:

1. Employee engagement

Employees who feel they belong and are included report a more positive employee experience . For example, 83% of millennials are actively engaged when they believe their organization fosters an inclusive culture, compared to 60% of millennials who are actively engaged when their organization does not foster an inclusive culture.

2. Employee retention

When there’s increased diversity amongst senior management, there’s increased retention of employees of color. For example, Black men who had senior leaders of color were 15% more likely to stay with their company than those who did not.

3. Attraction of talent

An inclusive workplace is considered an important factor when choosing where to work. A report by Deloitte found:

80% of respondents said inclusion is important when choosing an employer
39% of respondents said they would leave their current employer for one that was more inclusive
71% of respondents would prefer a company that demonstrated inclusive behaviors but inconsistent inclusion programs over one that demonstrated high-quality inclusion programs but inconsistent inclusive behaviors
23% of respondents said they’ve already left their employer for a more inclusive one. This includes 30% of Millennial respondents

4. Performance

Companies with inclusive cultures are:

35% more likely to outperform their competitors
70% more likely to capture new markets
87% better at making decisions

5. Profitability

Research found that companies that reported the highest levels of racial diversity generated nearly 15 times more sales revenue on average than those with the lowest levels of racial diversity.

6. Innovation

Companies with above average diversity in their workforce produced more revenue from innovation than companies with below average diversity.

The 4 types of diversity

There are four types of diversity that a good diversity training program will explore:

1. Internal diversity

‘Relating or belonging to or existing within the person’, these are diversity types that a person is born into, and in most (not all) cases, cannot change. They include: race, age, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, cultural identity , assigned sex, gender identity, and physical and mental ability.

2. External diversity

These are characteristics that influence a person and can be changed, although socio-political or economic systems may make that change difficult. They include: education, religion, spirituality, socioeconomic status, family status, citizenship, geographic location , and personal experiences.

3. Organizational diversity

These are factors relating to the work people do, and the organization where they work. They include: job function, department, seniority, management status, and union membership. It’s important to track this to ensure every department and job function has diverse inclusion.

4. World view diversity

Everyone’s life experiences are unique. They shape us, and influence our world view diversity every day. World view diversity includes: political beliefs, outlook on life, cultural capital , and family upbringing. As workplace diversity increases, employees may have very different experiences and world views from their co-workers, which may reinforce stereotypes.

Case study: Coca Cola

Coca-Cola sees diversity “as more than just policies and practices. It is an integral part of who we are as a company, how we operate, and how we see our future.” The company has three long term ambitions:

Coca Cola’s Global Women’s Leadership Council aims to accelerate the development and movement of female talent into roles of increasing responsibility and influence in an effort to accomplish their aspiration to be 50% led by women globally by 2030.
To review their business, human rights and employment policies and practices to eliminate biases and inequities.Listening to employees and providing resources that empower change is critical to growth. Coca Cola’s Inclusion Networks are focused on creating an inclusive workplace culture.

To use the power of their brands to inspire and advocate for inclusion around the world.

diversity training - coca cola case study

Image from Coca-Cola Company

The different types of workplace diversity training

Basic diversity training.

Any workplace diversity and inclusion training program that aspires to create a company culture of diversity, equity and inclusion needs to start with fostering empathy and respect for fellow workers. It needs to be an open and honest overview of all the issues around workplace identity and culture, and must cover:

Anti-racism
Anti-sexism
Gender identities and sexual orientation education
Cultural sensitivity training
The multigenerational workplace
HR compliance training for HR professionals

Awareness training

The key tenet of awareness training is to ensure every employee understands what workplace equity is: everybody must be treated equally, whatever their different backgrounds, identity, or marginalization. Awareness training will make sure everyone knows about and understands the experiences of people of different minorities and identities. An aware workforce will be able to:

Make decisions and solve problems collectively
Respect and value every co-worker
Find common ground and work together
Celebrate everyone’s differences
Represent formerly underrepresented people in the commercial world
Stamp out prejudice and be a model for change

Intermediate diversity training

Whereas basic diversity training and awareness training create an understanding of the issues around creating a diverse and inclusive workplace , the best diversity training programs go a step further. They give employees the tools not only to recognize ingrained personal behaviors but to acknowledge and modify them. Intermediate diversity training helps to:

Identify unconscious bias and understand how to mitigate the behaviors
Be aware of microaggressions and eradicate them
Free the workplace from discrimination and stereotyping
Build a sense of belonging for people with diverse backgrounds
Encourage team cohesion and communication across all cultures
Empower employees with different needs to express what they need

Advanced diversity training

This involves taking a long hard look at management practices that may be traditional and ingrained; looking beyond the internal organization into the community, and being proactively anti-oppression. Advanced diversity and inclusion training helps to:

Dismantle biased workplace systems
Highlight oppressive or discriminatory management practices
Reach out to serve the community with DEI front of mind
Evolve employees from allies to collaborators, uplifting and supporting marginalized colleagues

Mobile or online diversity training

The days of sitting in a training room with other employees being lectured about diversity, equity, and inclusion have been superseded by mobile learning and accelerated by the remote working necessities of the 2020 pandemic . Digital platforms are now a great way to deliver DEI training:

You can include remote team members
It is more accessible for people with disabilities, health issues and those in other countries
It can be recorded and is accessible at any time

Case Study: Accenture

diversity training - accenture case study

Accenture holds a company-wide celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities and helps its employees with support such as assistive technology, flexible working, and extra training. They have a tripartite approach to their diversity training:

Diversity awareness: to understand the benefits of working for a diverse organization
Diversity management: to help leaders manage diverse teams
Professional development: to enable women, LGBT, and ethnically diverse employees to build skills for career success

How do you know if you have a diverse and inclusive workplace?

The answer to this question lies in data, both qualitative and quantitative . To get the fullest picture of how inclusive your company is, you’ll need to combine data from your human resource department with operational (O) data and experience (X) data in the following scenarios:

1. All your business decisions have inclusivity at their core

One of the great things about inclusivity is that it brings diverse knowledge, experience and perspectives to the table when decisions are being made. Feedback from your employees is tremendously valuable, and can be collected from:

Focus groups
Employee resource groups (ERGs)
Surveys – employee engagement , pulse , 360 feedback , customer surveys

2. Every decision is conscious of bias now

Organizations can no longer hide behind ‘unconscious bias’ when making decisions. When managers understand privilege, history and discrimination, they are more likely to think twice before implementing blanket measures that disadvantage marginalized employees, e.g. punitive sanctions for absence or lateness will discriminate against people with disabilities, and parents or carers, who are generally women.

Combined HR, O-data and X-data can help inform the consequences of any business decision on marginalized employees.

3. There’s diverse representation at every level

From the C-suite to the shop floor, your business employs people regardless of Protected Class : race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), age, physical or mental disability, veteran status. When you focus on representation of diverse groups, rather than simply employment, underrepresented people will be visible in all areas of your organization.

4. Your turnover is low

When employees feel included and that they belong in your organization, they tend to be happier and stay. Turnover data from HR and responses from engagement surveys and exit interviews will tell you what you’ve been doing right (or wrong).

5. Your organization is a community

When a company says it prides itself on being a family, that should be a red flag. Families can be warm and close, but they can also be dysfunctional, combative, controlling, exclusive and hierarchical. Look instead for a community, where people share and help each other, but also exist as individuals with their own lives and ambitions, bringing their authentic selves to work where they feel part of something bigger, with common goals. Employee feedback will reveal the nature of that community.

6. You anticipate everyone’s needs

A new hire with a disability or neurodiversity should not need to ask for adjustments when they start their job. It’s up to the organization to remove the need for them to ask, by making resources and support available to all.

7. You never stop learning

Creating an inclusive workplace isn’t a static, tick box exercise. It’s a constant learning process, especially now in an uncertain, evolving world of change, injustice, fake news, and culture wars. You’ve analyzed your existing systems, processes and structures to ensure that they’re accessible to all employees – don’t stop there:

Keep asking for feedback
Create the best organizational culture you can
Learn from mistakes
Move onwards

Our step by step guide to get your diversity and inclusion training program started

1. lead from the top.

There’s nothing more powerful for employees than seeing the C-suite demonstrating inclusive leadership through a willingness to learn and undertaking diversity and inclusion training themselves. When leaders embrace an initiative to create an inclusive environment and advocate it to their teams, everyone feels part of it.

2. Survey your employees

You need to find out what diversity and inclusion looks like in your company at this point. Use surveys. You’ll be surveying more than basic demographics, so it’s essential that you are transparent about why you are asking seemingly personal questions about likes and dislikes, family status, life experiences, religion, and opinions. Emphasize that you are asking these to improve DEI for everyone in the company.

3. Identify gaps

Analyzed data from the survey will reveal which areas will need to be improved with training. There may be disconnects with personalities, work ethic, or attitudes towards the current culture. These disconnects may form the basis of workshops where employees can openly express what they feel about the company, and where training needs to focus. It may even contribute towards a cultural shift .

4. Focus on improvement goals

Once you have put training in place to address the gaps highlighted by your surveys and employee feedback, monitor improvements with regular pulse surveys – and act on anything that isn’t contributing to improvement towards an inclusive environment.

5. Make diversity training programs flexible and accessible

A DEI training day that requires everybody to be on site from 9 to 5 in an office on the 10 th floor? Really? To be truly inclusive, training needs to be accessible to all, and flexible to fit in with the needs of every employee. Migrate training courses online, with webinars, live streams, recordings, even one on ones . And the advantage of online training programs – you can track activity to measure uptake, and understand how employees learn.

6. Tie inclusion initiatives to business goals

When you see an uptick in the results of DEI training, these should correlate with an uptick in retention, revenue, employee engagement and customer satisfaction scores. A culture of inclusion and belonging has wide-reaching business advantages.

Go beyond training and create an organizational culture of inclusion

One of the criticisms of the one-off, box-ticking workplace diversity training program is that it can reinforce the differences between people, rather than celebrating them. Rather than simply just organizing training days or a three-hour workshop, diversity awareness and focus must be a part of a company’s DNA, with events , celebrations, and learning experiences throughout the company year. Positive messaging about DEI is then reinforced naturally , rather than a staid lecture on all the things employees shouldn’t do.

When you think that 76% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities, it’s essential that your company is known for its impeccable DEI credentials.

Case Study: Johnson & Johnson

diversity training - Johnson & Johnson case study

Image from JnJ.com

“Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Johnson & Johnson is not just a commitment—it is the reality of how we live and work. The best innovations can only come if our people reflect the world’s full diversity of individuals, opinions and approaches” says Alex Gorsky, Executive Chairman.

An impressive program of diversity initiatives includes:

Mentoring programs
‘Diversity University’ is a dynamic website that helps employees understand the benefits of collaborative working
The Chief Diversity Officer reports directly to the CEO and Chairman, so the whole operation is overseen by top-level management
Rewards and recognitions: S. Veterans Magazine cited Johnson & Johnson as the ‘Best of the Best’ for diversity efforts, and it has been one of only two companies that have been on the Working Mother 100 Best list for the past 28 years.

Why employee engagement is essential for creating a culture of diversity

The only way you’ll really get to the bottom of DEI issues is to devise diversity training to eradicate them and create a truly inclusive culture is by asking your employees. You’ll want to know not only the ‘what’ of the problem, but also the ‘why’, so you’ll need to use a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data . Send out diversity and inclusion surveys which include demographic metrics and open text; so that employees will be able to articulate their perspectives on what is going on, and supplement these with focus groups with leaders, managers and direct reports.

It’s essential for leaders to state:

why the research is being conducted
when the results will be communicated
what action will be taken as a result of the survey

How to tell if your diversity and inclusion training initiatives are successful

Your DEI initiatives should not stand in isolation from the rest of your company metrics. When you combine your operational (O) data with your experience (X) data you will get a complete picture of how diverse and inclusive your workplace culture is. The key metrics to look out for are:

Leadership diversity percentage: Is your management diverse at all levels, from the C-suite to line managers?
Retention: Are you keeping good people because they feel they have equal access to opportunities to upskill and advance in their careers?
Training program engagement: what is the uptake for your educational, continuous learning and mentorship programs? Has engagement increased as a result of diversity and inclusion training?
Employee feedback: How do your employees feel about the company culture around diversity, equity, and inclusion? How satisfied are employees with the DEI initiatives? Which demographics are happiest with them, and which are not? Is the diversity and inclusion training sufficient? By identifying satisfaction gaps you can take action to close them.

Taking diversity and inclusion training a stage further…

Diversity training is more than just changing the hearts and minds of existing employees who may have had less exposure to a diverse mix of people. When companies are invested in creating a workplace culture of real belonging , they need to look at changing the demographic composition of their workplace, through:

Outreach (to diverse universities, colleges, and professional associations)
Mentorship programs for every employee
Hiring a diversity officer or focus group to manage and measure DEI strategies and outcomes

And finally…

Creating a diversity and inclusion training strategy that builds an organizational culture that everyone is proud of and feels they belong to is more of a marathon than a sprint. As long as you tie your DEI initiatives to your strategic goals, communicate clearly and transparently, offer ongoing training, learning and development, and measure your successes, that gold medal is in sight.

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Guest Essay

What if Diversity Training Is Doing More Harm Than Good?

An illustration of a triangular prism. A ray of light with shades of brown passes through it and converts the color to shades of gray.

By Jesse Singal

Mr. Singal is the author of “ The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can’t Cure Our Social Ills .”

Diversity training has been around for decades, long before the country’s latest round of racial reckoning. But after George Floyd’s murder — as companies faced pressure to demonstrate a commitment to racial justice — interest in the diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) industry exploded . The American market reached an estimated $3.4 billion in 2020.

D.E.I. training is designed to help organizations become more welcoming to members of traditionally marginalized groups. Advocates make bold promises: Diversity workshops can foster better intergroup relations, improve the retention of minority employees, close recruitment gaps and so on. The only problem? There’s little evidence that many of these initiatives work. And the specific type of diversity training that is currently in vogue — mandatory training that blames dominant groups for D.E.I. problems — may well have a net negative effect on the outcomes managers claim to care about.

Over the years, social scientists who have conducted careful reviews of the evidence base for diversity training have frequently come to discouraging conclusions. Though diversity training workshops have been around in one form or another since at least the 1960s, few of them are ever subjected to rigorous evaluation, and those that are mostly appear to have little or no positive long-term effects. The lack of evidence is “disappointing,” wrote Elizabeth Levy Paluck of Princeton and her co-authors in a 2021 Annual Review of Psychology article, “considering the frequency with which calls for diversity training emerge in the wake of widely publicized instances of discriminatory conduct.”

Dr. Paluck’s team found just two large experimental studies in the previous decade that attempted to evaluate the effects of diversity training and met basic quality benchmarks. Other researchers have been similarly unimpressed. “We have been speaking to employers about this research for more than a decade,” wrote the sociologists Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev in 2018, “with the message that diversity training is likely the most expensive, and least effective, diversity program around.” (To be fair, not all of these critiques apply as sharply to voluntary diversity training.)

If diversity training has no impact whatsoever, that would mean that perhaps billions of dollars are being wasted annually in the United States on these efforts. But there’s a darker possibility: Some diversity initiatives might actually worsen the D.E.I. climates of the organizations that pay for them.

That’s partly because any psychological intervention may turn out to do more harm than good. The psychologist Scott Lilienfeld made this point in an influential 2007 article in which he argued that certain interventions — including ones geared at fighting youth substance use, youth delinquency and PTSD — most likely fell into that category. In the case of D.E.I., Dr. Dobbin and Dr. Kalev warn that diversity training that is mandatory or that threatens dominant groups’ sense of belonging or makes them feel blamed may elicit negative backlash or exacerbate biases.

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Essay Database >
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Essay on Policy

Diversity Training Essay Sample

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Policy , Environment , Conflict , Workplace , Organization , Training , Diversity , Employee

Published: 01/08/2020

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Workforce in many organizations is composed of employees from different ethnicity background, race, religion, gender and cultures (George, 1994). This is what is referred to as diversity. With this trend in the workplace, top management therefore should set up policies and practices which enhance inclusion and harmony. Training is the best method of dealing with this diversity challenge. An organization which explores business opportunities in an environment with diverse culture should train its workforce in order to achieve its objectives. Successful communication and conducting business in a business environment with a different culture and races is a global challenge. Diversity training according to the perceptions of many is to deal with racial issues. Contrary to this, the training looks at the age bias, disabilities, gender issues, sexual concerns and religion. Diversity training workshop is not an avenue to judge others on their believes but it’s where people are introduced to each other’s believe. Disrespect and malice are exhibited where employees feel they belong to a group which is superior or inferior. Diversity should be utilized by the organization in order to maximize its full potential. Workers should be able to appreciate their differences and use them for the benefit of the organization. If an organization does proper diversity management, they are likely to benefit from a good reputation of having a harmonious and inclusive working environment hence get the best job seekers on the market (Jack, 1998). Employees are more committed and motivated to work for an organization that values, rewards and includes them in their process. If the employees are more devoted to the organization’s work then, employee turnover is reduced. Diversity training that can foster mutual respect is by having employees of different gender, nationality and age to work under the same department. This enables them to learn from each other. Interacting in such environment enables employees to appreciate their differences. Interaction theory in this perspective emphasizes on people having an understanding of how others feel and think but not their actions. Diversity training in a group of employees where they work together enables them to understand each other in terms of motives and perceptions. Conflict theory looks at the social behaviour in terms of conflict amongst different classes which are competing. Top management and employees may perceive each other as competing and create tension between them. Juniors in the workplace feel they are sidelined or one nationality may think they are the minority in the workplace. Diversity training bridges the gap between managers and employees in a working environment by enabling them to reduce tension and conflict. The conflict is perceived to be as a result of power and force. Diversity training ensures that employees understand why given decisions have to be made for the benefit of the organization. Functionalism theory is the approach that does not quickly pass judgment on social issues with the reasoning that the aspects of society each have a function. At work place decision made may be connected to different social life. The policies in an organization should therefore not only affect one aspect of society. Diversity training ensures that employees appreciate the social differences in the work place which influences decisions making by an individual. Diversity training is a continuous process that should be initiated and monitored by the organization. The first step in diversity training is developing policies and practices that will enhance harmony and inclusiveness in the organization (Cynthia, 2003). Having an avenue for rising complains in what is known as ‘open door’. Recruitment should be fair where job seekers across the board with varied differences are considered based on their skill. New employees should be taken through the practices and policies that ensure diversity is appreciated.

Cynthia E. (2003). Working Together: How Workplace Bonds Strengthen a Diverse Democracy. Oxford University Press. George, H. (1994). Cultural Diversity in the Workplace: Issues and Strategies Praeger Publishers. Jack S. (1998). The Origins of Cultural Differences and Their Impact on Management. Quorum Books.

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Instead of Conclusions

"I was also immensely moved by the passion expressed by all the authors, no matter their perspectives, as well as their shared commitment to the notion that journalism and all forms of media can and must be used as tools for positive change. Many of the authors grew up in extremely harsh and oppressive circumstances, yet they have managed to retain their humor, their humanity, and their desire to promote inclusion, tolerance and diversity. I find myself immensely inspired by this resilience."

Thursday June 29, 2023

By David Tuller*

This essay is from the upcoming book to mark the Media Diversity Institute’s 25th anniversary. The book consists of essays by academics, journalists, media experts, civil society activists, and policymakers – all those who have supported us in our work towards diversity, inclusion, and fairer representation of marginalised and vulnerable communities in the media. The paper version of the book will be launched at the Anniversary celebration on the 17th of November 2023 in London. Watch this space for the other 24 essays.

In the fall of 1994, I was living in Moscow and gathering material for what eventually became a book called Cracks in the Iron Closet: Travels in Gay and Lesbian Russia. With my friend Ksusha, I attended a three-day “les-bi-gay” workshop conducted by three American activists. This was their third visit to Russia for the purpose of engaging in “community building,” they told the dozens of us gathered.

The phrase immediately triggered my cynical skepticism; everyone from the West seemed to be engaged in some kind of “building” activity in Russia. Mormons and Jesus-lovers were “building religion.” Business consultants were “building capitalism.” There were no end of Americans involved in “democracy building.” Many of these efforts struck me as inappropriate, naïve in the extreme, pathetically ineffective. The les-bi-gay community building effort seemed no different.

The first session, on Friday evening, drew about 50 people to a stuffy basement in an outlying Moscow district. The three Americans droned on and on about identity politics, self-love, coming out, group process, and yada yada yada. They lost the audience quickly. The participants giggled at random moments and seemed a bit bewildered by the goings-on. By the third session on Sunday, only about 15 attendees remained in the les-bi-gay seminar.

A couple of days later, I met with two of the American seminar leaders to discuss their work. An American friend of mine, Laurie, a sociology grad student gathering material for her doctorate on gender issues in Russia, accompanied me. Alma, one of the seminar leaders, told us that they’d engaged in an invaluable “needs assessment” before the seminar. They had learned, she said, all about the coercive Soviet method of ideological indoctrination.

“You really should check that out!” she advised us enthusiastically. “There’s been a lot of dysfunctional group behavior that causes people to have a lot of shit and pain around groups and leadership!”

Laurie and I glanced at each other. These people were engaged in “community building” here, and had just realized that Russians had “a lot of shit and pain” around groups? Had they heard of Stalin?

A few days later, I was hanging out with Ksusha and our friend Sveta. Ksusha began ranting about the ridiculousness of the whole enterprise.

“Really, Sveta, it was like kindergarten, just like kindergarten,” she said. “Imagine telling Russians that they have to be in some stuffy basement room at 10 am on the weekend and stay for ten hours, when they could be at the beach! Maybe if these Americans had held it in the woods or somewhere outside…”

She leaned toward me, waved her arms, and launched into a diatribe against “collectives.” “David, we were always in collectives, in groups—at work we’d gather once a week, once a month for. Ideology lectures. Russians hate that. What do we need it for? Maybe Americans need that, but we don’t. We need places to meet—bars, cafes, discos. Just to meet, to see each other. Maybe after we have these places for a while then we’ll want to gather in groups and talk about ourselves.”

Sveta seized the opportunity to have the last word. “Well, Americans think they can save us,” she chortled. “They think that they’re the Messiah. Or Superman. And as for the American gays and lesbianki , they think they are the Supergays and the Superlesbianki!”

I couldn’t disagree with her analysis.

**********

This and related experiences during the time I lived in Moscow served me well when I became involved in the journalism training world. In 1998, after almost a decade as a reporter and editor at the SF Chronicle, I received a fellowship from the Knight Foundation to spend nine months in St Petersburg. I would be working with a new media diversity program being created by Milica Pesic, a Serbian journalist living in London, under the auspices of New York University’s Center for War, Peace, and the News Media. I’d taught some undergraduate journalism courses in San Francisco, and obviously I’d lived in Russia, but beyond that I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing or how I was supposed to do it.

I was very aware that the countries scattered across the post-Soviet landscape were teeming with US and Western advisors in all spheres of activity—banking, public health, legal systems. Perhaps some of these efforts were useful, but others were infused with undeniably imperialistic impulses. In my travels, I had recognized the extent to which this overbearing approach had been pursued even in the domain of gay and lesbian rights. (In those days, no one would have understood “LGBTQ”!) I didn’t want to repeat the pattern in journalism. I tried to approach the work with caution and humility.

Milica and I bonded during our first trip together—two weeks in Albania in February of 1998. She impressed me with her charisma, her humor, her boundless energy, and her dedication to her work. During these first workshops, I generally followed her lead until I gradually got my footing. Later that year, we traveled together to a media diversity gathering in Ohrid, Macedonia. In 2003, we conducted nine days of training in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan–the three former Soviet Caucasus republics. I also wrote some reporting diversity training materials for MDI, which were then translated into multiple languages.

Milica took our responsibilities seriously but also loved turning everything into an adventure. In Georgia, we decided—with the approval of the participants–to move the workshop from Tbilisi, the capital, to the ski resort in the mountains. We skied during the day and held our seminars in the evenings. That worked out great for everyone. In Baku, when I saw a beautiful red antique carpet in the market, I returned later in the day with Milica, who gave a brilliant performance as my financially savvy wife. The sellers understood quickly that she controlled the family budget. They smiled at me knowingly and immediately agreed to lower the price. (That red carpet still graces my living room floor in San Francisco. When I look at it, I smile and think of Milica.)

I worked as well for other journalism training programs sponsored by either US or European funders. When accepting these assignments, I always sought to work alongside local trainers, who had a more pragmatic and realistic take on what was feasible for the journalists in our groups. They were obviously much more familiar with the facts on the ground—what was feasible in terms of reporting strategies, and what was not. I could offer suggestions or ideas, but I accepted that some would be dismissed as irrelevant or as impossible to execute, for whatever reason, and that some participants would likely reject everything I said just because I was American.

I also recognized that journalists in the post-Soviet and former Eastern bloc countries, including workshop participants, often maintained financial arrangements with advertisers. Some American trainers expressed shock at learning that journalists sometimes wrote ad copy for money—even as they covered news stories about the advertisers paying them. Or they engaged in other actions that would be grounds for immediate firing in the U.S. I didn’t share the outrage I saw some of my compatriots expressed. I was aware that our local colleagues lived in their reality, not mine. They had to feed their children, not me. So they had to make the decisions they needed to make in order to survive. I couldn’t judge their choices.

In any event, I was a bit hesitant when Milica asked me to review and edit the essays for this book. Editing is often a thankless job. Most people are understandably sensitive about having their writing assessed—I certainly am. And not surprisingly, journalists generally pride themselves on their ability to communicate; in my experience, they don’t always take kindly to rigorous editing. Taking on the task of dealing with dozens of essays about controversial issues involving diversity and the use and misuse of media and language seemed like a daunting prospect fraught with pitfalls and possibilities for conflict.

Moreover, most of the authors were not writing in their native languages but in English. I speak two other languages—Russian and French. But while my spoken fluency is pretty good, I am very aware that I am incapable of writing a serious paper in either language. I dread to think of someone having to edit whatever I would come up with.

I assumed that many or most of the authors would be translating in their heads as they were composing their articles. Words and phrases in translation, even when technically accurate, do not necessarily carry the same valence as in the original language. Sometimes the translated word is more powerful and aggressive than in the original, sometimes less so. Shades and nuances of meaning can also get lost. This certainly happens with slurs, whether they involve race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, citizenship status, or other demographic categories. They can be translated, of course, but they resonate differently—the weight of the opprobrium they carry does not necessarily come across, or it comes across with even greater force.

Would corrections I might make to awkward phrasing be accepted as offered, as well-meaning suggestions from a journalism colleague? Or would they be viewed with concern and suspicion, coming as they did from a white American guy in his 60s? I didn’t know. (I suppose I get exemptions for being gay and Jewish, but I think my point is clear.) I was concerned that suggestions or changes made for linguistic or grammatical reasons related to English usage or style would or could be misinterpreted as efforts to censor or silence.

I fretted about all these things before accepting the job. But I figured someone was ultimately going to have to edit the essays, so it might as well be me.

In each case, I did my best to retain the writer’s voice even as I fiddled with some of the phrasing or suggested trims or asked questions about various references or statements. Some of my responses undoubtedly arose out of my limited awareness and understanding of particular local contexts, historical events, and regional trends. But as an editor I tend to be nit-picky and detail-oriented. If I find myself confused or lost, I assume some other readers might as well, so I always feel it is my responsibility to alert the authors. The trick is in being able to broach every issue with care and sensitivity while remaining alert to the possibility of offense arising from linguistic misunderstandings.

I hope that, for the most part, I was able to perform this task respectfully, and that no one felt my edits were designed or intended to undermine or deflate the meaning they wanted to convey. My goal in all cases was to try to help them get their points across as clearly as possible—not to distort their message or impose my own ideas or thoughts or political viewpoint. I really enjoyed the exchanges I had with some of the authors via the comment bubbles on Word documents, often extending through two and three revisions.

That’s a long way of saying that editing these essays was a challenging job! But it was definitely a rewarding one.

As I read these powerful, heartfelt, and probing accounts, I was surprised at how much I learned. For one thing, they provided me with a window, or multiple windows, onto MDI’s history. I knew bits and pieces from what Milica had said and what I’d picked up during my own involvement with the organization. But given the diversity and range of the essays, reading them helped fill in many of the pieces. I hadn’t realized, for example, that MDI started off working only with reporters and then expanded to include media owners and decision-makers. Later on, I learned, Milica recognized the importance of working with non-governmental organizations that represented disadvantaged groups and ethnic minorities, training them on how to get the word out and reach media organizations with their messaging, as well as with academic institutions seeking to develop curricula and programs on media and diversity.

In fact, before I accepted this assignment, I was actually unaware of the vast reach of MDI’s efforts, especially in the last 10 or 15 years. After working on the MDI training manuals years ago, I had devoted most of my time to study and then work at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Milica and I maintained our friendship, but I had little ongoing professional relationship with MDI. So in reviewing the essays, I was blown away by how many programs MDI had sponsored in far-flung regions, how many local journalists it had impacted, and how many initiatives it had pursued. I was impressed all over again by Milica’s energy and vision as well as her ability to bring together media professionals from everywhere to discuss and debate these critical issues.

I was also immensely moved by the passion expressed by all the authors, no matter their perspectives, as well as their shared commitment to the notion that journalism and all forms of media can and must be used as tools for positive change. Many of the authors grew up in extremely harsh and oppressive circumstances, yet they have managed to retain their humor, their humanity, and their desire to promote inclusion, tolerance and diversity. I find myself immensely inspired by this resilience.

In other words, despite my initial trepidation about taking on the project, in the end I felt humbled, honored and touched to review these brief but revealing glimpses into MDI’s past and present and into the lives of people invested in its core mission. I hope, and expect, that the essays will provoke a similar range of reactions among this book’s readers.

* David Tuller, DrPH, is Senior Fellow in Public Health and Journalism at the Center for Global Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. He received a masters degree in public health in 2006 and a doctor of public health degree in 2013, both from Berkeley. He was a reporter and editor for ten years at The San Francisco Chronicle and served as health editor at Salon.com. He has written regularly about public health and medical issues for The New York Times, the policy journal Health Affairs, and many other publications. 

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Diversity Training Programs Essays

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Best Workplace Diversity Essay Examples

Diversity training.

1029 words | 4 page(s)

In order to create a half-day diversity training exercise, it is important for us to identify the topics to be covered during the course of training, the individual best suited to lead the training exercise, the appropriate medium for training, the goals of the exercise, and to determine how the exercises will be assessed by participating employees. By reviewing each of these different aspects of the exercise it will be possible to work to better plan out the program itself while working at the same time to ensure that all the major areas that need to be planned for are covered so that nothing is missed.

In order to be able to determine the major topics that should be covered it is necessary to first understand the reason that the company has opted to create the diversity training exercise. Typically, there are only two reasons to place employees through a diversity training exercise, either as an attempt by the company to attempt to prevent potential lawsuits or to attempt to create an all-inclusive environment that ensures that all members are treated with personal and professional respect and that their talents and not their differences are what are showcased within the company environment (Bregman, 2012). As the company is not currently anticipating any lawsuits and as there are no recent complaints about a lack of diversity within our organization, according to HR, we must work off of the basis that this training exercise is being implemented for the purposes of strengthening the organization and the cohesiveness of its employees therein; with this in mind as the ultimate goal of the exercise, it is then possible to determine the major topics that should be covered during the course of the half-day that has been allocated for the purposes of this exercise.

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The major topics that will be covered during the course of the half-day training exercise will consist of what a multi-cultural environment is, why respect is an important part of the workplace, understanding the manners in which prejudices and discrimination make themselves known, understanding ethnicities, and different collaborative problem solving strategies that may be utilized during the course of projects and team building exercises designed to strengthen the team through differences as opposed to demanding homogeneity (EdChange, 2013).

There are many different options available to the company in regard to the different individuals that would have the best qualifications to run such a diversity training program, including, employees, academic experts, private consultants, and representatives of other government agencies. There are various pros and cons to utilizing individuals from each of these different categories; governmental employees would most likely have already completed a program of this nature and would have a good idea not only of how to run the program, but also of the different standards that governmental agencies are held to, ensuring that our employees would be held to the same standards, but at the same time, these employees would not be familiar with our culture of employment, potentially causing issues due to the fact that they utilize different methods than we. Private consultants are often utilized for diversity training as this is their full time job, meaning that they have a good level of familiarity with the material, however this also has the potentiality for the presentations to become stale and flat, reducing their impact, coupled with the fact that they too would be unfamiliar with our employment culture. Academic experts are sometimes utilized due to the fact that this is an often studied area for academia, however their research works to distance themselves from the topic, and it is possible that they might attempt to try out new theories, potentially causing a conflict within the organization. This leaves current employees as a possibility, and while it is true that a current employee would need to be trained on the proper way to handle such a training exercise and will need to be trained on the material, ensuring their familiarity with the content before presenting it to others, it is also true that a current employee would have the most familiarity with the culture of our company, and a familiarity, to a degree, with the individuals who are currently a part of this organization. To this end, it is determined that a current employee would be the best choice for running the training program. It is recommended that a member of HR complete the training as they will be the most familiar with current company policies and appropriate discrimination laws and practices.

In order to ensure the most active participation and the best knowledge retention, it is determined that the training exercise should be completed in a face-to-face setting, ensuring that all employees are fully engaged in the training exercise. This would not be possible to gauge through an online training session wherein individuals could simply click through the exercises, never engaging their coworkers and distancing themselves further, as opposed to truly connecting and creating a cohesive working environment. Additionally, based on the list of topics to be covered during the course of the training session, a fact-to-face training exercise makes the most sense for such exercises, all of which require an active level of participation with other group mates, something that would not necessarily translate well through an online dissociative medium. At the close of the training exercise, it will be necessary to assess the level of effectiveness of the training exercise itself. The best way to do this will be to have employees, at the close of the session, complete a survey about the training session. This survey will work to not only gauge employee understanding of the material covered, but will also work to determine which exercises completed during the overall training exercise were the most effective, which were the least effective, whether or not they felt the trainer was able to effectively explain the content to them, and whether or not they felt that the training program itself was useful.

Bregman, P. (2012). Diversity training doesn’t work. [online] Retrieved from: http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/03/diversity-training-doesnt-work/ [Accessed: 7 Feb 2014].
Edchange.org. (2013). Multicultural, anti-bias, & diversity activities & exercises. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activityarch.html [Accessed: 7 Feb 2014].

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Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Education and Training

🔍 school of medicine, stanford, california, united states.

The Stanford School of Medicine seeks a Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Education and Training to support the Office of the Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer (CEDIO) and guide diversity, equity, and inclusion-related training and professional development efforts across Stanford Medicine, including the School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. The CEDIO team seeks an energetic, results-oriented Director who will report to the Chief Equity Diversity Inclusion Officer and collaborate with leaders across Stanford Medicine to implement the training and professional development strategies described in the Inclusive Excellence and Health Equity Strategic Plan. Stanford Medicine is dedicated to training a new generation of leaders in medicine and science who will actively promote equity and social justice and work to eradicate health disparities. Dynamic, talented leaders interested in joining a fast-paced, mission-driven team are encouraged to apply. This position is full-time (40 hours/week) and hybrid-friendly. Please note that remote work must be performed in the Bay Area. The review of candidates will begin on September 20, 2024 and will continue until the position has been filled.

Duties include:

Lead strategic planning and analysis for complex functions or programs with significant business, regulatory and/or technical challenges requiring subject matter expertise. May provide development of program or function from initial concept to implementation.
Manage the administration and evaluation of programs or functions. Oversee the interpretation, implementation and compliance with policies and regulations. Recommend actions and/or resolve complex issues that often span organizational boundaries.
Represent the program or function at the university level and/or to external/internal stakeholders and constituencies.
Develop and manage outreach strategy that includes relationship development, communications, and compliance.
Oversee or supervise staff in the development and implementation of programs or functions.
May develop and/or oversee budgets; manage finances including monitoring, analyzing, forecasting, and reporting.

*- Other duties may also be assigned

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience within a university, academic medical center, healthcare system, or other matrixed environment.
Documented ability to lead and assess professional development activities for faculty and staff.
Demonstrated success in launching new programs or initiatives.
Proven ability to engage effectively with executive leaders and a diverse group of stakeholders.
Strong oral and written communication skills, organizational skills, and attention to detail.
Familiarity with Microsoft Suite, learning management systems, and virtual collaboration tools.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED):

Bachelor's degree and eight years of relevant experience, or combination of education and relevant experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (REQUIRED):

Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to influence and motivate constituencies which could span multiple organizational boundaries.
Demonstrated excellent planning, organizational and analytical skills.
Demonstrated ability to make sound business decisions using good business judgment and innovative and creative problem-solving.
Demonstrated ability to manage financial, organizational and staff resources.
Excellent interpersonal and communications skills with the ability to cultivate professional and business partnerships.
Relevant subject matter expertise.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS*:

Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks.
Frequently stand/walk, sitting, grasp lightly/fine manipulation.
Occasionally use a telephone.
Rarely lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh 11-20 pounds.

*- Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of his or her job.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

May work extended hours or weekends.

WORK STANDARDS:

Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide, http://adminguide.stanford.edu.

At Stanford University, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive rewards package. The Cardinal at Work website ( https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/benefits-rewards ) provides detailed information on Stanford's extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees. Specifics about the rewards package for this position may be discussed during the hiring process.

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact Stanford University Human Resources by submitting a contact form. Link

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

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DELIA: Diversity-Enhanced Learning for Instruction Adaptation in Large Language Models

Zeng, Yuanhao
Zhou, Xinpeng
Wang, Yihang
Shao, Yingxia

Although instruction tuning is widely used to adjust behavior in Large Language Models (LLMs), extensive empirical evidence and research indicates that it is primarily a process where the model fits to specific task formats, rather than acquiring new knowledge or capabilities. We propose that this limitation stems from biased features learned during instruction tuning, which differ from ideal task-specfic features, leading to learn less underlying semantics in downstream tasks. However, ideal features are unknown and incalculable, constraining past work to rely on prior knowledge to assist reasoning or training, which limits LLMs' capabilities to the developers' abilities, rather than data-driven scalable learning. In our paper, through our novel data synthesis method, DELIA (Diversity-Enhanced Learning for Instruction Adaptation), we leverage the buffering effect of extensive diverse data in LLMs training to transform biased features in instruction tuning into approximations of ideal features, without explicit prior ideal features. Experiments show DELIA's better performance compared to common instruction tuning and other baselines. It outperforms common instruction tuning by 17.07%-33.41% on Icelandic-English translation bleurt score (WMT-21 dataset, gemma-7b-it) and improves accuracy by 36.1% on formatted text generation (Llama2-7b-chat). Notably, among knowledge injection methods we've known, DELIA uniquely align the internal representations of new special tokens with their prior semantics.

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How to write about your diversity. Your answer to a school's diversity essay question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective. The school might ask how you think of diversity or how you will bring or add to the diversity of the ...
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How to Write a Diversity Essay - Diversity Essay Examples. The first example addresses the "share a story" prompt. It is written in the voice of Karim Amir, the main character of Hanif Kureishi's novel The Buddha of Suburbia. As a child of the suburbs, I have frequently navigated the labyrinthine alleys of identity.
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Although instruction tuning is widely used to adjust behavior in Large Language Models (LLMs), extensive empirical evidence and research indicates that it is primarily a process where the model fits to specific task formats, rather than acquiring new knowledge or capabilities. We propose that this limitation stems from biased features learned during instruction tuning, which differ from ideal ...
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