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Friday, May 18, 2012

Destructive Diversity Training

Our friend Suzanne Lucas, the Evil HR Lady, has kicked up quite a storm with her recent piece citing research that questions the effectiveness of diversity training. Maybe it’s the provocative title: Why you should stop attending diversity training.

Or maybe it’s the tagline from the Peter Bergman article from Psychology Today that Suzanne quotes: “Diversity training doesn’t extinguish prejudice. It promotes it.”
Read the whole thing, but especially the comments.

The military is a very, very big proponent of Diversity Training. Here’s a comment from a member of the military.
Had to attend “Diversity” Training every three years during my 22 year military career. EVERY SINGLE YEAR I saw the trainers turn co-workers and friends against each other. Common courtesy and general friendliness was actively suspended so we could “Dig a little deeper” and ignite/inflame deeply buried prejudices. Destroyed the work environment & friendships for months/years afterwards EVERY SINGLE TIME.  
Always did MUCH more harm than good.

1 comment:

Business Training Media Blog said...

It's important for organization to offer some type of diversity training to help employees deal with potentially difficult situations. Diversity training can help your staff avoid harassing and disrespectful behaviors, creating a healthy environment for everyone, with no costly lawsuits.