Briefly explain the factors that have led to increased workforce diversity.

Answers will vary. Organizations today are becoming increasingly diverse along many different dimensions. Several different factors have accounted for these trends and changes. Changing demographics in the labor force is one such factor. As more women and minorities have entered the labor force over the past few decades, for example, the available pool of talent from which organizations hire employees has changed in both size and composition. A related factor that has contributed to diversity has been the increased awareness by organizations that they can improve the overall quality of their workforce by hiring and promoting the most talented people available regardless of gender, race, or any other characteristics. Another reason for the increase in diversity has been legislation and legal actions that have forced organizations to hire more broadly. Over the past several decades, various laws have outlawed discrimination against women, African Americans, and other minorities. A final contributing factor to increased diversity in organizations has been the globalization movement. Organizations that have opened offices and related facilities in other countries have had to learn to deal with different customs, social norms, and mores. Strategic alliances and foreign ownership have also contributed because managers today are more likely to have job assignments in other countries or to work with foreign managers within their own countries. As employees and managers move from assignment to assignment across national boundaries, organizations and their subsidiaries within each country become more diverse.