Diversity Manager

Working Schedule

• Diversity Managers are full-time employees who typically work in offices but may occasionally need to make site visits which could take them out of town.  

Typical Duties

• Research their employers’ current workplace climate and recommend areas for improvement
• Review organizational statistics to assess current levels of diversity 
• Meet with management, team leaders, supervisors, and other staff to gather information and discuss problems and solutions
• Look at policies or practices to see which are supportive of diversity versus which might present obstacles
• Help establish short- and long-term diversity goals 
• Develop ideas and strategies to help organizations reach those goals
• Work with recruiters and HR staff to update hiring and retention strategies
• Promote marketing techniques to make the organization more attractive to job seekers from diverse populations 

Additional Responsibilities

• Provide or oversee related training for all organizational members 
• Analyze performance review standards to ensure objectivity and fairness
• Collaborate with government agencies dealing with Equal Employment Opportunity guideline compliance and enforcement
• Stay up-to-date on diversity laws and best practices

Soft Skills

• Analytical
• Attention to detail and standards
• Collaboration and team-building
• Communication skills
• Coordination
• Critical thinking
• Data-driven
• Empathy
• Human resources
• Leadership
• Organizational skills
• Realistic
• Sound judgment

Technical Skills

• Evaluation and problem-solving skills
• Familiarity with HR software
• Project management
• Writing skills

• Government agencies
• Labor relations
• Human resources departments within private organizations

Diversity Managers play vital roles in today’s public and private organizations. They’re expected to be subject matter experts who can propose, establish, and implement policy-backed goals aimed at increasing workplace diversity and inclusivity. When members of an organization are reluctant to change or when leadership isn’t engaged, Diversity Managers may experience frustration as they must press forward with patience, understanding, and firmness. Ideally, they will put their skills to work to help unfreeze rigid mindsets and explain why changes are both positive and necessary. This may occasionally require difficult conversations, especially as Americans become increasingly polarized about social topics.

The push to increase diversity in the workplace started many years ago, and much progress has been made in recent times. However, diversity-related laws are subject to change as state and national leaders tend to come and go. Diversity Managers must not only help organizations understand and comply with such ever-evolving rules, but should also assist with establishing enduring internal guidelines which may withstand political shifts. 

Vantage Circle notes several important trends that future Diversity Managers should keep an eye on. Among these are issues related to the evolving remote workforce and the multigenerational workforce. Older workers, for example, may not be as tech-savvy as younger ones. 

Diversity Managers have to be careful to ensure other historically marginalized groups aren’t forgotten. For instance, qualified workers with disabilities often face employment barriers that must be recognized and addressed. Veterans, as a group, also experience challenges as they transition from military to civilian jobs. 

Respecting diverse gender identity and expression is another topic that employers often need help navigating, as they strive for more inclusive, welcoming environments. Supporting positive mental health in the workplace is also an emerging consideration. Meanwhile, addressing bias, both conscious and unconscious, continues to be of critical importance.

Diversity Managers may have grown up in situations where they experienced bias or discrimination in their own lives, which may have instilled a desire to address such problems through institutional change. Growing up, they may have been keenly interested in reading and learning about civil rights topics, and how civil rights leaders employed different strategies to affect change. Diversity Managers have powerful soft skills which they may have honed through volunteering in student organizations in school or through community volunteerism.