KEY POINTS:
Diversity means being accommodating when a staff member has to go back to India for their arranged marriage. Diversity means setting up a networking group at work for all your part-time working mothers. And diversity means creating an environment where gay members of staff feel accepted.
New Zealand companies - and you know who you are - still have a way to go in attracting and hiring a truly diverse set of people. All too often, particularly among professional firms, there is a sameness in the types working there.
Philippa Reeve, chief executive of the EEO Trust, is aware of the cosy clubs still alive and well in New Zealand firms, but she hopes change is in the air. "There is starting to be a realisation that there has been a fair amount of cloning [going on]," she says.
Often people discriminate against those who are different - for example, a younger woman interviewing an older, more experienced woman for a post - and can reject them, says Reeve.
And if they do take a punt on someone, there will be a bedding-in period. "I am not trying to say it's all plain sailing," she says.
Reeve advocates staff training and development, "making some of the issues and concerns quite explicit, unpicking what they are", and then helping people to deal with them.
Managers have a key part to play. "I think [it is about] role modelling, showing that we are prepared to embrace difference and work through some of these issues rather than just taking the rejection route," she says.
Reeve says she sees companies that are prepared to grapple with accepting diversity, and not just because it looks good.
ANZ National Bank is putting itself on show next week as principal sponsor of a one-day trust symposium, "The Diversity Effect".
A diversity policy can be small things, like not starting meetings at 8.30am - a working parent's nightmare - says Catherine McDowell, managing director of private banking at ANZ National, and chair of the bank's diversity and inclusion council.
McDowell, who was international managing director at Barclays Bank in England, says she was passionate about diversity in that job, and feels the same passion with ANZ National.
Diversity is less advanced here than in Britain, she says.
"What you find at senior levels is that you are less likely to have diversity than in the UK. The UK is further ahead but I think middle and lower management and younger staff [here] embrace it and want it.
"Diversity makes good business sense. You want to have a diverse work force because you have a diverse client base."
It is about respecting and reflecting your community, she says.
Management interested in attracting a diverse workforce should be "developing an employment brand which helps attract new employees".
"In establishing and articulating our stance we want to send a strong message to our staff, prospective employees and the greater New Zealand community."
Diversity in leadership is one of the three goals of the bank's diversity and inclusion council.
"Diversity in leadership is harnessing a range of opinions, insights and approaches through diverse leadership teams," says the bank.
"A diverse group is so much more powerful," says McDowell.
She hopes a diversity policy won't always have to be so organised and taught.
"I think, like any project, it's got to be wired in the DNA at some level, and not regarded as a separate project. We hope that at some stage it comes off the meeting agenda because we are just doing it."
Companies have to mean it, says Phil O'Reilly, chief executive of Business New Zealand, and someone who has long promoted workplace diversity.
"If you only ever got into diversity in terms of staff hiring practices because it's nice to do or think it will look good, you won't sustain it," he says.
There must be investment in management capability and systems for it to work.
"You make a lot of mistakes and errors if you don't have the systems right," says O'Reilly.
The first thing companies should do is understand the commercial implications and payback of a diversity policy.
Systems could include training in interview tools and technique. "You want to make sure that you don't deliberately or inadvertently discriminate against a mature age worker or someone with a disability," says O'Reilly.
Even decisions like how you run the Christmas party become key when being diligent about diversity.
ANZ National has encouraged various communities among its staff to form groups that meet regularly: part-time working mothers and Greek workers, for example.
Sometimes, particularly in smaller companies out of the main centres, diversity flourishes because the smaller pool of potential staff means businesses don't have much option.
O'Reilly says it is difficult to put a dollar value on having a diverse management team, but he has no doubt that it's worthwhile.
"I know it's valuable. It's not just about putting women in HR and ticking the box. It's about allowing for a different view of the world," he says.
So what does O'Reilly think about letting an Indian worker go off for three weeks to have their arranged marriage?
He suggests looking at it a different way. How would you feel if you had a good rugby player on the staff who wanted to go and play in the States for three weeks?
Odds are that wouldn't be up for such debate.
Changing mix
* Half of New Zealand's population will be 46 years and older by 2051, up from a median age of 35 in 2004. (Source: Statistics NZ)
* The proportion of New Zealanders who are foreign-born is greater than in the US or Canada. (DOL Immigration)
* Maori, Asian and Pacific populations are all projected to increase their share of New Zealand's population. (Statistics NZ)
* New Zealand's Asian population is projected to reach 670,000 by 2021, up from 270,000 in 2001. (Statistics NZ)
* New Zealand's Pacific population is projected to reach 420,000 by 2021, up from 260,000 in 2001. (Statistics NZ)
* More women than men are enrolling in tertiary education - the 2001 Census showed a third more women than men in the 25-30 age group had degrees or higher qualification. (Statistics NZ)
* Higher numbers of female immigrants, especially Asian, are opting to come here. (Statistics NZ)
* In the public sector, women represent 41 per cent of all Government-appointed members of state sector boards, with a target of 50 per cent by 2010. (Department of Labour, Statistics NZ)
* Women account for just 7.1 per cent of directorships of top-100 companies, 16.9 per cent of university professorships and make up just 18.9 per cent of mayors. (Statistics NZ)
* Gill South is a freelance business writer based in Auckland.
