The types of board diversity and its impact on board performance Essay

The types of board diversity and its impact on board performance - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of diversity as the difference between things or people, the variety of assortment that makes us unique. Every person has unique skills, characteristics, and challenges that contribute much in the board performance. Despite that, the body structure is the same; physical characteristics differ making people have a greater deal of diversity. Diversity has the composition of age, gender, race, and ethnicity, education, physical appearance, political persuasion among others. It is the examination of these differences in a safe, affirmative, and fostering environment. Age diversity- workforce increasingly varied in age demographics, creating proficient environment loaded with experience and maturity as well as youthful enthusiasm. Companies that employ more workers in wide ranges of age have an advantage of creating a dynamic workforce with a diverse range of skills beneficial to the company. Gender diversity- it is an Umbrella term used by Aus tralians to swap transgender in a more comprehensive fashion. It is the skill of sex or gender identity beyond the biological and dual philosophy of male and female. It celebrates the diversity in gender identities rather than some categories of people. Gender composition in a workplace has its own advantages and disadvantages in the workforce. Most of the top boards in Australian do not have women. The following graph shows the percentage of women in 48 boards, in ASX 200 files. Available from: http://www.companydirectors.com.au/Director-Resource-Centre/Governance-and-Director-Issues/Board-Diversity/~/media/Resources/Director%20Resource%20Centre/Governance%20and%20director%20issues/Board%20diversity/Board%20Diversity%20images/Graph%20images/Percentageofwomen_19April.ashx?w=360&h=275&as=1 [accessed on May 03 2013] Race diversity- a race is a population distinguished from other populations within a species by hereditarily transmitted physical characteristics. It has a unique and distinct ensemble of genes and remains identified by this genetic ensemble. Members of the same race share distinguished genetic characteristics because they share the same ancestry. This also depends on language distribution. The following graph show race or ethnic diversity from a county make up. Available from: Http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl [accessed on May 06 2013] Culture diversity- this is about the ethnic groups, nationalities, lifestyles, and the educational level. Two people may appear similar on the outside but have different cultures, values, view points, and work styles. It is equally valuable for a business to acknowledge multiple cultures that exist within the work place. Mangers work in hand with the employees to ensure that their cultures remain respected. The following graph shows women cultural diversity on trusteeship in 1931. Available from: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl [accessed on May 06 2013] Religion diversity- people continue to express a high level of religion involvement that is highly significant and productive in both the work force and our daily lives. In the recent, religious discrimination, remain practiced highly in the workforce. This diversity contributes much in the performance of a company. Catholics and Christians have the highest percentage in Australia while others like Anglican, uniting church, Presbyterian and reformed among others follow. The following gr