Defining Workforce Diversity in Public Sector Organizations

Workforce diversity has been increasingly discussed and debated within the public sector. The concept received national attention following two reports issued in the late 1980's by the U.S. Department of Labor. The term “workforce diversity”, however, did not appear in either report and has not been specifically defined by any appropriate federal organization. In practice, it has developed a number of definitions and meanings. The purpose of this research was to determine how public sector administrators define this new concept and to what extent diversity policies and programs have actually been implemented within public organizations. The findings indicate the extent to which workforce diversity has been implemented in public organizations, the nature of diversity programs, and the reported positive and negative effects of existing programs.