Corporations today have two sets of employees – the 20 something of Gen Y and Baby Boomers. The biggest difference in these two groups is how they view diversity in a corporations. Whereas Baby Boomers are proud to members of affinity groups, the younger generation are hesitant to associate themselves with identity based groups.

Generation Y, is a bit insensitive to Baby Boomers. They cannot understand what is the big deal about affinity groups in their companies. It is important to understand that generation Y did not go through the social movements – civil rights or affirmative action. Since they did not experience the struggle of these times, they are not able driven by their impact. Equality for them is their Birth Right.

Another factor is that Generation Y is grew up in a far more accepting world. They are more open to gender, race, religion and sexual orientation. These are not the cornerstones of their identity.

For corporations, it is important to reconsider their agendas for the engaging the younger generation. Plus the Baby boomers need to present the historical conversations to the Gen Y.

The identity dilemma faced by employers in the workforce can only be resolved by recognizing the opportunity of how far we have come and we need to redefine identity in the workplace….

I love being in New York city. If someone asked me at any instance of time, where would you like to be – the answer is clear. What New York represents to me is the how I see the world. It is the city that is diverse, global, multicultural, multiracial and beyond. Yeah! it is the melting pot of multiple diverse cultures…BUT it is not the existence of these cultures in the city BUT the experiences of these cultures in the city shapes – a true New York moment.

Standing on time square is like a window to the world. Since, I went to school for my post graduate (MBA) in New York and worked there for a bit, I had an opportunity to experience the city from two different points of view.

As a student, I took subways, ate at inexpensive cafes and restaurants, worked under a professor and competed to get a job. It was very interesting. I had multiple interactions that shaped my experiences in the city.

a true New York moment: Studying in a Jesuit University, doing a project with a Russian, Hispanic and an American ex-marine officer, eating at a cafe run by an Italian caterer and taking a cab with a Punjabi cab driver.

As a professional, I got to meet some really accomplished people, eat at fancy restaurants and shop on Fifth Ave.

a true New York moment: meet with business people from London, eat at the finest Italian Renaissance restaurant, get attention from a Greek shop sales person on fifth ave and choose from operas, ballets and plays for evening entertainment.

Whatever the case, New York city allows for all kinds of people to interact with each other and share their cultures with each other.

The beauty of the word diversity is that it means different things to different people. Many globally diversity leaders have realized that diversity transcends dividing people in different ethnic groups. I have come to believe that hiring people based on different ethnic backgrounds is not an effective criteria to gauge if they will fit into a company’s culture and values.

To illustrate with an example, I would like to first bring your attention to the picture below.

Currently, we have the view that there is a big world out there and people are different based on their unique cultural identities.
A= Culture 1
B= Culture 2
C= Culture 3
D= Culture 1+3 = A+C (where 2 cultures intersect)
E= Culture 2+3 = B+C
F= Culture 1+2+3 = A+B+c
G= Culture 1+2 = A+B

The common names for these groups is: Asians, Hispanics, Asian Americans, African Americans, Multi racials etc. With these distinctions, it is hard to say how these people will they fit into the company’s culture.

Now consider, the picture below:

Here these different cultures are interacting with each other.
The cloud is the diverse cloud of the company and everyone is working within it. A, B,C,D,E,F are distinct cultures.

It is interaction A<->B that shapes the experience of A and B and shapes A+B (which is constantly changing and evolving).

Similarly, it is interaction A<->B and A<->D that shapes A, B,D. They don’t become different groups but remain A, B, C and D but evolve in their unique perspective based on their interactions. A becomes a bit of B,C,D,E,F based on its external interactions (outside of its culture).

So, there are chances for A to be more diverse because its experiences are a blend of different interactions. He is more open to accept others and values that lay the foundation of a company.

The point is: For a diverse individual to perform effectively and fit into the company’s corporate culture, it is important to focus on the experiences and interactions she has with others – the exposure to different cultures allows an individual to become more open.

The term multiculturalism generally refers to a theory promoting retention of various cultural divisions for the sake of diversity that applies to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the scale of an organization such as a school, business, neighborhood, city or nation. It originated with the emergence of building communities where social integration was promoted without giving anyone group treated as a norm.

In a world where we are now not limited to our geographies, it is not possible to find a place which is not ethnically diverse. With the internet boom, air travel and immigration , I believe it is not possible to isolate an entity and call it multicultural because it has a mix of people…we need to see the world as multicultural. If the world is multicultural then we are in the true state of our existence. Anywhere you go and build a organization, the mix of people would start showing up as the its natural form NOT multicultural.

If we accept this as the NEW look and feel of our world, then we don’t have to stress about how these differences impact tribes and communities. After all we need to remember it is human beings that are equal and not cultures.

Ever noticed kids, they play with each other just for the sake of having fun – they have no cultural comprehension of other kids on the team. To them the world is all equal and what matters is to enjoy the game. Why can’t we enjoy the game of life treating everyone the same – then the world will be simple.

I am not sure why we think Multicultural is an organization, school, group when it is our world that is Multicultural.

On my recent trip to India, I had the opportunity to go into an Indian village. Having grown up in India, I thought it would be just another village tour. It was meant to be a simple exploration and walk down the memory lane which turned into a learning experience.

In this village, I saw women working and engrossed in domestic chores. Their houses were absolutely sparkling clean. I met this one lady who was heading out to get water from the village well. She had covered her head with her saree and had two pots on her head. I asked her if it would be dangerous to cover her face. What if she tripped? She looked at me and said, “This is sign of respect. I am not supposed to show my face to the village elders”.

There she stood convinced that she was doing the best to keep up with the values of the community. I was amazed. She brought forth for me certain realities that don’t exist for me. I stood there in a bit of disbelief. I wondered if modernization and education was still only privilege of the chosen few.

She turned to me and said, “would you like to put the pots on your head?”. I said, “Why Not?”. And both of us laughed. I loved how we came together for that moment even though we can from different experiences of life. The lesson I learned was – There is always something that connects us – even if it is for a brief moment.

I got a call this evening informing me of sudden death of Michael Jackson. For some reason, I had never prepared for this call. Michael was someone, who had shaped my teenage years. I remember growing up in India and the release of his album ‘Thriller’. As a kid, I would play his video for hours and try to learn moon walking.

As he soared to stardom, I wondered how this man could achieve such great success at such a young age. He was my star and I had his posters in my room.

What fascinates me about Michael is that he was a man who took the definition of success to a different level. As an Indian girl growing up in India, I could easily identify with him. He was diverse and global in his appeal. He made it easy for people to find a bit of themselves in him.

If you are music lover, you found yourself in him

If you are creative, you found yourself in him

He pioneered what ‘Global Persona’ looks like. Just say “Michael Jackson” and you know him as “King of Pop”.

Becoming a leader is no small task, in part because the experts don’t agree on what leadership means, how to do it or what it looks like when people get it right.

In spite of the confusion and contradiction among experts, some people do become leaders. In general, they have to confront the fact that almost everything they’ve come to know of leadership is, at best, something else – entrepreneurship, management, marketing, or personal discipline.

In this time of crisis, companies are in dire need to retain their talent and to build them to be leaders. The idea that a leader is one person in the company is outdated. Today the essence of leadership is to empower diverse people within the company so that they are enrolled into the vision of the company and are willing to take accountability to design the future of the company. This would make an environment where innovation will foster and people will get close to their inner sense of creativity and passion – genesis of the future of the company.

” A leader is most effective when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, his troops will feel they did it” – Lao Tzu.