The diverse nature of the U.S. workforce requires supervisors to be prepared to manage a wide variety of people in the workforce who help achieve the firm’s organizational goals, overall advantage, and bottom-line results. Diversity management can impact virtually all aspects of a firm’s operations and should be viewed by supervisors as both a challenge and an opportunity. The major classifications of protected-group employees are by racial or ethnic origin, sex, age, physical and mental impairment, religion, and military service.

Specific legal protections are afforded to protected-group employees. Supervisors must be knowledgeable about these protections and understand that complying with legislation is part of the responsibility of supervising a diverse workforce.

All employees should be supervised in a consistent, fair, and objective manner that focuses on their talents, abilities, and potential contributions. P-635