Diversity and social entrepreneurship represent two popular dimensions of organizational development and performance. The importance of diversity in traditional organizational forms is widely recognized. Much poorer is the current knowledge of diversity, as applied to social entrepreneurship. However, that social enterprises differ from more traditional organizations does not mean that they should not care about diversity. More often than not, the diversity challenges facing social entrepreneurs are no less severe that those experienced by other organizations. Still, many social enterprises ignore the significance of diversity and fail to leverage its business and social potentials to the fullest.
The focus of the present evaluation is on two social enterprises – Human Technologies Corporation and Habitat for Humanity. The former develops and provides customized technologies and solutions to address the unique needs of businesses around the globe (Human Technologies Corporation, 2015). The latter is a nonprofit religious organization that builds and renovates houses to make them affordable to people (Habitat for Humanity, 2015). Both organizations operate globally. As a result, they deal with a diversity of clients and partners on an everyday basis. It is possible to say that diversity management is crucial to the success of both social enterprises.
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Bridgstock, Lettice, Ozbilgin, and Tatli (2010) define diversity management as a framework that rests on the idea that diversity benefits organizations and improves their performance. Unfortunately, neither of the two organizations has a written diversity or equal opportunities statement that could signal their commitment to diversity and equity in the workplace. Both Human Technologies Corporation and Habitat for Humanity recognize the importance of serving diverse customers and engaging a diversity of partners in developing and delivering their community services. More importantly, Human Technologies Corporation (2015) confirms its commitment to hiring and promoting individuals with disabilities and complex health needs. The company provides a brief statement that it is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages people with disability and veterans to apply for available job positions.
Still, it is difficult to find any relevant evidence that the two social enterprises mentioned in this work value and promote diversity in their organizational settings. It is not clear if their appreciation of diversity affects all employees, regardless of their health or social status; nor is it possible to see how Habitat for Humanity fosters equity and equality among its workers.
A diversity statement could greatly improve the quality and effectiveness of all diversity management efforts within the two organizations. It is widely recognized that diversity in social enterprises is not limited to workers but also includes other stakeholders, professional networks, and sectoral relationships (Bridgstock et al., 2010). Thus, a comprehensive diversity statement could serve a double purpose. On the one hand, it could confirm that both social enterprises realize and acknowledge the complexity of their diversity challenges and readiness to face them. On the other hand, it could reinforce their public commitment to diversity and, as a result, gain greater public recognition and open new opportunities for further expansion.
A good diversity statement for Human Technologies Corporation could look as follows: “we value diversity by recognizing and promoting the value of human difference in the workplace, as well as in our stakeholder and professional relationships, and we are intended to utilize the positive potentials of diversity to ensure our stable presence in all business fields worldwide.” Habitat for Humanity could use the following diversity statement: “We at Habitat for Humanity appreciate the growth potential of diverse employees, stakeholders, and partners, and foster equal volunteering and workplace opportunities for everyone, who is willing to make a social contribution to our work and expand our coverage to at least 3 million people globally.”
Unfortunately, I do not know any social enterprises, whose diversity statements could serve as a role model for other entrepreneurs. Diversity seems to be a neglected aspect of work in social entrepreneurship. Thus, it is vital that organizations and individuals in the social entrepreneurship field pay greater attention to the issues of diversity and design comprehensive diversity statements to reinforce their commitment to equal opportunities in their work.
- Bridgstock, R., Lettice, F., Ozbilgin, M. & Tatli, A. (2010). Diversity management for innovation in social enterprises in the UK. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 22(6), 557-574.
- Habitat for Humanity. (2015). About us. Retrieved from http://www.habitat.org/how.
- Human Technologies Corporation. (2015). Learn how HTC – Human Technologies can help your business. Retrieved from http://htcorp.net/why-htc.cfm.
