IndexGender Diversity in the WorkplaceBenefits of Gender Diversity in the WorkplaceNegative Impacts of Gender DiversityChallenges in Improving Gender DiversityConclusionThe Debate on the Importance of Diversity in the workplace is not new. It has been discussed for 6 decades. Many researchers, academicians, HR professionals and entrepreneurs have discussed its benefits, downsides, challenges and future prospects. The intensity of the debate has also been linked to various waves of feminism. For example, second wave feminism in the 1970s largely brought forth an enormous amount of research on gender. There was a lull in gender diversity research, but this picked up steam after 2010 because companies want to retain the best skills, regardless of gender. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Over the years, researchers have tried to focus on identifying psychological and structural barriers. Consistent with employment forecasts, the current workforce includes employees with diverse skills, cultural backgrounds, and work styles, with projections for even greater diversity. “It has often been argued that workforce diversity and organizational culture are responsible for all sorts of positive and negative ills” (Shani and Lau, 2005). A better understanding of the concept has a direct relationship with problem solving skills and improved performance of employees. Organizations can now dodge this bullet only at their own peril, as the world moves towards a knowledge economy focused on intellectual property rights. To move forward in this race, organizations and nations must leverage all the skills of all available talent, regardless of gender. Due to this constraint, various measures are being taken to bridge the gap between the male and female workforce. Organizations must break the illusion that inclusion is just a social act and must understand its impact on the company's bottom line. Attention to the proper management of gender diversity is also crucial because improper management can actually lead to negative results, as will be seen in the next section. Female candidates have been disadvantaged for many decades and so this concept of equal opportunities aims to ensure that organizations realize that female candidates are equally worthy of trust, responsibility and respect as male candidates. With the advent of technology and the various social movements emerging around equal rights have also brought attention to the corporate culture of inclusiveness. Therefore it is imperative that companies start thinking long term to make their place inclusive. Gender diversity in the workplace Gender diversity in the workplace is considered a complex phenomenon (Janssens & Steyaert, 2003). The topic of gender diversity has long attracted the spotlight on various information platforms. Among other considerations, recent studies have investigated the so-called “glass ceiling effect” (Farrell and Hersch, 2001), which refers to the “somewhat implicit barrier that women face in attempting to climb the corporate ladder” (Li and Wearing, 2004). “To increase board effectiveness it may not be enough to simply increase the number of female directors on the board; different boards of directors may require additional mechanisms to ensure cooperation between directors.” Kanter (1977) was oneamong the first to advance the idea that “changing the gender composition of top management teams can have implications for organizational design.” In chapter 3 of his book, “Men and Women of the Company,” he argues that “homogeneous top management teams cooperate more, because social similarity breeds trust.” Investment and effort are needed to create a sense of ownership among different board members. It is trust between team members that helps improve governance and results. As a result, he argues that “when uncertainty is high, firms rely more on management team homogeneity than on formal governance mechanisms as a means of providing incentives.” The “Tyson Report” (Tyson, 2003, p. 7) on the recruitment and development of non-executive directors, commissioned by the UK Department of Trade and Industry, suggests that diversity initiatives cost money. Members accustomed to homogeneity resist both financially and mentally, making their training difficult but vital. Another problem may be that decision-making times are reduced because, as Blau (1977) argues, “heterogeneity in groups can increase conflict”. Benefits of Gender Diversity in the Workplace According to Sherbin (2017), leaders have long recognized that gender diversity in the workplace helps give a better position to the organization as it knows what the different market segment wants by gathering information by its employees. According to Mkamwa, T. (2010), diversity has a strong business case. Help the organization address talent shortages by fully utilizing the capabilities of all our employees. It also helps in improving communication with the customer segment. Diversity within teams and workgroups has been proven to bring its own benefits, including a healthy return on investment from human capital. According to information and decision-making theory, diversity has a positive effect on performance because different segments of the workforce bring unique perspectives on a particular problem or product. Knouse and Dansby (1999) hypothesize that “organizations that engage in diversity will experience greater synergy among staff, diverse network contacts, and staff taking on different roles and tasks.” The differences help the company get more points of view, more inputs that help the organization better understand consumer needs and find better solutions to each problem. Beneficial diversity policies help reduce attrition, but only when they become part of the organization's habits and are not just an investor attracting propaganda (Stranberg,2009). Negative impacts of gender diversityAccording to social identity theory and self-categorization theory, “people who are different people are less likely to collaborate with each other than similar people because they do not consider themselves to belong to the same social category and therefore do not share the same identity." In my opinion, due to the widespread prevalence of patriarchy in Indian society, men with patriarchal backgrounds find it difficult to follow the instructions of their female protagonist and at the same time are biased when sponsoring female talent. It's not just the workplace that causes poor gender diversity, as much research tends to show. External factors are equally responsible. With the changing nature of work including late night working hours, working from home, on-site client meetings, women are facing challenges not only due to work but also due to various attitudes, prejudices and artificial barriersby the company. According to Mkamwa, T. (2010), gender diversity and performance do not always share a beneficial relationship. It can also be bad if not handled properly. It can lead to dysfunctional conflicts and lack of consensus. Challenges in Improving Gender Diversity According to (Ibarra, 2013), “there is a subtle gender bias that persists in organizations and society.” This gender bias leads to overlooking the efforts of others in organizations. It often hinders a woman's chances of becoming an acceptable leader. Another challenge explained by (Ibarra, 2013) is that culture also plays an important role in establishing women's credibility in the workplace. Many cultures impose a particular image on women that they cannot exercise authority, and those who try to do so are labeled as vicious or unfaithful. According to the author, psychology also plays an important role in considering women as credible employees. We have seen many cases where powerful men supported other men for leadership roles even when the female candidate was clearly the logical choice. This not only impacts culture and business, but also the morale of women working at lower levels. Ibarra (2013) further states that the biggest challenge in reducing discrimination in the workplace and, consequently, increasing gender diversity in the workplace is that very often women do not know or do not even recognize that there is a gender discrimination. The author introduced a term called “second generation bias”. Milliken (1996) argued that “diversity appears to be a double-edged sword.” It can help organizations become innovative, but it can also increase the number of people who lack organizational commitment behavior. Furthermore, Kanze (2017) pointed out that men are asked questions about potential benefits from a new project, while women are asked questions about potential losses. This inherent bias leads to women being subjected to neglect in the workplace. Their abilities are not fully exploited and are always considered secondary to men. In my opinion, gender diversity will not improve just because there will be more women in higher positions over time. In order to improve gender diversity in the workplace, measures such as automated screening through artificial intelligence could be useful. The use of technology can, to some extent, reduce gender bias in selection. According to Sherbin (2017), the biggest challenge women face in moving up the ladder is the lack of sponsorship. As stated by Ibarra (2013), “the human tendency is to gravitate towards people like us.” These two authors agree on this matter. Solutions to the above challenges According to (Ibarra, 2013), conventional methods of awareness and education are necessary but not complete. The author states that the main cause is the lack of knowledge and awareness about second generation prejudice. According to Sherbin (2017), to improve gender diversity, leaders need to display various inclusive traits such as “making it safe to propose new ideas, empowering team members to make decisions, accepting advice, and implementing feedback” etc. Diversity training can also be suggested as a useful tool to raise awareness of the importance of gender diversity in the company. But first, it is essential to know in what context the word “gender diversity” fits into the organization. Diversity training will vary depending on understanding of semantics (Wheeler, 1994). According to (Wheeler, 1994), from a broader business perspective, the.