A large percentage of business owners, CEOs, executives and managers often believe they work in and support diversity when the actuality that is not the case at all.

This could be due to the fact that when people who make the decisions are comfortable in their environment, then they fail to notice what is really round then and we overlook to notice the missing link.

Many people in small and large organization truly believe that they  have a diverse, multicultural workplace when that is not the case. Racial and cultural minorities are often segregated to specific types of employment. Women and senior citizens often similarly suffer from bias and stereotyping.

Some questions to ponder:

• Is it only window dressing or does your company truly support a diverse workforce?
• Are minorities represented throughout your company, at all levels?
• Does your organization respect and embrace diversity at all levels and salaries?

According to the 2006 Census Bureau, Canada is one of the most ethnic and diverse countries in the western world. In fact, more than five million people belong to a visible minority – 16.2% of the population.

However, despite this broad cultural representation, visible minorities comprise only 5.2% of senior management in Canadian companies and 1.5% of executive management in the public sector.