Diversity as a social condition is not new to the U.S. Founded by immigrants, the nation has always been a merger of cultures and, as such, has undergone periods of discomfort as the world's melting pot. In the 1850s, for example, Chinese and Irish laborers were brought over to lay the tracks for the transcontinental railroad, which raised the anger of those who had arrived a hundred years earlier. (HistoryChannel.com).

At the turn of the century, waves of immigrants arrived on American shores from Southern and Eastern Europe at a rate of a million a year. These unprecedented numbers caused American Federation of Labor president, Samuel Gompers, to complain in 1

3. Dr. Suresh Gopalan Managing diversity key to success. Amarillo Business Journal Web posted 7/3/97 http://www.businessjournal.net/stories/070397/diversity.html

p to their fullest potential," Rowe emphasizes.

907: "Cheap labor, ignorant labor, takes our jobs and cuts our wages." (Gompes AFL). Today, men, women and families from Southeast Asia, Latin America, Middle East, and the Caribbean leave economic and political turmoil behind in hopes that America will provide a more secure future. And these immigrants face many of the same obstacles as their predecessors once they arrive. Furthermore, due to tight labor market and thriving information technology industry, many companies import labor from abroad.

1. Ernest Drew Interview: 'Managing Diversity' Forbes October, 1999

2. Samuel Gompers Speech 1907 Online The INTERNET AFLCIO.org/history/gompers.html

The second dimension of diversity deals with individuals from different social strata. For example, education levels differ among various employees. This may result in conflicts between less skilled or educated workers and more affluent and more educated staff members. There is a need to develop training programs to deal with these issues and to create an environment where there is opportunity for learning and skill acquisition. Mentoring and on-the-job training of less skilled workers through courses, assistant programs, and continuing education programs may even the gap between different employees. However, it is important to recognize potential and use the skills already at hand to create a more efficient team environment where each member's contribution carries some value and contributes to the organizational goals.

Skilled professionals from Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Middle East arrive by the thousands to work for emerging technology companies. New Immigration laws and quotas make it easier for technically skilled professionals to work in the U.S. The American's with Disabilities Act also made it possible for employers to hire more disabled workers and the surging technology market is a welcoming place. Disabled people with high technical skills enter the workforce with growing ease. Senior citizens also return to work in growing numbers and the new technology allows more friendly working conditions to easily assimilate the needs of the elderly workforce.

Despite the nation's increasing heterogeneity, diversity is encountering varying degrees of resistance among different sectors of U.S. industry But like it or not, diversity is not going to disappear. As always, the workplace is the primary arena for social change. It is important to identify various dimensions of workplace diversity.

Ostensibly, the modern American workplace is a simmering pool of diversity. Despite the similarities between current circumstances and those of earlier eras, a wide gulf exists that can be traced to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Focused in its early years on racial equality, the movement widened its scope to include equality based on gender, age, sexual orientation and disabilities. As members of these various groups struggled for recognition, they developed a new sense of pride in what made them distinctive. This sense of pride in diversity has led the nation to where it is today.

7. Anita Rowe, Managing Diversity: A Complete Desk Reference and Planning Guide Harper New York 1999.

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