• Diversity can exist in different types of workplaces.workplace portrait image by DXfoto.com from Fotolia.com
  
  In the United States, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees or prospective employees in the workplace. Though it is illegal to openly discriminate, it isn't necessarily illegal to have a work environment that lacks diversity. If there is only one representative from any type of minority, that one employee can suffer from isolation at work; therefore, there is a need for diversity in the workplace.
  
  

Cultural/Ethnic Diversity

• Cultural ethnicity is based primarily upon the daily rituals, practices and beliefs based upon race, religion and/or creed. When there is no one of a cultural ethnicity at a workplace, that setting doesn't represent the reality of society. If there is only a minimal amount of diverse ethnic and cultural groups within a staff, all employees suffer from the wonders that come from learning about new things through different types of people.
  
  

Gender Diversity

• Gender diversity may relate to a lack of either women or men in a work setting. For women, diversity may not be a problem in parts of a company. For example, it is a common practice for certain areas of a company, such as maintenance, to lack the diversity of having many women employed in that department.
  
  In other areas, however, women occasionally reach a "glass ceiling," making certain levels of positions suffer from the lack of gender diversity. By not introducing cultural diversity in the workplace, companies are not only possibly missing out on hiring more qualified candidates, but also a less diverse company lacks different ethnic perspectives that could enhance the marketing of products and services.
  
  

Diversity in Capabilities

• Diversity in capabilities would refer to sensitivity toward employees who may have some sort of mental or physical incapability, handicap or any other type of restriction. Problems can occur for employees who have been classified in the diverse group of the handicapped when they are not allowed to build on their actual capabilities. Problems can also occur on a company level if the capabilities of such persons are not used, thus creating a loss of revenue as a salary is being given to someone whose potential is not being maximized on the work front.