Final answer:
Among the choices provided, the correct answer is: b. It leads to increased innovation. The benefit of workforce diversity is that it leads to increased innovation. Diverse teams bring together varied perspectives, fostering creative solutions and reflecting the changing demographics of the workforce. This diversity helps firms connect with a diverse customer base and find new growth opportunities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Workforce diversity is a critical factor in fostering innovation within an organization. By bringing together employees with varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, diverse teams can collaborate effectively and come up with innovative solutions to problems. Such solutions may not surface in a homogenous group where thoughts and ideas tend to align closely. This diversity reflects the reality of an increasingly diverse U.S. population, as seen with racial and ethnic changes, and the upward movement of women within organizations. Moreover, diverse organizations can better understand and serve a heterogenous customer base, reflecting the broad range of consumers in the market.
Furthermore, firms recognize the profit incentive to cater to a wide variety of customers, which is facilitated by a diverse workforce that can better understand and connect with different segments of the population. With workforce diversity, businesses may also find new opportunities for expansion, as drawing only from a narrow pool of workers can limit the potential growth and innovation of a company. Large organizations especially are focusing on professionalizing human resources functions, which can help reduce hiring biases and ensure a more diverse and capable workforce.