Working Solutions

By the year 2005, it's estimated that minorities will make up some 28% of the workforce and women a whopping 47%. Companies who wish to function smoothly in the work environment of the future are going to have to ensure that employees in a steadily growing cultural mix are able to work together, that the needs of working mothers are being met, and that workers are given opportunities to learn new skills and voice their opinions to management. These are the conclusions of Working Solutions, a four-part series hosted by Emmy-award winning journalist Reggie Harris and produced by Rutgers University. We watched Work Vs. the Family and Workforce Diversity. The first title examined the recent influx of women into the workforce, driven by personal motivation and/or economic necessity. With affordable, high quality day care in short supply, women are looking more and more to their employers for assistance, and progressive companies like Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. are responding with company-sponsored day care, job sharing, flex time, part time options, and increased maternal leave periods. The U.S. is notably backward compared to other industrialized countries when it comes to the issue of paid parental leave, and the program poses challenging questions about whether government should take an active role in this area. Workforce Diversity looks at the dual aberrations of racism and sexism which continue to plague companies, arguing that companies must work toward reducing education gaps, racial prejudice, and gender bias in order to remain competitive and competent in the marketplace of the near future. Although there's more profile than vigorous examination of the issues here, the series does raise provocative questions about human resources which the business sector must face if they hope to thrive in an increasingly diversified economy. The other two episodes in the series are: Skills Crisis and Empowering Workers. Recommended for larger business collections. (R. Pitman)