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Raymond Arroyo is the chief diversity officer of Aetna, one of the 2007 DiversityInc 25 Noteworthy Companies.

Question: When is it appropriate to describe someone as "diverse"?

Answer: Never.

Have you ever heard an individual being referred to as "diverse"? Diverse is often used as a euphemism to avoid using the term that applies to a specific ethnic group or racial minority. In this context, "diverse" is almost always referring to an African-American, Latino, Asian-American or Native American individual. But it is not correct, since diversity at Aetna is about everyone, not one population segment versus another.

Being an American of Puerto Rican descent does not make me "diverse." "Diverse" should be used within the context of a group, large or small. The group, depending on its composition, may or may not be diverse. One of Aetna's stated goals is to create a diverse, high-performance organization. This is an important goal that's being achieved by leveraging the contributions of employees from many job levels, geographies, perspectives, faiths, sexual orientation, telework status, etc. And, of course, it also includes race, ethnicity and gender dimensions.

Why do we use this term incorrectly?

Many of us are influenced by tradition. Traditionally, diversity was seen as a by-product of affirmative-action and equal-employment-opportunity legislation, focused mostly on ethnic/racial minorities and gender. At Aetna, however, we understand that diversity comprises a multidimensional approach and includes everyone in our organization. By involving everyone at Aetna, we gain a competitive advantage. Another big reason is that we are sometimes afraid of using the wrong term--the one that's not politically correct--Black vs. African American, Hispanic vs. Latino, Native American vs. American Indian. We don't want to offend, so we use the more neutral word "diverse"--wrong as it is. To increase our awareness and comfort levels, we will cover such terms over the next several weeks.

What Does It Mean?

A group is "diverse" when it represents individuals who are different from each other based on criteria such as job level, education, race, sex, gender, telework status, etc. An individual cannot be "diverse" but should be appreciated for the uniqueness that she or he brings into the workplace.

Quick Tip:

Whenever possible, use the descriptions that are clear: Native American, Caucasian, Asian American and African American, for example. If groups need to be combined, try to be specific and clear. The term "people of color" is generally accepted in describing members of racial or ethnic minority groups. At the end of the day, because of the diversity of opinion, we are not likely to reach 100 percent agreement on the usage of certain names, and that's OK, as long as we understand its meaning.

Get career advice from Aetna Chairman and CEO Ronald Williams in the Jan./Feb 2008 issue of DiversityInc magazine. 

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