Wholey’s does diversity right
Rarely do I find myself in places of business where the work force is significantly racially diverse. My experiences often leave me disappointed that so little progress has been made on this front. But I have found a place in Pittsburgh that gets it right.
Anyone who has shopped at Wholey’s Fish Market in the Strip District likely will come away surprised by the racial and ethnic diversity of its work force. It is one of the most integrated I have seen anywhere. It looks like what champions of workplace diversity have hoped to see in their lifetimes.
Unfortunately, this is such a rare circumstance that you can’t help but notice it. And when you do see it, usually there will a sole person of color working in an otherwise all-white job setting. This is why it was uplifting to patronize Wholey’s, where the employees mirror the racial diversity of our city.
There are white, Asian and black workers spread throughout the store. Wholey’s deserves praise not only because its managers have created a multiracial workforce, but also because they do not practice job segregation. Nonwhite workers are not assigned only to low-status positions, such as cleaning or busing tables. They are engaged in all types of tasks. As a result, when I leave Wholey’s I always feel better about the state of race relations in Pittsburgh.
During my most recent visits to the store, I sought out managers and asked them how they had achieved what has proven so elusive for so many others. I hoped to uncover a method for enhancing workplace diversity which could then be utilized by others.
Surprisingly, store managers seemed almost unaware of their success. Even after questioning as to their secret formula, I was left basically with the statement: “We just hire those who apply.”
I was expecting a more elaborate strategy. But after decades of national debate over this issue, perhaps the answer is as simple and humble as that. Whatever Wholey’s management is doing, it is doing something right, and it is something that other places of business need to figure out.
As a community we are indebted to Wholey’s for offering us hope that creating racial diversity and fairness in the workplace is possible.