Managing a Diverse Workforce 105
The City of Philadelphia is now requiring the Cradle of Liberty
Council chapter of the Boy Scouts of America to either publicly renounce
its membership against people who are openly homosexual or atheists if
the organization wishes to remain in its headquarters on city - owned land.
If the Cradle of Liberty Council does not, it would need to begin paying
two hundred thousand dollars a year in fair - market rent instead of the
yearly lease of $ 1. The city told the BSA it was impossible to reconcile
the group ’ s discrimination against homosexuals and atheists with the city ’ s
antidiscrimination fair - practices law. The local council maintains it has
used a “ don ’ t ask, don ’ t tell ” practice, but cannot change the policies with-
out violating its charter from the national organization (Slobododzian,
2007; Urbina, 2007). In May 2008, the Cradle of Liberty Council fi led a
suit and is suing the city to stay in the city - owned space. The federal suit ac-
cuses the city of censorship for targeting the Scouts but maintaining free or
nominal leases with other groups that limit membership such as the Baptist
and Roman Catholic Church groups and the Colonial Dames of Amer-
ica (Dale, 2008; Hinkelman, 2008; Slobodzian, 2008). Although the U.S.
Supreme Court upheld the right of voluntary associations to discriminate
in regard to their employees and volunteers, the most appropriate policy is
for national nonprofi t organizations to permit local chapters, sensitive to
their community norms, to formulate their own nondiscriminatory poli-
cies. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America told its affi liates to give openly gay
and lesbian volunteers an equal chance to serve as mentors, and the Girl
Scouts of America have deferred to the norms of each local community
and let each troop decide how to handle this potentially divisive issue.
The Difference Between Compliance with Laws and Managing Diversity
Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action are legal
requirements designed to bring women and minorities into the work-
force. Managing diversity requires more than just compliance with
laws. The management of diversity consists of “ management processes
to create a supportive work environment
for employees already on board, and to
develop and fully include all of them in order
to make the organization more productive ”
(U.S. Merit Systems Protections Board, 1993,
p. xiii).
Managing diversity requires
more than just compliance
with laws.
