Class: Diversity & Culture Module 4 Essay: Address the following prompts that impact DEI in the 21st century workplace. Address each prompt using at least 500 words for a total of at least (1500 words). Describe the gender gap in leadership, wages, and employment. Define seven types of discriminatory practices in the workplace that do not foster an environment of DEI Discuss three strategies (best practices) to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the work environment. Assignment Expectations Length: 1500 – 1750 words; answers must thoroughly address the questions in a clear, concise manner. Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA style. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least three (3) scholarly sources to support your claims

Introduction The significance of equality, diversity, and inclusion has become a priority in many organisations. Various researchers and scholars have defined diversity in numerous ways. Basically, diversity is all about how people or groups differ on gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, education, language, etc. (Hayles 1996). Equality pertains to fair treatment of all employees regardless of their gender, race, personality, culture, religion and sexual orientation, etc. Therefore, equality refers to the fair treatment of people from diverse backgrounds irrespective of their differences. Finally, inclusion involves creating and fostering a workplace environment where all employees feel valued, welcomed, and appreciated for their contribution to the organisation. Equality, diversity, and inclusion at the workplace provide several benefits. This paper seeks to explore five benefits that organisations gain from fostering Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). First, diversity plays a critical role in driving an organisation's bottom line since employees who feel supported by their bosses tend to be more productive, which positively impacts the organisation's profitability and performance. Fostering diversity and inclusion allows all employees to contribute their thoughts, ideas, skills, and talents, ultimately driving the firm's profitability. Drawing employees from diverse backgrounds could also help global firms to understand the laws, cultures, and norms, which helps the organisations to understand and cope with the local cultures, regulations, and consumer preferences. This enhances productivity and reduces the chances of making errors and wastes, which impact a company's bottom line. Secondly, diversity and inclusion increase knowledge transfer and foster group cohesion and culture, thus creating a conducive work environment. Knowledge transfer also paves the way for smooth function and interdepartmental coordination, improving the business operations. Moreover, an improvement in group cohesion and a positive group climate may help create a team culture and inclusion, improving the organisation's overall performance. In addition to these, equity, diversity, and inclusion help organisations to win the talent war. This refers to their ability to attract, retain, and form diverse demographic groups. The future of any organisation depends on its ability to attract and retain competent and highly skilled talents to sustain its competitive advantage. Therefore, firms should strive to optimise their human resources.Organisations that attract, train, retain and promote employees from diverse backgrounds are likely to achieve and sustain a competitive edge over their rivals. Equal and fair and invest their productivity with the organisation