According to Billy Vaughn, who holds a doctorate in cultural-cognitive psychology and is a certified diversity professional (CDP), states in his article "The History of Diversity Training and its Pioneers" that diversity training in the United States dates back to the 1960s. According to Vaughn, in the 60s, communities, organizations and universities conducted some form of multicultural or diversity education. By the 1980s, Vaughn states that businesses had caught on and were using diversity training to educate their employees about multicultural issues as well as to protect themselves against civil rights lawsuits.
Since the Civil Rights movement and the change in social and political consciousness that resulted in part from it, ethnic diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. Now, more than at any other point in history, cultural and ethnic diversity within the workplace is a reality. Diversity training and education has become a viable way of preparing the workplace for such diversity.
Diversity does not only refer to different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds in the workplace, but also variety among age. According to a study conducted in 1992 by David Jameison and Julies O'Mara, the median age range of the workforce at that time was increasing. Jameison and O'Mara predicted this increase of age would continue. With many professionals retiring at later ages, and many people changing professions mid-career, those predictions have been proven to have some truth. Diversity training takes into account variety of age as well as ethnicity.
Diversity in the workplace can enrich the daily experience of the workers as well as potentially increase productivity. This is due to the wide range of abilities within diverse groups of people. A heterogeneous workplace can create new opportunities and new ideas due to the variability within factors like culture and experience. According to Michael Bird, who holds a doctorate in information technology management, a diverse workforce, when properly managed, can increase productivity of team projects by having a positive effect on problem solving and other team functions. Bird says that training is necessary to prepare managers to meet the challenges and harness the potential of diverse project teams.
In spite of the strides that diversity training has made in the workplace, there are those who oppose it. Detractors claim that diversity training actually underlines differences and brings to the surface inherent oppositions that would otherwise remain dormant or deliberately buried. The argument is that diversity training, in many cases, builds on contention and aggression rather than highlighting benefits of diversity.