Most organizations recognize the demographic changes that have occurred in the workforce over the past fifty years. In response to the civil rights and feminist movements, as well as equal employment legislation, many organizations established programs to facilitate the recruitment and retention of qualified women and minorities. The inclusion of women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups has made organizations more culturally diverse. But even if an organization is culturally diverse, it may not be aware of or acknowledge this diversity.

One approach that goes beyond the obligations specified in EEO legislation is affirmative action. While organizations covered by Title VII are encouraged to practice affirmative action, they are not legally required to do so. The purpose of affirmative action programs is to bring members of underrepresented groups, usually groups that have suffered discrimination, into a higher degree of participation in some beneficial program. The concept of affirmative action was written into U.S. law in 1965 and requires that certain government agencies and employers undertake affirmative action processes to ensure equal employment opportunity.

While EEO seeks to ignore race and gender in the hiring process, affirmative action can sometimes require actions such as preferential hiring when certain groups are underrepresented in an occupation within an organization. Affirmative action remains a volatile topic in the United States. Supporters of affirmative action believe that it is necessary for correcting patterns of discrimination and where minorities have been inhibited by institutionalized racism.

Critics argue that affirmative action goes beyond providing equal employment opportunity by allowing employers to give preference to members of protected groups at the expense of majority-group members. Managing diversity is a comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment (organizational culture) that works for all employees. There is growing appreciation of the need to address diversity issues. Many organizations have achieved success with such programs, especially those that emphasize a managing diversity approach.