Diversity training has become a widely used method for enhancing diversity within organizations. The purpose of diversity training is to bring about workplace harmony by teaching people how to get along better with diverse work associates. Quite often the program is aimed at minimizing open expressions of racism and sexism.

All forms of diversity training center on increasing people’s awareness of and empathy for people who are different from them in some important way. Diversity training often emphasizes leveraging diversity to enhance business performance. Training sessions in valuing differences focus on the ways in which men and women, or people of different races, reflect different values, attitudes, and cultural backgrounds.

An essential part of relating more effectively to diverse groups is to empathize with their point of view. To help training participants develop empathy, representatives of various groups explain their feelings related to workplace issues. A frequently mentioned concern about diversity training is that it reinforces stereotypes about groups. Participants are informed about group differences, such as cultural values, and tactics might be suggested for coping with these differences. Voluntary adversity training tends to be more effective that making such training mandatory.