Today, all organizations have to confront the challenge of diverse workforces. Yet, many equal opportunity initiatives, in particular target setting and positive action which focus on specific groups, such as women or ethnic minorities, are fundamentally flawed. This practical book sets out to separate myth from reality. Drawing on a wide-ranging literature search, extensive experience of working within companies and a survey of almost 300 organizations, the authors give evidence that group-based equal opportunity policies are divisive and seldom successful. Effective diversity strategies, pioneered by companies, such as Distillers and Vintners, are summed up in a detailed new model, and linked in with the ideal of the learning organization. The essential elements are flexibility, an empowering culture, and business-related training based on individual needs rather than group membership. Demographic changes, legislation and increasingly globalized markets mean that diversity is now a central concern of all employers; this book provides solutions to their problems.