The Impact of College Experience on Future Job Seekers' Diversity Readiness

Abstract

Abstract Many organizations value workplace diversity and devote large expenditures to achieve this. As a college student entering the workplace, being diversity ready represents an asset to organizations. This study considers the impact of college on students' diversity attitudes and their diversity readiness in preparation for encountering a diverse workforce. Therefore, we examine whether level of diversity exposure relates to diversity attitudes in incoming students, and whether time in college, one's minority status, or one's major might affect their diversity attitudes. We also examine the relationship between diversity attitudes and diversity behavioral intent for students who are about to enter the workforce given that being diversity ready may be seen as an asset to organizations. Results suggest that one's level of exposure, time in college, and major predict diversity attitudes to a limited extent. However, minority status strongly predicts one's diversity attitudes and diversity attitudes also strongly predict diversity behavioral intent