Everyone has a different definition of diversity. To some, workplace diversity means an office environment that includes both full and part-time staff. To others, it means being surrounded by people of other cultures, races, nationalities, sexual orientations, and faiths. Still others haven't stopped to consider what diversity means, much less what it means to them.

Coming up with a personal definition of diversity requires time and introspection. A first step is to understand how "workplace diversity" differs from "equal employment opportunity" and "affirmative action programs."Here are some definitions.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
"Equal employment opportunity" refers to five specific federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, physical handicap, or mental handicap. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces these constantly evolving laws.

Equal employment opportunity doesn't guarantee employment—the law specifies that a person may be evaluated only on job-specific qualifications. However, these laws, combined with affirmative action programs, are designed to make employment opportunities equally accessible to all individuals.

Affirmative Action
"Affirmative action" refers to specific plans employers themselves write as guidelines for actively seeking a more diverse workforce. Such plans typically address how to hire more people from traditionally underrepresented groups, and how best to replace past and present discriminatory practices with appropriate remedies.

Four common types of affirmative action that employers use involve:

• Aggressive recruiting practices to expand the pool of potential candidates

• Updating hiring tools and guidelines to ensure relevance to job performance

• Expanding the way merit, talent, and performance are measured

• Setting up goals and timetables for recruitment and retention

Several states, including California and Florida, are challenging the constitutionality of affirmative action programs. Opponents say such programs provide certain groups with an unfair advantage, or force employers to hire less-qualified candidates simply to fill quotas. Because of the controversy, many employers shy away from discussions of "equal opportunity" and "affirmative action" and promote the idea of "diversity."

Workplace Diversity
"Workplace diversity, unlike "affirmative action"and "equal opportunity," is not a legal term, nor does it necessarily refer to discriminatory hiring practices. Rather, it describes a much broader effort by employers to maintain a workforce that more accurately represents the complexity of today's society.

While the phrase "achieving workplace diversity" can be used to describe a consulting firm's efforts to recruit more women and minorities, it can also be used to describe a bank's effort to address differences in management style between men and women, or a tech firm's exploration of how different work environments affect worker productivity.

Moreover, many companies consider workplace diversity to be a smart business practice. As industries grow more dependent on a global marketplace for new clients and employees, they are realizing that diversity policies help them capture a larger market share, and identify previously hidden opportunities for growth. A good example of this is Fannie Mae, which was named "Best Company for Minorities" by Fortune magazine in 2002, and which has posted 15 consecutive years of record earnings and increased earnings per share. The company has ranked no lower than fourth in the five years this list has been compiled.

Definitions of workplace diversity are still evolving. For some, "diversity" is a pragmatic, business-driven solution, while others consider " diversity"a retreat from the vision set forth in the equal employment opportunity laws. An important first step in developing a personal definition of diversity is thinking about your position on the issue: What do you think "diversity" is?