Interviewer:Tell me, Mr Griffin, are diversity risks really still an issue? Aren’t companies these days dealing with diversity?
主持：Griffin先生，管理多元化的风险现在仍然存在吗？很多公司如今不是都有着手处理差异性问题了吗？

Mr Griffin:Oh yes, they are very much an issue. We have come a long way since those days when employers were allowed to discriminate against job candidates just because of their race or their sex. The trouble is, the boundaries of diversity and discrimination are widening. Companies have a lot more to consider than a person’s skin colour or a person’s gender.‘
Mr Griffin：是的，这个问题相当严峻。相比过去用人单位对应聘者的种族歧视，性别歧视，现在已经取得很大进步。问题是“多元化”和“歧视”的界限现在日益扩大。用人单位会考虑的已经不仅仅是肤色和性别这么简单了。

Interviewer:So can you give listeners an example of what kind of things you are referring to here?
主持：您能给我们的听众举例解释一下吗？

Interviewer:Phew!! So how should companies protect themselves from this kind of thing?
主持：哇！那企业该如何规避这些风险呢？

Mr Griffin: Well, first of all they should think carefully about their recruitment policies and then they should take out insurance to cover themselves.
Mr Griffin：首先企业认真思考他们的招聘规定，提前买好保险保全自己。

Interviewer: Really?
主持：这是真的吗?

Mr Griffin: Oh yes. Security firms are a good example here. They typically state that their employees need to be over or under a certain height or weight. They claim it’s necessary for the job, but there have been cases where people have claimed discrimination.
Mr Griffin：真的。保安公司就是一个很好的例子。他们特别提出员工的身高需要高于特定的高度，体重也要低于一定的标准。他们声称这是出于工作需要考虑，但是已经有人对这样的歧视进行起诉了。

Interviewer: And won?
主持：后来胜诉了吗？

Mr Griffin: Sometimes, yes. Then there are people with a criminal background. Employers used to feel justified in turning away job applicants just because they’d been in trouble with the law.
Mr Griffin：有时候会赢。还有些人有案底，过去雇主认为因为他们有犯罪记录，所以拒绝这些求职者是非常合理的。

Interviewer: Isn’t that still the case?
主持：现在不也是这样吗？

Mr Griffin: No, not exactly. The law states that employers can only reject a job applicant with a criminal record if the crime bears a direct relation to the job in question. So somebody who has served a sentence for, let’s say, stealing cars would be all right in a job as a kitchen porter.
Mr Griffin：不完全是了。 法律规定，除非职位本身与案件是直接关联的，雇主才可以拒绝有案底的求职者。

Interviewer: And Mr Griffin, tell me, how many people actually go through with their threats to sue a company for discrimination?
主持：Griffin先生请告诉我们，威胁要起诉他们公司歧视的员工，有多少人是真的付诸行动了？

Mr Griffin: Well, I haven’t got the latest figures for the UK, but in the United States the Equal Opportunities Commission receive around eighty-five thousand complaints every year and that figure is rising. Race and sex account for most of the complaints that are filed, but age discrimination is on the increase too.
Mr Griffin：我还没拿到英国的最新数据，但在美国的平等机会委员会每年就收到近8万5千宗投诉，而且逐年增加。起诉的案件中以种族和性别歧视居多，年龄歧视案件也在增加。

Interviewer: So, any words of advice for risk managers?
主持：对风险管理者有什么建议吗？

Mr Griffin: Well, first of all make sure that you have adequate insurance. Then address the issues of diversity from within the organisation. Get the employees involved. Celebrate the differences and try to build up a reputation as a fair employer. And remember – it is worth investing time and effort in addressing these issues because statistics have shown that you’re much more likely to be sued by an employee than a third party.
Mr Griffin：第一要确保购买足够的保险。其次从组织内部解决差异性问题，让员工也参与到其中。求同存异，建立公平的雇佣信誉。然后切记，投入时间和精力来处理企业的多元化问题是值得的，因为数据显示，被员工起诉比起被第三方起诉的几率要大得多。