When we think about what is ethical, we are thinking about what aligns with our sense of right and wrong or, in other words, with our morals. In a workplace, consideration for what is right and wrong must be given on multiple levels in order to ensure that the business itself is ethical. That is, good ethics must inform how people interact with each other (e.g., superiors with their subordinates, coworkers with each other, upper management with lower management, representatives of a business with its consumers), how decisions are made, how the product or service is marketed or distributed, and so on. Actively pursuing gender and ethnic diversity within a company's ranks helps to create a workplace where women and people of color are able to have a voice and to be present at the decision-making table.
One ethical reason for pursing diversity in the workplace, then, is that hiring women and people of color ensures that more perspectives can be shared. The more ways of looking at, say, a workplace problem, the more likely that the solution to that problem will be a responsible one, one that will do the least harm, and one that could potentially benefit a wider group of people.
For example, let's say a company is trying to decide on a marketing campaign for their new product. We know that advertising is one of the ways that a company's values are broadcast to a large audience, and those values are meant to speak to the audience as a means of convincing them to buy the product or service. In other words, if the values of a company align with a customer's own values, the customer is more likely to gravitate toward that product. Having a diverse group of people working on marketing strategies, then, can help to develop a message that is appealing to more people. If the company's belief is that their product or service is something that can benefit people, then persuading more people of this belief is important. It is also worth noting that when many different kinds of people collaborate, as is customary if not necessary in most workplace environments, more competing ideas are likely to be shared. From the tensions that emerge as a result, a new sense of what the priorities of the company are and should be will develop as well. These priorities will be reflective of and aligned with a more diverse group of people's values, and not just the priorities of, say, white men.
One ethical reason to pursue for larger representations of women and ethnic minorities in the workplace is to rid the normative and oppressive patriarchal structures that has embedded itself into the discourses of society and led to a vicious cycle of systemic violence. Society, especially societies with the Western Hemisphere, has constantly undermined the abilities of women and immigrant workers in the workplace. The stereotypical white male is always portrayed to be the most capable, rational and reasonable type of biological being to be suited for any jobs. Others who do not fit within the category is deemed as incapable. Women are deemed to be too emotional and inflexible, and should only be restricted to jobs that are of a caring and nurturing nature. Immigrants are regarded as second-class individuals as they are perceived to not possess the same democratic and moral values as white or Western individuals. These are the biases that are embedded within society, whether we really notice it or not.
By under-representing women and immigrant workers in the work force, we are exacerbating these stereotypes and perpetuating these biases through our own social practices. We are creating a society where these biases are not faced, and are maintained. In the long run, this will be a form of systemic violence as these become the structures which restrict and impinge on the autonomy and ability of women and immigrant workers, as they will not be able to obtain the same equal opportunities as their white male counterparts of society.
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