If his desk was less substantial it would be in serious danger of toppling over.

With an Irish workforce undergoing unprecedented transformation . . . some 10% now foreign-born . . . managers are dealing with challenges in managing diversity that most never imagined they would face. French riots in 2005, by an urban underclass of thirdgeneration immigrants, along with a volatile climate of public opinion about immigration, adds a sense of urgency to the task of engaging Irish business on the subject of racism. It's a subject that many managers are afraid to talk about.

Crowley also knows that business, particularly smaller and medium-sized businesses, will tend to react . . . in private anyway . . . with some worry that talking about racism in the workplace may encourage complaints or be yet another regulatory burden. But he makes an extraordinary claim . . . learning to manage diversity will actually make a company perform better.

"Diversity can be good for business by managing it effectively, " he says. "Part of managing it effectively is how you promote equality and make sure discrimination doesn't happen. But I think there's a lot more work to be done on the business case."

The ESRI conducted a survey of more than 5,000 people, released last year, that looked at the issue. Crowley thinks the findings support his argument.

"Formal equality policies were strongly associated with workplace commitment, with lower levels of stress, " he says. "They're all elements associated with highly performing organisations. So we've begun to make a quantitative business case that a formal approach to equality has benefits across the board.

We're committed to doing more work in this area and we're developing more work in that area."

"We can make an anecdotal case and look at other jurisdictions. But to make a more convincing case we know we need to make it in an Irish context and make it quantitative, and we're committed to doing that."

Not surprisingly, larger organisations were more likely to have formal equality policies. So the Equality Authority has been offering consultancy services to SMEs.

"We've had a great takeup. When you can offer that to companies that might not otherwise have access to that level of HR expertise they're very willing to go further."

Some 300,000 is made available per annum and it's spent very quickly, Crowley says. "We could spend more if we had it. . ."

There is a wide range of attitudes and practices on the subject among Irish companies, he says.

"Some are leaders, some have goodwill but haven't put practices in place, and then there are those companies that are involved in casework."

"Casework" being the euphemism for accusations of racism.

Crowley cites a recent case of the dismissal of one young woman for allegdly stealing three pieces of fruit. "It was found to be a discriminatory dismissal. The Labour Court said that if you treat people differently and the circumstances are the same, you're running into problems. But if you treat people the same, when the circumstances are different, that can also be discriminatory. Cultural, linguistic differences create a different set of circumstances for migrants."

Doesn't that mean that an employer is damned if he treats employees differently and also damned if he treats them the same?

"It's saying difference is relevant. It's about ensuring employees know their rights, and you have to be sure all your employees are able to exercise those rights. You may have to overcome cultural or linguistic differences.

Culturally, it can be in terms of communication across different cultures. Messages that are sent from one culture to another can be interpreted on a different cultural understanding."

This seems to get complicated very quickly. Surely employers of goodwill might reasonably ask why they should have to change the way they operate their business. Why should native-born employers and managers have to change?

"There are a number of reasons . . . one of them is to enhance the business. If companies engage with cultural diversity, they open up new possibilities for the company. You don't open them up if you say everyone has to adapt to the way I do business. Business is about change, growth and development. Cultural diversity can stimulate change, growth and development . . . only if you're open to it, though. That's why I suppose the core message of this week is that you can get business success from cultural diversity."

To be sure, there are real and serious issues with behaviour among some employers. The worst cases tend to involve dismissal and working conditions, access to leave entitlements and equal pay. It might be something as seemingly harmless as assuming that a worker from a country not predominately Christian might be scheduled to work over Christmas, simply because of their country of origin and presented as a fait accompli.

Or it might be something more sinister. Excessive working hours, lack of overtime pay, issues around how work is organised.

A recent CSO survey found that 12.5% of the entire workforce . . . not just foreign-born workers . . . said they had experienced discrimination.

"The key is to communicate effectively with employees. There can be a failure to acknowledge difference. It can come from poor management as well. Where does discrimination emerge? It emerges in poor practice.

Failure to develop policies.

Lazy management where you use discrimination to solve management problems."

The key to avoiding difficulties, Crowley argues, is to think about these issues in a formal, systematic way.

"Making sure management have a capacity to implement those effectively. Good communications is a key element.

To support the migrant worker to adapt, they have to be clear about what that is. How do we manage? Do they work? Do they work for all employees? Do they work for the business?"

Out of 358 cases looked at last year by the Authority, some 115 related to alleged racial discrimination. But the range of organisations affected wasn't limited to companies of any one type . . . or even the private sector. Public sector services, public sector accommodation, secondary and third level education, state agencies, the health service, and transport all feature.

Anecdotally an emerging area of complaints is in private sector accommodation, Crowley says.

Many managers and employers are afraid to talk about the issue. Isn't there a real danger, they may think, that by highlighting these issues you're just encouraging incompetent or disgruntled employees to make a false claim?

"I don't think anybody is being encouraged to complain. It's a difficult process.

I think people are better informed about their rights.

You get a quicker and better solution of workplace issues if both sides are well informed. There's a real fear that if you draw attention you're drawing problems down on yourself. Drawing attention to issues, you're building capacity to respond to those issues."

Crowley also argues that employers who talk openly about diversity are the least likely to suffer a complaint.

For those employers who don't see the benefits, however, Crowley isn't shy about saying he would like Ireland to adopt legislation that would require the private sector to have "a planned and systematic approach to equality . . . to do what the better employers are doing".

Stomachs may begin to churn among managers and owners of small businesses, I suggest. Crowley is reassuring but insistent.

"I think there's a nervousness about regulation without a doubt, but in taking a planned and systematic approach to equality, we know that's good for business. We do know from research like this that it enhances organisational performance . . . a light requirement to engage in good management."

It's been roughly a year since the riots in France. Does Crowley think that those events have added new urgency to the issue here?

"There's a relationship between a difficulty in managing cultural diversity and long-term economic difficulties. Now that we have 10% of the population foreign-born, Anti-Racist Workplace Week is very important."

"There is an urgency in building an intercultural society. But there's a sense the key elements are in place."

Anti-Racist Workplace Week begins tomorrow. You can find more information at www. equality. ie.