In our "melting pot" society, one would expect diversity in the workplace to be a given. It's not. Surprisingly, there are still some companies that are as homogeneous today as they were 60 years ago. If a company is able to thrive without embracing diversity, it's the exception, not the rule. Most employers realize that in order to expand their companies, they must be willing to open their minds and their doors to people from various walks of life - and this includes people with disabilities. Diversity isn't all about race and gender any more.

I asked our internship experts how important they think diversity is to the internship selection process, and this is what they had to say:

"This is vital and necessary, especially for global companies, to have a variety of backgrounds and bring different perspectives to the work environment. These perspectives lead to new ideas, creativity, and growth, and add tremendous value to a company," said Maureen Buehler, global manager for Autodesk Global University Programs.

Rebecca Hall, APR, CEO, and president of IDEA HALL sees diversity as "key in recruitment of interns primarily for the fact that organizations must value diversity of thought and perspectives from individuals with different 'filters' like cultural upbringing, life experiences, etc. This is especially important in today's world with everchanging demographics, which impacts us all."

"Incorporating diversity into the workplace is not only the right thing to do," said Keyla Cabret, university relations supervisor for Aflac, "it also makes good business sense as it is important that a company be reflective of the community and customers in which it serves."

As Katie Layous, internship coordinator for the Art Institute of California-San Francisco, put it, "most employers go with the standard of being equal opportunity employers."

So there's no reason why a student looking for a quality internship or a recent college graduate looking for a great entry-level job should feel hindered because he has a disability or belongs to a certain ethnic minority.