For your discussion post think of diversity in all of its dimensions and discuss the concept of “difference.” What does it mean to be “different”? How do you determine who or what is different? Be sure to address the following:
1. In your family (extended, or otherwise), community, and workplace, what dimensions do you think of when you think someone is “different” than you? Do you focus on different dimensions depending on those three contexts?
2. Of those dimensions you think of, which can be changed and which cannot be changed?
3. Of those dimensions you think of, which are visible and which are non-visible? What are the advantages and disadvantages to having non-visible dimensions of diversity rather than visible ones?
REPLY TO MY CLASSMATES’ DISCUSSION TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU AGREE. MINIMUM OF 150 WORDS EACH
Classmate’s Discussion 1
When I think of someone as being different than myself what stands out is their race and other contributing factors such as, age, religion, and their socioeconomic status. Kahn, 2015 spoke about other factors such as religion, gender, and their culture and all of these are noticeable but the later in my opinion comes into play once you get to truly evaluate the person through communication and some areas will stand out more than others.
Further reading suggests that Irregardless of what sex one was born they [male/female] have to be taught how to be a male or female according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, 2014.
Which brings to mind in regards of teaching, whereas, in 1968 a teacher by the name of Jane Elliot divided her class into two groups, “one group was blue eyed children and brown eyed and each group was treated differently, one day she told the brown eyed children they were inferior to the blue-eyed children. The results showed that the blue-eyed children outperformed those with brown eyes, and then she reversed the experiment, and the results were the same” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided Links to an external site..
When someone is told something with conviction, they will tend to believe what is stated to them such as diversity and what is diversity, according to many scholars it has its positive and negative and can be used in many different ways and some advantages of diversity is that visible dimensions can be seen and corrected whereas, non-visible dimensions are hard to detect, and this is where discrimination and exclusion is manifested within oneself causing one not to be included in a activity or gathering because of their actions.
Let me break-down what I stated throughout this discussion. Every person is different than another in many ways and this is what makes us unique individuals and we concentrate on different aspects of diversity that we can recognize, like age, religion, race and gender are a few aspects that will immediately come to our mind, and this is based on the circumstances. Example, you are in class and a new student enters the classroom immediately you notice their age whereas, if you are going to a social lounge, you would notice the race of the occupants.
There are certain aspects about diversity that cannot be changed, age, race, and ethnicity, however, religion, a person’s disability or their sexual preference can be changed or modified.
In conclusion we have obvious and non-obvious dimensions of diversity which has positive and negative implications and there are opportunities and also challenges that is equated to our diversity and to handle our diversity in a positive note we must address them and understand that they exist.
References:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. [2014]. Gender: Why gender, Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/gender/gender-home/gender-why/why-gender/enLinks to an external site.
Kahn, A. E. [2005]. How diversity in contemporary business is constituted in discourse by external diversity practitioners [Unpublished dissertation]. Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, CA.
Classmate’s Discussion 2
Diversity can be defined as “the variety of ways in which humans are similar and different the amalgamation of factors that makes each of us who we are.” (Kahn, 2015, Chapter 3 Introduction). Diversity is a very complex subject that can be defined differently depending on who you ask. Diversity is what makes our society so wonderful. We are all different in our own way. This week we were assigned to watch two Ted Talks. King discussed how it is actually not a good thing to be considered normal and like everyone else. I completely agree with this. The main factors that I would consider to set us apart from others include age, religion, culture, race, personality, gender, and so much more.
When I think of someone being different than me, I often think of their upbringing. I have come to realize this after moving to the military base. The military can often be described as a melting pot of people. We all come from different backgrounds. In my family, community, and workplace, there is much diversity. We all are different because of age, gender, educational experience, personality traits, and more. My family is the most similar to me when compared to my community and my workplace. Age and gender can both play a role in diversity within the workplace. (Profili et. al, 2017, Page 129). Diversity can make a workplace stronger depending on the strengths that each person brings to the table.
Some differences between us can be changed while others cannot. Our age and personality can be changed overtime. Our religion, culture, race, and gender cannot change. Some of these differences are invisible while others are not. I think that our age, personality, race, and gender is a visible difference. As for me, my religion and culture is often invisible. This may vary depending on the person. When it comes to invisible differences, it is important to be respectful to all because you do not know their background. I would not want to offend anyone. This can often be a disadvantage in the workplace because you can not see the differences. An advantage would be that these differences make us work together and think on a higher level.
References
Kahn, A. (2015). The ecology of diversity: Examining individuals, societies, and cultures. Bridgepoint Education.
King, R. (2014, September). How autism freed me to be myself [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/rosie_king_how_autism_freed_me_to_be_myself
Profili, S., Sammarra, A., & Innocenti, L. (Eds.). (2017). Age diversity in the workplace : An organizational perspective. Emerald Publishing Limited.
