My Blog on Promoting Diversity

I expected to find a little bit more information on this subject in more areas.  The majority of what I found was information about the promotion of diversity in education (universities and campuses), and organizations (as in companies/workforce).

I thought that I might find more interesting and unique information about groups (organizations) that help promote diversity in our society.  I didn't really find this.  However, I believe what I did come up with in my blogs is very important.

When it comes to diverisity, education is so important.  I did find many more articless about promoting diversity in colleges and universities.  During my searches, I did find a few articles pertaining to diversity education in grade school and high school, but not much.  This tells me that more education may be necessary; and it should begin earlier.  In one of my blogs, I mention that it wasn't until attending Albright that I really had the opportunity to learn about diversity.  I wish I had the opportunity to learn more when I was younger.

Diverisity in the workplace is important, too.  The blog I wrote about Star Trek has everything to do with this.  Together, we can conquer anything.  We need to learn about one another; our strengths, personalities, abilities, backgrounds, and much more.  We have to know how to work together as a team, and help one another.  A diversity program in the workplace can be very beneficial to all employees, as long as it has clear goals and objectives for all.

My take away from this project is that I want to be more open-minded, and help others to feel that way, too.  I want to work together, communicate and learn from each and every person that I meet or work with at my job.  I feel that this is so important to create harmonious environment at work, and in the world.

Entertainment (Television) and Positive Diversity

Kottak and Kozaitis (2012) discuss diversity in American popular culture using Star Trek as an example. 

“What does the enduring appeal of Star Trek tell us about American culture?  We suggest that the answer is this:  Star Trek is a transformation of fundamental American origin myth about unity and diversity.  The same myth shows up in the image and celebration of Thanksgiving, a distinctively American holiday.  Thanksgiving sets the myth in the past, and Star Trek sets it in the future” (p. 1).

  

Kottak and Kozaitis go on to describe the meaning of the word myth.  Our society interprets and re-interprets the origin, nature and meaning of such things as holidays.   The Thanksgiving story takes place in the past, and gives us the idea of a “melting-pot” society; the Indians and the Pilgrims gathering together.  The Star Trek television show is similar in the idea of the “melting-pot”, but takes place in the future.  The point of these examples is to “illustrate the credo that unity through diversity is essential for survival” (p. 3).  They go on to state the importance of diversity in that it can help “promote unity in the form of teamwork” (p. 3), as seen in both examples given above.

We see the diversity in Star Trek, and the biggest message from this show was “that strangers, even enemies, can become friends” (p. 3).

 

While I wasn’t a big fan of Star Trek, and I can’t name anyone other than Captain Kirk and Spock, I do remember seeing very diverse characters on the show.  I understand what the authors are passing along by using this example.  We need each other, all of our different cultures, in order to function as one.  We need this in order to have a harmonious society.   Kottak and Kozaitis tell us that “unity in diversity guarantees human survival, and for this we should be thankful” (p. 5).

I thought the example about Star Trek was a great one and how it relates to unity and survival.  We need to learn about the world in which we live.  It is a very diverse society in our country, and I hope that more, in the way of education, can be passed along to others.  Whether it’s in the classroom, the boardroom, or publicly, I do feel that more should be done to promote diversity in a positive manner.  For me, I came from a small town with not much, if any, diversity.  It wasn’t until I began working for a very large company five years ago, that I really experiences diversity.  About two years working at my company, I came to Albright.  I have had several classes that have either been entirely focused on diversity and multiculturalism, or have at least touched upon it.  I am glad for this, because it has really opened my eyes. 

  

Kottak, C. P., & Kozaitis, K. A. (2012). On being different: Diversity and multiculturalism in the

North American mainstream. Boston, NY: McGraw-Hill College.

How Effective are Diversity Courses?

How effective are diversity courses?

This study focused on the effectiveness of diversity classes at a university.  Specifically, it “assessed course effectiveness in raising awareness of White privilege and racism; increasing support for affirmative action; and reducing prejudice, guilt, and fear of other races” (Case, 2007).  The author of this study was an instructor at the university, and designed the diversity courses with great focus on race studies, white studies, and feminist theory (Case, 2007).  The course also had a focus on gender, sexism, gender identity, and oppression of women.

The study used a questionnaire/survey that was presented to students during the first week of classes.  170 students completed this survey.  The same survey was given during week 15 to the same students; 86% of the same group completed the survey.  A 7-point Likert scale was used

The results showed that the course “appeared to increase awareness of White privilege, awareness of racism, and support for affirmative action” (Case, p. 233).  At the end of the semester, white participants of the study experiences more White guilt.    Case noted in her study that there are several other studies that show a “link between guild and recognition that Whites benefit from unearned privilege” (p. 233).

More results from this study indicate that prejudice levels remained fairly consistent from start to end.  Case mentions that some of the findings from this study seem to be puzzling at first, but it can be due to the fact that once Whites become more aware of the differential treatment, they begin to question what they were originally taught to believe.  Case goes on to say that Whites experience dissonance, and may withdraw from relationships or friendships with people of color.  Case states this is a form of coping with dissonance.  It’s not uncommon for whites to move from a “contact stage into disintegration and reintegration” (p. 234).

The study showed that such diversity courses can have a positive impact on students.  Even with the increase in White guilt during the study, this can encourage future courses to have strategies for instructors to acknowledge these feelings and emotions.

I think that more studies similar to this one should be conducted.  I do find that it is true that some people may have feeling of guilt when discussing race, for example.  I can understand not knowing how to feel about something, or even feeling embarrassed.  Some students may not know how to react, or what to say.  As we talked about this in class, race always seems to be such a hard topic to discuss.  More methods and research on the subject would be very helpful; especially to take it a step further.  In other words, after the discussions take place, and we’ve gotten passed the uncomfortableness, then what?  How should the instructor, or the class feel?  This is where I believe further work is needed when it comes to diversity courses.

 

Case, K. A. (2007). Raising white privilege awareness and reducing racial prejudice: Assessing

            diversity course effectiveness. Teaching of Psychology, 231-235. doi:

            10.1080/00986280701700250

Diversity and HIV Awareness

A study was conducted to determine if there would be positive attitudes towards a diversity management program in the Asian hospitality industry.  In the Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been on the increase in those countries populations.  More HIV-infected people are joining, and are already part of the workforce.  Asian hospitality managers (AHM’s) are experiencing increased numbers of HIV-infected employees in the Asian hospitality industry because of rapid growth in that particular industry recently. 

                I thought this was a very interesting study to note, as I honestly didn’t think of discrimination and diversity as it relates to those who are infected with HIV.  This is definitely worth mentioning here in this blog as it is very likely many of us could be faced with these types of issues in our careers as well.

                The reason that this study focused on Asian hospitality managers was because in Thailand, for example, the hotel managers “can lawfully find out the HIV stati of their employees when they practice the Buddhist doctrine of karma by donating blood to replenish the national blood bank”  (Yap, 2011).    This can obviously create tension and anxiety in the workplace.

                This article notes that the idea and concept of diversity management came from the United States as our country is considered a “melting-pot”.  It’s a great compliment to see that this idea may be useful in other countries as well.

                Questionnaires were given to 32 AHM’s, and 12 received phone screenings.  The questionnaire consisted of whether the participant agreed or disagreed with the benefits of the Diversity Management concepts and ideas.  A Likert Scale was used along with descriptive statistics.

                Overall, the majority of participants agreed that their perception of a diversity management program were positive.  A few felt there was not a need as their environment was not really diverse enough.  Almost all the AHM’s did feel certain that some type of management support would be needed to facilitate, train, and organize such a program.  About 75% of the managers also felt good about a Diversity program in that it would help educated the employees on diversity and create a better working environment.  The results did show that they felt there could be very positive benefits for such a program. 

 

                So, in addition to the many diverse backgrounds, “which may be visible or invisible, include sexual orientation, race, gender, age, culture, religion ethnicity, immigration status, social class, political association, marital status, parental status, disability, personality, work style, profiles, nationality, departmental affiliations, ex-offenders and physical characteristics (Cooke & Saini, 2010; Strachan, Burgess, & Sullivan, 2004), people infected with HIV can also be included in the long list that describes diversity.

                To conclude, it is a great first step to at least be aware of diversity in any environment.  The outcome of this study showed that there can be a very positive effect.  When people take the time to realize that diversity can create tension or anxiety, efforts should be made to find a way to deal with those issues in a positive manner.

Yap, M. H., &Ineson, E. M. (2012). Diversity management: The treatment of HIV-positive employees.

                AIDS Care: Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 24, 11th ser., 1349-1358.

Promoting Diversity at the University

I found and interesting article from The BG News, an online newspaper at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. 

Many universities try to show that they find importance in diversity.  One way to do this is to promote diversity by organizing programs with diversity as their main focus.  At Bowling Green, they have done just that.

 

The article described two offices on campus that are dedicated to promoting diversity.  The first was The Office of Multicultural Affairs.  This office is concerned with retention of diverse student populations, multicultural programming, and diversity education (Smith, 2013).  The office is also involved in creating a welcoming environment to all students and faculty.

 

The second office is the Office of Equity and Diversity (OED).  This office is responsible for "monitoring compliance with federal and state equal opportunity and non-discrimination laws" (Smith, 2013).  Additionally, this office is involved with employment, and investigating any complaints regarding discrimination and harassment (Smith, 2013).

 

Both offices are involved in many education programs for students and faculty, and they have a web page for students and faculty to visit with questions, concerns, or to report any issues.

 

Additionally, there is a group of student leaders who belong to a program called Diversity Peer Educators.  These student educators help to make other students and faculty aware of diversity issues within their environment.

 

Diversity is a very important part of our society.  We all come from different backgrounds and ethnicities, and it is important to have programs and events to help people connect.  While some students may come from big cities with very diverse schools, others may come from small towns, where diversity is limited.  It's very important to have awareness of any issues relating to diversity.  It can create a positive and welcoming environment to all.  These programs can help students and faculty connect to one another, and learn much about each other, and the world in which we live.

 

Smith, O. (2013, February 3). University doing right things to promote diversity, equality. The BG News.

 

Retrieved February 4, 2013, from www.bgnews.com

While this blog will be more focused on the promotion of diversity, this is just an example to show that effort in creating positive diversity programs must be well-thought out, and truly in the best interest of the people it was meant to help.

In a study conducted about organizational diversity, it was suggested that diversity structures can actually create a false sense of fairness and have negative implications for minorities and women.  Diversity programs are voluntary and not required by law, but many organizations promote diversity as part of their core values and mission.

When companies attempt to manage diversity, it usually comes from the human resource management groups.  The article states that, often, no one in this group has the proper training or background to successfully promote such a program.  The hypothesis for this study is that many diversity programs can create an illusion of fairness, and that the high-status group members perceptions will cause negative implications for those in the underrepresented groups.  The negative effect is that the high-status group members will be unable to see or detect when there is discrimination on underrepresented group.

There were several experiments with this study.  The first several focused on the presence v. absence of a diversity program and the illusion of fairness to high-status members. These first several studies looked at how the high-status members perceived the organization.  The last studies looked at the consequences of the illusions of fairness.  These studies tried to understand the cause for the illusion of fairness and how the high-status members can react negatively or harshly to the underrepresented groups.

The results of the study were not entirely conclusive, and the authors mention that not much is really known about whether these programs benefit certain groups.  The authors go on to say that the programs actually give people an "illusion of fairness that causes the majority group members to become less sensitive to recognizing discrimination and leads to more negativity toward minority groups" (Kaiser, Major, Jurcevic, Dover, Brady & Shapiro, 2012).

This study made me realize that much importance has been placed on understanding diversity in the workplace.  Many companies probably think that the efforts they make to organize such diversity structures will be appealing to employees; however, they don't consider the real nuts and bolts of being able to detect discrimination.  Most likely because of the high-status, or class, of individuals in powerful positions.  More research should be conducted to have a greater understanding of these issues.

Kaiser, C. R., Major, B., Jurcevic, I., Dover, T. L., Brady, L. M., & Shapiro, J. R. (2012,

November 19). Presumed Fair: Ironic Effects of Organizational Diversity Structures.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0030838