Discrimination: A Common Theme
Often, as Americans, we tend to have a relatively narrow scope of the issues that our society faces. One example of this tendency is discrimination. We somehow forget that this facet of society is not unique to our nation, but plagues peoples throughout the world. In fact, many of the same populations and cultures are the victim of discrimination in various parts of the world. In a recent article from Eurozine, the current situation in Europe is evaluated, revealing many of the same issues that we face in America. Disenfranchised groups, namely minorities, face intolerant political and social movements that belittle their culture and devalue their contributions. Read Living With Diversity: For a Politics of Hope Without Fear and see the issues that Europe is facing. Compare those findings with our current social state and see that discrimination is the same the world over. Another article supporting these findings and highlighting the daily struggle faced by minorities in Europe is Racism, Discrimination of Minorities Widespread in Europe. This article highlights the daily impact that unfair treatment has on an entire population. By researching from afar, we can gain perspective and make change in our own daily routines to curb the effects of discrimination.
The Truth on Campus Diversity Initiatives
There has been much debate on the issue of collegiate diversity and the admissions processes. A few recent articles highlight the emotion involved in this societal issue and we feel this is a topic worth discussing. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, it is important to view the results, or lack there of, from collegiate diversity initiatives. According to Paul Gorski, the founder of an organization called EdChange, educational institutions rarely dig deep enough to enact real diversity progress. According to his view, schools must go beyond the surface to change fundamental and structural systems in order to reap the true benefits of a diverse school body. Visit this article by Newsweek Education titled The Invisible Campus Color Line and then return to suggest ways schools can make diversity an integral part of the university.
Empathy Proven to Increase Generosity
Be proud of yourself, America. Your tendency to actually give to others has risen 187% since 1954. In 2005, over 65 million Americans volunteered to help charities. Many factors have been sited as to the reason for this trend, but 96% percent of volunteers said that one of their motivations was “feeling compassion toward other people”. Are we actually becoming more empathetic? A recent study suggests that we are. On a biological basis, we now know the reason for the “feeling of compassion”: a chemical released in the body known as Oxytocin. This chemical has been scientifically proven to increase “generous behavior” up to 80% compared to a placebo pill. What does this tell us? That we are naturally equipped with mechanisms that spur us to be empathetic. In further study, scientists found that once empathy was increased in an individual, that individual was now much more likely to move to action, actually helping other people. This study, provided by Science Daily, highlights the natural inclining in us to help others. The business world should take note as well. Creating an environment that produces feelings of compassion and empathy provides the organization with concerned, involved employees that truly care about the well-being of their co-workers. Does your organization evoke feelings of compassion? Are employees given the opportunity to act on their natural tendency to help others? In truth, we all could use a little brushing up on our empathetic tendencies. Share with us your stories of how helping others resulted in benefit for yourself, the helped person, and the organization.
A good indication of cultural survival is the continued use of traditional languages and dialects. People who are unable to readily communicate because of language differences are more likely to maintain cultural differences as well. Linguists estimate that the world’s peoples speak 5000-6000 languages. The most common “native” language is Mandarin Chinese. English is a distant third. These facts indicate the need for global knowledge and respect in order for companies to get the most out of their efforts. A small amount of research can go a long way to increase empathy and understanding and can also reshape individual attitudes, making them more globally acceptable. In this increasingly interconnected world, it is important to remember that Americans are truly a minority in the scheme of things. Adopting this paradigm will do much in the arena of business and communication. Further your knowledge regarding some of the basic facts on world population by visiting this article on World Diversity Patterns and then return to share with us your personal experience in international communication.
Why Paradigms Shape Policy
“In the wake of the new Arizona law allowing the police to detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally, young people are largely displaying vehement opposition. Meanwhile, baby boomers, despite a youth of “live and let live,” are siding with older Americans and supporting the Arizona law. This emerging divide has appeared in a handful of surveys taken since the measure was signed into law, including a New York Times/CBS News poll that found that Americans 45 and older were more likely than the young to say the Arizona law was “about right” (as opposed to “going too far” or “not far enough”). Boomers were also more likely to say that “no newcomers” should be allowed to enter the country while more young people favored a “welcome all” approach.”
This quote, obtained from The New York Times writer Damien Cave, highlights the cognitive diversity in our nation regarding immigration. Ever the “hot topic”, immigration evokes deep emotion, often triggering mechanisms in our brain that have long since been dismissed. Science tells us the reason for this a formula of one part experience and one part expectation combined with a tendency go with our “gut” feeling. What’s missing? Free thought. Subjective reasoning often leads us to make decisions that we are not consciously aware of, often to the detriment of others. Regardless of where you stand on the immigration issue, take some time to think about how you perceive the issues in todays world. Do you research multiple arguments? Do you empathize with others? For most of us, the natural answer is no. We have our mind made up before we even learn of a developing issue. It is this approach to problem solving that denies nature’s most vital characteristic: CONNECTEDNESS.
As you read the article found by clicking here, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/us/18divide.html, take some time to think of the automatic responses that we all fall victim to. This post is not intended to sway you to one side of the immigration issue or the other. Rather, it aims to bring conscious thought to the decisions that shape our society. Please take some time and share with us your decision making process.
Why the Facts About the “Ground Zero Mosque” are Overlooked
The “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York has stirred up quite a debate in our society. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, it is important to get the facts before making any decision, especially one that serves judgement. A recent article in The Huffington Post illustrates our tendency to ignore facts and make decisions based on our emotion and previous notions. As you read, pay attention the information that contradicts your current image of the situation. Though there is commentary that seems congruent with one side of the argument, the article does a great job of introducing facts to this hot-button issue.
Read the article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-sledge/just-how-far-is-the-groun_b_660585.html
and post your responses to our Diversity 2.0 Blog.
I’m Back…Diversity Training Takes Another Hit..But is it Warranted?
Well, I’ve been away for 5 months working hard on the business of diversity. Times are both good and bad, but I have adjusted and believe I have us moving in the right direction. Enough of the business nuts and bolts talk…
The Boston Globe had an article that was very critical of the effectiveness of diversity training. These type of articles seem to come out once every six months proclaiming how recent new findings have determined that diversity training is at best mostly hype and at worst potentially damaging to organizations.
Well, I am not going to defend the diversity industry and the training effectiveness of many diversity consultants. Because, frankly most of it does stink. But, what the author and the researchers fail to recognize is that diversity is an inherently difficult subject to measure because of it’s complexity and senstivity to its surrounding environment and context. Most of the research studies sited in the article reviewed surface level aspects of diversity i.e race, gender, disability etc., and failed to account for some of the more subtle aspects of diversity such as differences in thinking styles, personality, and function. As a result, I harbor some reservations about the usefulness of such studies.
However, that being said…as I said earlier most diversity training stinks and is highly ineffective in changing attitudes, behaviors, or systemic organizational structures. But, the researchers are missing the key point. It is not the training that is the problem, or the way the researchers measure the training. The problem is with the mental maps the diversity consultants and the researchers use to view diversity. Most diversity consultants don’t realize that organizational inequalities are the primary result of not surface diversity but instead are the result of the unconscious mind (biases). So, instead of focusing on how to help people overcome their unconscious biases consultants instead focus their training on the conscious mind. This method of training is reflected in good vs. bad training scenarios that find their way into current diversity training sessions.
Researchers, on the otherhand have a misguided mental map that views the subtle and dynamic interplay of differences from a mechanistic viewpoint. Because the organization gave these many diversity training sessions there should be these many minorities and females hired and promoted. Unfrotunately, this system of research and measurement is somewhat unreliable in the wake of the vast pools of information that is available and relevant in today’s organizations.
What I suggest is the Diversity 2.0 approach which uses simulations instead of statisitcal analysis to ascertain the effectiveness of any initative, especially diversity training. Simulations or agent-based modelling is the best method to sue in a world that operates on a dynamic basis. It allows for subtlties of context and individual qualities while understanding that what emerges from the dynamic interplay of differences found in an organization is often unpredictable and often non intuitive.
Check out the article below but read it with a wary eye and the knowledge that it only presents a small part of the story…
Article
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/03/07/whos_still_biased/
Below is link to NPR where this research is discussed
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124495770
b
Does Diversity Help Baseball Teams Win Games? Rutgers-Camden Management Scholar Seeks an Answer
A recent Rutgers research study has identified a new twist in the science behind diversity. Researchers have determined based on analysis of Major League baseball demographic data that winning baseball teams have what are known as “demographic faultlines”. In my Diversity2.0 language these are known as “cliques.” What the researchers found was that to attract diversity most successful baseball teams had strong demographic cliques that provided comfort and support to new recruits from the same ethnic groups. These demographic cliques were largely built around race, ethnicity, and language. In other words these cliques were homogenous and were the very opposite of what most diversity practitioners preach. The traditional diversity mantra is that groups primarily built around race or ethnicity outside of cultural celebrations are a negative thing. The Rutgers research suggests something different. It says that subgroups built around race or ethnicity promotes better functioning of the team because these subgroups improve communication and colaboration between team members.
Workplace takeaway: The problem is not cliques built around race or ethnicity. Instead, it is when these cliques purposefully exclude others who do not fit the respective clique profile. For example, if you are par of a good old boys network that does everything it can do to exclude women. Then you are wrong and you are doing severe damage to your organizational culture.
Buried Prejudice: The Bigot in Your Brain…
One of the aspects of Diversity2.0 is the focus unconscious biases as a universal condition that all of us are prone. The article in the Scientific American, “Buried Prejudice: The Bigot in Your Brain” is a well written piece that describes in detail how the natural condition of human beings is to unconsciously discriminate against others who are not like us. But, the really fascinating things in the piece suggest that our bias can be based on the most irrelevant characteristics that you can imagine. From the color of one’s jersey to the random appointment to a group who you have nothing in common with except to belong to that particular group. Even after just a brief time with being associated to a specific group researchers have demonstrated that we will discriminate in favor of our appointed group over members of other groups. And get this…in this instance the race, gender, ethnicity, and other characterisitcs that we think really matter in the end don’t.
Another fascinating fact about bias is that most unconscious bias is “triggered” by the situation or environment that a person can find themselves in. We are basically animals who are guided by patterns of behavior and thoughts. When one of these neural circuits is triggered by relevant conditions then a pattern of thought coded by emotion, and behavior result in the actions we take and the emotions we feel.
What this means for the workplace: 3 Things. First, think about your workplace. What triggers or conditions exist that spark negative emotions in you? What sparks apprehension? What fires you up? A minute of reflection about these questions will help you better understand the type of actions necessary for you to take to stay connected and motivated in your workplace.
Second, reflect on how you perceive a situation with your fellow employees and customers. What you perceive as a slight could just be the manifestation of your own mind interpeting a situation to better fit your preconceived mindset. In other words, what we believe often becomes our reality.
Third, understand that the most powerful thing you can do to reduce you unconscious biases is to give everyone the “benefit of the doubt”. In other words, tell yourself that everyone is doing the best that they can based on the circumstances. And your role is to reflect on what positive value you can add to improve the situation.
Diversity In Primary Schools Promotes Harmony, Study Finds
For the first time, children as young as 5 have been shown to understand issues regarding integration and separation. 
The research confirms that the ethnic composition of primary schools has a direct impact on children’s attitudes towards those in other ethnic groups and on their ability to get on with their peers.
Obviously, starting kids at a young age on how to get along with others that are different can go a long way to making us better together. Diversity is truly a value-added proposition.
Diversity 2.0 