Diversity
Introduction
Today, diversity is getting a great deal of attention. One doesn't have to look far to see why. Imagine a group of employees at work or a class of students at college. Then imagine how that same group might have looked, thought, and acted differently two or three decades ago. Now picture how this same group might change by the year 2050. (Bucher, Chaney, and Martin, 2002) Diversity has affected each adult individual at one point in time. The encounters have sometimes been positive while other times they have been negative. Diversity is not a controllable issue to deal with because you never know how another person is going to handle being around various cultures or people of different age, sexes or races. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed barriers including stereotyping and preconceptions, corporate culture, exclusion from informal networks, and lack of mentors and role models. (Noe, 2002) Diversity is something, however, that can be managed.
Dimensions of Diversity
Dimensions of diversity refer to precise characteristics viewed as distinguishing one person or group from another. Ethnicity, race, and gender are three examples. Race relates to physical differences while ethnicity focuses on cultural distinctiveness. Race refers to a class of people who are perceived as physically unique on the basis of certain traits, such as skin color, hair texture, and facial features. Gender has to do with the cultural differences that discern males from females. For example, in any given culture, people raise males and females to act certain ways. When talking about the dimensions of diversity, social class, sexual orientation, age, religion, learning style, and family background are consistently disregarded. Some people may perceive these and other dimensions to be more important than race or gender.
Meaning of Ethnicity
Ethnicity is defined as likely patterns of association and identification with...
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