Diversity

• Overview
• Diversity in the Classroom
• Diversity at UMUC
• Diversity in the Workplace
• References
• Return to Social Science Toolkit Home

Overview

As a nation, we are getting more diverse in terms of race and ethnicity. We are also becoming more tolerant of differences in sexual orientation, gender roles, family structure, and abilities. Social scientists are personally affected by increasing diversity, just like other citizens, but they also have a professional interest and responsibility to study its impact on individuals, cultures, and social groups. Educators, government officials, employers, and the general public look to social scientists for insight into the challenges and opportunities posed by an increasingly diverse population. As such, the findings of social scientists have the potential to shape education, public policy, and the private sector.

Awareness, acceptance, appreciation, and a global multicultural perspective are qualities that lead to realistic solutions to complex social problems. The goal of this module is to expand your understanding of how diversity is transforming our society and our scholarship. Awareness of diversity issues relates directly to program outcome 4 for the social science major at UMUC.

In this module, you learn about the skills required to create work and study environments that are enriched rather than threatened by diversity. You also learn about the promise that increased diversity holds for employers and for higher education, including services offered by the Office of Diversity Initiatives and the Office of Accessibility Services at UMUC.

Who Am I ?

When you think about diversity, you may think about other people and not about yourself. However, we are all pieces in the diversity puzzle. Variation within individuals and in human populations can be visible, but it is often invisible. We define ourselves, and society defines us by our differences. Social scientists describe the dimensions of diversity as "master statuses" that can be used to identify or define us in society.

The following exercise, "Who am I?" is designed to raise your awareness about your own identities and the many dimensions of diversity.

All of us have numerous identities - some are visible and obvious, while others are subtle and "invisible" to others. In this exercise, describe five characteristics or identities that describe you. Here are some sentences to help you get started:

I am ………
I identify myself as…
People may not realize that I am…

After you’ve listed the five characteristics or identities, think about the following questions:

• Which of these characteristics/identities are "visible" to others?
• Which are "invisible" to others?
• Do the characteristics or identities that you listed depend on context (e.g., work, school, family, social life, etc.)?

Now, have a friend, colleague, or family member list five characteristics or identities that describe you.

• Do the lists overlap? Are they completely different?
• What does this say about you? What does it say about your friend, colleague, or family member?

You may also want to compare your list of characteristics/identities to the list of someone else.

• Have you both listed the same type(s) of characteristics/identities (e.g., race, gender, etc.)?
• What does this say about the strength of society’s "labels"?

Diversity Awareness

How can we value diversity when we cannot see, or don’t understand, the most significant differences in others? Practice your skill at recognizing individual differences by sorting some creatures from outer space. See what you learn about yourself and your classmates in the process!

Grouping People

Grouping people by visible differences such as physical appearance, ethnic group, or gender, is a natural impulse. It makes us feel comfortable in a world in which there are so many unknowns, and leads us to believe that it is possible to understand and predict others’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. As we learn more about those around us, we begin to appreciate the significance of invisible and core differences such as sexual orientation, religion, and socioeconomic status. But even these differences fall short when it comes to predicting the way that another person will think, feel, or behave. As the poet Walt Whitman said in "Song of Myself," "I am large. I contain multitudes" (Leaves of Grass, 1855). We are all made up of many, many parts — visible and invisible to others.

Figure 5.1
Visible, Invisible, and Core Differences

Diversity “Consciousness”

Richard D. Bucher, the noted social scientist and author of Diversity Consciousness (2009), claims that diversity “consciousness” consists of three components:

1. Diversity awareness
2. Diversity understanding
3. Diversity skills

Diversity Awareness

As mentioned earlier, diversity awareness is always subjective. Diversity is not about “us” and “them”; every one of us is a piece in the diversity puzzle. The term “diversity” describes the variation within individuals and in human populations and societies.

The speaker in this video addresses strategies for coping with cultural differences. Do you think that the strategies she suggests work for other kinds of differences as well?

Understanding and Valuing Diversity

Understanding and valuing diversity require skills such as:

• asking people about themselves (to increase your understanding)
• talking to people who seem different than you (to engage others in conversation)
• keeping an open mind (to see other perspectives)
• listening to the stories that people tell (to learn about the experiences of others)

Take a few minutes to explore this diversity maze. When you finish, ask yourself the following questions:

• What did I learn about diversity that surprised me?
• How can I develop a greater appreciation of human differences?
• What did I learn about the effects of appreciating diversity -- on people, on organizations?

Inclusive Communication Skills

The concept of inclusive communication skills was developed by the differently abled community, but can be applied to any group of people who interact with each other. Inclusive communication recognizes that people communicate differently. Therefore, it encourages the use of a variety of communication strategies that include nonverbal as well as verbal expression. Inclusive communication skills can be used in all interpersonal relationships.

Here are some tips for improving your inclusive communication skills (Bucher, R. D. & Bucher, P., 2009):

• Address people as they want to be addressed.

• Keep an open mind.
• Listen actively.
• Check understanding.
• Do some research about your audience.
• Think through what you are going to say before you say it.
• Avoid slang or jargon.
• Do not share ethnic jokes or ethnic humor.
• Use as many different styles of communication as possible.
• Do not assume that you can or should ignore differences.
• Be conscious of how fast you are talking.

The use of inclusive communication skills enables you to interact effectively with others including other students, faculty, and professional colleagues.