Diversity:
Celebrating Our Differences!
The proverbial “melting
pot”, “the American Dream”, and “the land of opportunity” are
just three phrases that should remind us of our global roots. In
colonial America we were the microcosm of Europe, and today we
can more aptly we called a microcosm of the world.
Our work environment is changing at a pace
that is staggering. We often recognize the technology explosion
and our global economy but forget how diversity literally has
changed the “face” of working America.
Our Workplace
When we step into our
workplace, doesn't it look different than it did when we started
working? Rich cultural heritages enhance America’s workplaces.
New additions to our workforce have changed how the picture of
our corporate or city picnics look. It is indeed “a different
day” and here are some of the changes we are experiencing:
- Women and minorities will comprise almost two-thirds of
all new employees between now and the new millennium.
- There are 50 million physically and mentally challenged
employable workers who are entering this workforce.
- An estimated 10% of the population is gay or lesbian.
Through gender, ethnic influences, native languages, physical and
mental abilities, color, religions and sexual preference we have
created a new tapestry of the American workplace. Managing and
incorporating this diversity is our challenge and celebrating our
differences is our opportunity.
To survive in our workplace in an environment that is
non-threatening we must at least learn to be more tolerant of
these differences. And optimally, to learn to appreciate
them. Tolerate, a minimum - Celebrate a maximum. The
more we individually celebrate differences and the more our
organizations nurture this concept the healthier our working lives
will be.
We don’t need a federal law to tell us
that passing comment, using terms or words that show our
ignorance or insensitivity, or telling jokes at another’s
expense is wrong. We need to watch our language because it
is hard to take back words. Stating that something was “nigger
rigged”, that someone was "jewed down” or any of a thousand
other insensitive and hurtful sayings build permanent walls that
keep sanity from reigning. To the one that is the object of
these sayings it is hard to rationalize how these are simply
innocent remarks.
When done in the workplace this kind of
damage is not temporary or passing. It creates a tension and a
division in the workplace that is bad business for both employee
and employer. Employees divide into factions and avoid certain
individuals. They focus on getting back at each other instead of
on the work tasks at hand.
As bad as inappropriate comments can be harm
can also be done by silence. Isolating the one that is different
by not including them in the social activities of a normal
workplace creates the same tension and ill feelings. Showing our
tolerance and support for individuals who are different is the
beginning of our being able to recognize that we all have
something to contribute.
It is the beginning of
C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-I-N-G the difference.
