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Diversity In The Twenty -first Century American Workforce
The American workforce has changed over the past thirty years, as a variety of people are entering the workforce resulting in greater personal pressures and workplace challenges. The majority of American organizations are facing a unique set of dynamics very different from the traditional workforce of years ago. The question is, how can diversity be successfully implemented at all levels in today's American workforce?
In order to implement a diversity initiative within its workforce, an organization must first discover its potential to be successful, by fulfilling the objectives of its mission statement and obtaining its goals with a diverse workforce working together as a team. The diversity initiative of an organization should include a plan with hiring actions and employee education in respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, religion, and other human differences. Organizations must focus their attention on creating a diverse workforce which includes a variety of people, with different experiences that will offer new and exciting ideas to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.
Diversity emphasizes the many ways in which we are all alike, with respect to the ways we are different. Diversity initiatives are very similar to the total quality management philosophy, designed to enhance the organizations culture, improve training, and ensure high-quality products and services, and improve employee and customer satisfaction. In order to be successful, diversity initiatives must be part of an organizational strategic plan supported by all employees from top-level management to the labor workforce.
Sergeant Gregory Anderson
Cleveland Metroparks Diversity Advisory Council
"Connections"
Religion: The Forbidden Topic
As I began to think about writing this article, many topics came to my mind. Should I write about the stares I received when I still walked with a cane? Should I write about the reaction I get to my hair? Or should I talk about one of the least discussed diversity topics, namely religion. After watching Super Bowl XLI the decision became an easy one. This year's winning coach, Tony Dungy said ". . . but again more than anything, I said it before, Lovie Smith and I are not only the first two African Americans but Christian coaches showing that you can do it the Lord's way and we're proud of that."
Coach Dungy's remarks were a point of controversy for many people. For me, it just drove home the fact that the thing that often defines us the most is the thing we talk about the least. With the exception of those who outwardly show their beliefs, for example Jewish men wearing yarmulkes, we often have no idea what the people we see everyday believe. Religion, more than sex, nationality, ethnicity or sexual orientation, has the ability to determine what people eat, wear, or how they behave.
If someone were to ask me to define myself in one word, it would be Christian. As important as my religion is to me, I recognize that others feel the same about their religions. I grew up in Cleveland Heights and thus had the opportunity to learn about Judaism. I understand why most Jews do not eat pork. I'm used to seeing people walking to synagogue on a Friday night. That experience led me to falsely believe that I was diverse in my religious knowledge.
That belief was shattered when I went to college and learned that huge differences exist even in my own religion. I had Catholic friends for the first time and was shocked to learn that eating meat on a Friday during Lent can be as taboo as adult baptism. Since then I have had the opportunity to get to know a few Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons. Many of these people I met in a work environment. Understanding that hugging a Muslim woman can be offensive and that most Mormons do not believe in working on Sunday's greatly improved my relationship with these co-workers.
These experiences helped me to assume less and learn more. I learned that's it's not only okay, but important to talk about religion. Asking questions helps me get to know people better by finding out what's important to them. Many of us have strong beliefs. Understanding and respecting those religious beliefs is just as important as respecting other aspects of our diverse world.
Chlondra Hunter, Accountant
Cleveland Metroparks
Member of the Diversity Advisory Council
Disability Etiquette Tips
One in five Americans has a disability. There is a good chance that you interact everyday with somebody who has a disability, perhaps without even knowing it. Sometimes people are uncomfortable around people with disabilities because they don't know how to act or what to say. Here are some general tips to make communicating easier.
1. First and most important - people with disabilities, like everyone else, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. People with disabilities have different personalities and different preferences about how to do things. To find out what a person prefers, ask.
2. When you meet someone with a disability, it is appropriate to shake hands - even if a person has limited hand use or artificial limbs. Simply touch hands (or the person's prosthesis) to acknowledge his/her presence. Shaking the left hand is also fine.
3. Always ask before you assist a person with a disability, and then listen carefully to any instructions. Do not interfere with a person's full control over his/her own assistive devices. For example, before you push someone who uses a wheelchair, make sure to ask if they want to be pushed. Likewise, never move crutches or communication boards out of the reach of their owners without permission.
4. Remember, most people with disabilities want to serve as well as be served and enjoy assisting others.
5. Usually people with disabilities do not want to make the origin or details of their disability the first topic of conversation. In general, it's best not to ask personal questions until you've become real friends.
6. Be considerate of the extra time it might take a person with a disability to get some things done.
7. Speak directly to the person with a disability rather than to a companion or sign language interpreter who may be along.
8. Relax. Don't be embarrassed to use common expressions such as "I've got to run now," "See you later," or "Have you heard about" even if the person doesn't run, see or hear well. People with disabilities use these phrases all the time.
9. Some terms that might have sounded acceptable in the past, such as "crippled", "deaf and dumb" and "wheelchair-bound" are no longer accepted by people with disabilities. Many have negative associations. Instead say "person with a disability," "Mary is deaf (or hard of hearing)" "Denise uses a wheelchair," and "Joe has mental retardation." This type of language focuses on the person first, and their disability afterwards.
10. Avoid excessive praise when people with disabilities accomplish normal tasks. Living with a disability is an adjustment, one most people have to make at some point in their lives, and does not require exaggerated compliments.
11. Don't lean on a person's wheelchair - it's considered an extension of personal space.
12. When you talk to a person in a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, try to sit down so that you will be at eye level with that person.
13. Don't pet a guide or companion dog while it's working.
14. Give unhurried attention to a person who has difficulty speaking. Don't pretend to understand when you don't -- ask the person to repeat what they said.
15. Speak calmly, slowly and directly to a person who is hard of hearing. Don't shout or speak in the person's ear. Your facial expressions, gestures, and body movements help in understanding. If you're not certain that you've been understood, write your message.
16. Greet a person who is visually impaired by telling the person your name and where you are. When you offer walking assistance, let the person take your arm and then tell him or her when you are approaching inclines or turning right or left.
17. Be aware that there are many people with disabilities that are not apparent. Just because you cannot see a disability does not mean it doesn't exist.
18. Whatever you do, don't let fear of saying or doing something "wrong" prevent you from getting to know someone who has a disability. If you are unsure of what to say when you first meet, try "hello."
19. Help make community events available to everyone. Hold them in wheelchair accessible locations. This makes it easier for everyone!
Related link 1: EPVA Disability Etiquette Manual (PDF File)
Source: Sharon Meixner
United Cerebal Palsy Association of Greater Cleveland
Defining Diverse Diversity
I would like to share my thoughts on diversity and what it means to me. It is my belief that the true key to diversity involves considering a different and larger picture - a picture that does not take into account numbers, moral obligation, self-righteous tolerance, or even being fair. For me, the mere recognition of differences diminishes diversity to nothing more than a liability to be managed.
I believe diversity is more about comprehending the value of differences and applying their worth like a resource. Realistically, diversity is essential for life. If we were all the same, we would surely struggle to exist. Therefore, it's vital that diversity be fostered and celebrated with diligence and passion.
A practical example can be found in our daily listening skills. We would surely all benefit from mastering the skill of listening to what someone says instead of how they say it. True diversity means looking for and recognizing the benefit of different perspectives, allowing us to avoid trivializing content because of preconceived notions of how things should sound. Unfortunately, most of us might not consider our spoken interactions with others - co-workers, our spouse, family members, and friends - a diversity issue. Where you might least expect to find diversity coming into play is perhaps where you will find its greatest benefit.
I would like to ask all of us to be more diverse by applying diversity in areas outside of our preconceived notions. Even the weakest diversity definition suggests a broad perspective for participation.
I would like to conclude by practicing what I preach and sharing an example from somewhere where I would least expect to find one, a child. This is the story of a young solitary ball player whose imagination has him in the "big game" with all of its excitement and anticipation for greatness. In reality he is alone with just his bat and his ball. As he throws up his ball, he announces that he is the greatest ball player ever. But, as the ball drops he swings and misses. This happens more than once and each time he defiantly announces that he is the greatest ball player ever. Now, faced with striking out, our diverse-minded young ball player ponders for a moment and then walks away announcing still that he is the greatest ball player ever, but even he did not know he could pitch like that!
This story teaches us that the secret of diversity is simply a matter of relativity. I rest my case thinking of Albert Einstein ... you know that longhaired high school dropout ...
Steve Richards
Senior Technician
Euclid Creek Park Management
Diversity Advisory Council Member
Diversity Is Everywhere, All The Time
Diversity, in my opinion can be found in just about anything. It truly is that fundamental. It therefore makes it easy to find it in unsuspected areas and I enjoy doing that. For instance, as Lead Person in my work area, I find myself managing the staff when the Manager, Jim Bell is away for any extended period of time. It is generally understood that a reservation is not a P.O.W. camp, so you can't belch out orders in the morning to the crew regardless of how tempting that might be. Instead, you must use teamwork concepts.
Supposedly and oftentimes, a few heads are better than one, and if employees are part of the process, they will then take ownership of the results and find motivation and commitment to implement the results. This is a good plan, but nothing is perfect. Sometimes, what happens is as you involve everyone, as a manager, your plans change to accommodate other employees' thinking, and often over and over again. Everyone gets a chance to personalize the plan as the manager, all the while, is frantically trying to keep the end result still intact. And this is done with every plan, big or small.
What ends up happening is that the crew is forever critiquing, (taking pot shots) at every plan the manager makes. It is almost as if the manager is answering to the crew instead of the crew answering to the manager. I know this because, as Lead Person, I have had the opportunity to walk a mile in my manager's moccasins.
Nothing is ever finalized until the majority of employees agree, and that's not easily or usually possible. The real result? Somebody's mad somewhere because the manager, they think, is a jerk.
It would be nice to accommodate diversity here by looking at the bigger picture instead of a smaller self-serving one, and perhaps cutting the manager some slack. However, I have also been a struggling employee because, on the other hand, it should never be a manager's solution to this dilemma to take a belligerent, heartless hard line approach, especially just because the manager can. Deserve it or not, employees are due a reasonable effort by managers at teamwork. It is the manager's job to wrestle with this constantly, without 100% satisfaction. It is an on-going struggle. (That's why they invented vacation). The mentoring of employees requires training them to understand this. Even if they are wrong they deserve a chance and are entitled to a respectful, fostering environment as opposed to unreasonable, early and belligerent discipline.
Our human resources are not only valuable per se; they are the most valuable resources we have. Discipline has to be the last approach, not the first. No one can take ownership of something if they are driven from it. Teams are made up of imperfect people. In fact, it is that very imperfection where diversity finds its rewards and opportunities giving us the benefit of more than 100 % return on our efforts. Obviously the extreme of either example being wrong, the diversity challenge is to make sure you're truly at that extreme before you throw in the towel. The whole truly can be more than the sum of the parts. It seems that diversity is teaching us that anybody's moccasins might be a little tight or uncomfortable. In reality, diversity has many fundamental faces. Apparently, our ancestors being totally aware of diversity's all encompassing nature, (I guess taking the fun out of my off the wall diversity applications) have already recommended a diverse team approach. Surely, you have heard of the Christians Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Or to practice the subject mater of this text, perhaps the Pagan Wiccan Reed, "And in it harm none do as you will". Diversity is everywhere, all the time.
Steve Richards, Lead Person
Cleveland Metroparks
Euclid Creek Reservation
Diversity Advisory Council Member (DAC)
"Diversity is Legacy"
On January 30th of this year, we lost an extraordinary person - Coretta Scott King. Why do I believe she is extraordinary? Dr. King may have been the mouthpiece for civil rights, but I believe that Mrs. King was the backbone. She had that reserve of "intestinal fortitude" to deal with issues relevant to the cause of civil rights both in front of people and behind closed doors. Her face in photographs just seemed to resonate that old saying about "still waters running deep"; that there was always more to her than what was just on the surface. The struggle over civil rights regrettably still exists. Nobody is getting blasted with fire hoses anymore, but words have always packed more power than any sticks and stones that we may get hit with. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule about treating others as you would want to be treated? Civil rights is a people issue, not just simply a "black" issue. Civil rights exist for all of us, and I believe that it is a foundation to lay bricks and mortar on to build bridges over our differences. Diversity is a legacy of civil rights.
"Diversity." For some, it is a word that represents a step in the right direction. For others, it makes them grit their teeth. And still for others, it is unnecessary because of their circumstances. Their attitude is often accompanied by expressions like, "Why do I need to learn more about it?" or "What's the big deal?" How one may feel about diversity is not really the issue here. The issue here is, regarding diversity, what kind of legacy are you leaving behind? Whether you realize it or not, each and every day you work at Cleveland Metroparks, you are planting seeds - seeds that can represent ideas, values, and beliefs. And some day those seeds will grow into a harvest for others to reap. The kind of harvest it will be depends on the seeds that you plant. If you are set in your ways so much so that Cleveland Metroparks Diversity Initiative is something that will always be a negative thing to you, then you are fertilizing that legacy to leave behind for others. If you are open to change and are willing to learn more about yourself and others regarding where you stand in the larger picture, then your legacy will be more positive. Diversity is real and you face it on a regular basis. It affects all of us. How you choose to deal with it is up to you. Just remember that you leave your mark for others to see, whether in word or deed.
Coretta Scott King understood that a legacy would be left behind. Cleveland Metroparks wants to leave a legacy for everybody to appreciate and benefit from. What about you? In regards to celebrating diversity, what will your legacy be?
Traci Williams, Naturalist II
Cleveland Metropark
Diversity Advisory Council Member
Honoring Those Who Served
My father is a World War II veteran and often shared with us his desire to be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery and I did not understand why. In the early 1990's he spoke of a 274 acre site in Medina County that was selected by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be developed into a veterans cemetery. I did not understand why he was so interested. On a cold, rainy March day in 1999 he and my mother attended the dedication of the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman, Ohio. They spoke of the Avenue of Flags, and the pathway lined with memorials that honor America's veterans. They talked about the twenty-five memorials commemorating events and troops of 20 th century wars. I still didn't understand. He invited my husband and family to visit the cemetery on several occasions, but we never seemed to have the time.
In October, 2002 my father-in-law passed away unexpectedly and his family knew that he would be honored to have the National Cemetery as his final resting place. All the burial arraignments are made by the funeral home, and I did not know what to expect. The cortege passed through the Avenue of Flags leading to a committal shelter where services are held. I noticed that the flag was flying a half-mast to signify the passing of another solder. A uniformed, military honor guard led the flag draped coffin to the shelter, and provided a dignified military funeral with honors to a man who defended our nation. The ceremony included folding and presenting the United States burial flag to the family, a twenty-one gun salute and the playing of taps. A very solemn, and honorable burial for a man so deserving. I began to understand.
Ever since that October day my family and I have traveled to the National Cemetery to visit and to participate in programs such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day celebrations. Wandering through the rows of granite and marble markers, that resemble Arlington National, one can see religious emblems representing thirty different faiths. Those who have practiced Christianity, Buddhism, Muslim, Hinduism, Seicho-No-Ie, Sufism, Atheism, Islam, and many others are united in peace at the Western Reserve. On holidays I marvel at the diversity of participants as I look around. I understand.
While attending celebrations of those who have served I notice that there is no race, no gender, no difference. Veterans from the Vietnam War share stories with veterans from World War II; they embrace each other, along with those who served in the Korean War, Persian Golf, and Iraq. I look around and see veterans in wheelchairs, those missing limbs, I see families still grieving their loss, but mostly I see people. People united to honor those who have served. I understand.
Susan McRitchie
Cleveland Metroparks
Golf Specialist
Member of the Diversity Advisory Council
A Diamond In The Rough
Is our workplace more diverse today than it was 10 years ago? Are we more "alike" than "different'? Like this great "melting pot" country of ours, don't our differences and similarities help to make Cleveland Metroparks a better organization? These are all questions I've pondered from time to time when I hear the word "diversity."
I feel that when we speak of diversity we should look at many of its many facets. More importantly, when we consider those many facets, should we treasure them as we would a multi-faceted diamond? And shouldn't we try to have as many facets as we can? After all, aren't a diamond's many facets, joined together, the part of the diamond that helps it sparkle?
The concept of diversity is easier to understand than its reality. Bringing together employees with different backgrounds, talents, and perspectives can make an organization strong. Some organizations, however, believe that the path to inclusiveness is easy. The reality is much more complex and can be compared to mining for diamonds. First you have to locate the right type of coal and then numerous steps must be taken to make it a diamond. That crude piece of carbon must be cut, faceted and carefully polished before it can be set in a mounting that will enhance its beauty.
However, an organization can't just add people who are different from each other and expect growth. It's not just about adding numbers and achieving tolerance of those numbers that results in a working diversity. Rather, it's understanding that people bring different talents, experiences and personal resources to the workforce. And if those many facets are recognized, respected, "polished," and utilized in the right ways, everyone--including the organization--is better for it.
Organizations are people, not numbers. People are real, not concepts. Achieving real diversity in an organization is not and never will be an overnight process because it involves real people. Diversity is a dynamic progression toward capitalizing on the many facets of real people. It may take years, and the efforts of many people to reach true diversity. But, make no mistake. It's a goal from which everyone can benefit. In the end, think of the "jewel" we will have created.
Scott Robbins, Chief of Parks
Cleveland Metroparks
Member of Diversity Advisory Council (DAC)
My Diversity Experience
Like many who might read this article, one of my first diversity experiences happened when I was totally unaware that it was happening. I was raised in an all-Black community in the Collinwood area on St. Clair. I must say that my experience with other races, for the most part, occurred while watching TV. My parents kept me very active in sports and through sports, I had the opportunity to experience my first encounter with someone who did not look, speak, or act as I did.
As I walked through the halls of St. Joseph High School, I was not afraid of what I was seeing, but I was curious. I discovered that I was a minority for the first time in my life. But after the first week of football practice, most of my questions were answered: Will I be accepted? Will they let me be art of the team? Will these guys be my friends? I came to realize that the sport made me part of the family and they did not care what I looked like or where I came from. The family feeling did not stop on the field either. It continued in the hallways as well as in the homes of my teammates that I was often invited into.
I left that family sixteen years ago, but I still receive phone calls and invitations to reunite, to talk about old times. I believe that I am a better person for this experience, and I believe thee rest of my family is better off as well.
My high school experience helped prepare me for my next experience at the University of Toledo. As a member of the basketball team for four years, I had the opportunity to play with a group of individuals who did not speak English well. These teammates looked like me. This was a true diversity issue because I had never been around anyone who could not speak English. Because of my high school experience, I was able to understand and not act or ask questions that were not important to the development of the relationship. I not only had to deal with a different language but also I had to deal with different, fundamental religious beliefs.
A reporter interviewed me after my last game as a member of that team and asked me what I would miss the most about being a member of the team. My response was that I knew that playing an organized sport at that level or better was over for the rest of my life. I knew I would miss being around a group of people who did not care what I looked like. The main concern was getting the job done.
To me diversity is about accepting the differences about people and not holding them accountable for those differences. Accepting differences is like eating Neapolitan ice cream. It makes you feel better.
Quenton Jordan
Senior Ranger
Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) Member
Social Diversity Working For Biodiversity Equals Success
Diversity in the work force can change in how we operate and relate to each other, allows different ways of doing the same job or task that we have done for years. If Cleveland Metroparks or any organization has been successful in its mission, why make changes? The answer for me is that the success of an organization can always be better even if we do not realize it at first glance. The argument, that we should increase the diversity of our workforce and manage it in new and different ways, can be made from many different angles. Morally, it is the right course to take. Politically, I feel it makes sense for a government park district. Also, I know that adding diversity to any team results in more success in ways we never could have imagined.
As Curator of Ornithology for Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, my work at times involves programs concerning biodiversity. Simply stated, biodiversity measures the variation and different types of life forms in a specific area. There are many different ways to measure biodiversity, but in the end, the greater amount of differences either in life forms or habitat, results in a healthier collection of individuals. Many times we do not fully understand all the reasons why, but the lack of diversity in any system is unhealthy.
One of my projects involves the reintroduction of the Andean condor to the country of Venezuela. It is an exciting and complicated project that involves many different people working together. I work with some of the wealthiest people in the country, but the vast majority is very poor. I work in an environment where I am the minority or "outsider." By being foreigner and having light skin, I am considered very wealthy (by their standards), and my language skills make me stand out in a group. As our diverse group works together, the project has been a success. Everyone has contributed and everyone contributes in ways that are unique to their backgrounds. Having a team with different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints allows greater success.
Cleveland Metroparks has been successful for many years. I wonder how much more successful we might have been if we had started down the path to a more inclusive diverse workforce ten years earlier. I believe ten years from now we will be a better park district, both for the community we serve and the environment we protect, because we are becoming committed to all aspects of acquiring and managing a more diverse workforce.
Stan Searles
Curator of Ornithology
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Diversity Advisory Council Member
What's the Difference?
Differences are always disturbing. No matter how fair-minded we think we are, we feel most comfortable when we can establish common ground with other people. But today the world is changing so much, so quickly we may have to look a little harder for similarities.
Some people fell uncomfortable around people of different races because they are not used to them and are afraid they will offend them in some way. How do you feel around Asian Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, European Americans, Muslims, people with handicaps, Rastafarians, and Cajuns? If you don't spend much time with people from any of these or other groups, what do you imagine they are like? Why? Where did you get your ideas?
Being uncomfortable with differences is human nature and so is having prejudices. The trouble is, prejudices can lead to discrimination, unfair treatment, and illegal acts such as denying someone a job, housing, a raise, or a promotion because of race, religion, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation, or even violence.
Some scholars say the first written account of racial discrimination appeared in the fourteenth century, more than 600 years ago. So prejudice is nothing new but that does not mean history has to repeat itself.
We Americans rarely look to history for its lessons. Did you know dark-skinned Italians and eastern European Jews who came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries did not look very white to the fair skinned Americans who were here then? These very same people we now call "white," Italians, Jews, and Irish were seen as another race at the time. Not Black or Asian, but a race apart. Some Italians in the 19th century were taken as Black and lynched in the south and the incidents went virtually unnoticed.
Just as we learned to walk, talk, and think, we learned prejudices from our family, friends, teachers, and neighbors, newspapers, movies, TV and books,
You can also unlearn them. How? Decide to think for yourself, gather new information, ask questions and keep an open mind. Sounds very simple...it's the doing or the desire to do, that is the challenge.
Boyd Sharp
Technician, Shawnee Hills Golf
DAC Member
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