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jed123
ch.3.ppt: Best Practices in Diversity: Leveraging Differences to Drive Success
Chapter Three: Creating Inclusion for Oneself: Knowing, Accepting, and Expressing One’s Whole Self at Work
Objectives of this Lesson
- To comprehend how people suppress themselves at work, which does not lead to inclusion in the workplace.
- Explain meritocracy, halo effect, positionality and authenticity at work.
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FDA Diversity Module
FDA Diversity Module
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Inclusion
- Inclusion is deeper and more powerful than understanding or working successfully across multiple differences.
- At the individual level, it involves being able to connect to and integrate the various components of our identities, so as to experience ourselves more fully, as well as helping to create the conditions that can help others do this.
- At the organizational level, it is about understanding policies, practices and viewpoints that open up success to everyone—which should be a fundamental goal of inclusion initiatives.
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Internal phenomenology of inclusion
- This involves how people experience inclusion psychologically
- Individuals with regard to including themselves may not feel a part of the group
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Meritocracy
In your groups take a vote on if the following statement is true or false:
I believe that the talented are chosen and move ahead on the basis of their achievement and because they work hard.
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Positionality
- HOW DOES YOUR POSITIONALITY BIAS WHAT YOU FEEL IS TRUE OR UNIVERSAL? Does it allow you to feel included?
- POSITIONALITY: It explains how who you are and where you stand in relation to others shape what you know about the world? i.e. all you have to do is work hard and you will get what you desire
- To work toward a just world--a world where all have equal access to opportunity--means, as a start, opening up heart and mind to the perspectives of others.
- We must be able to hear each other and to respect and learn from what we hear.
- We must understand how we are positioned in relation to others--as dominant/subordinate, marginal/center, empowered/powerless.
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Multiple Identity Exercise: Pick three aspects of your self-identity that determine your positionality.
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Whole Self
- Self is an ever changing entity. It is dynamic and develops over time.
- Identities are multi-faceted, ie. Latino, man, mother, bride, athlete, neighbor, poor, immigrant, tall, American, handsome, cute, hard worker, etc.
- In some environments, we may feel dominant and others subordinate.
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In your groups,
- In society, answer who are the dominant, target, subordinate and agent groups?
- In the workplace, answer who are the dominant, target, subordinate and agent groups?
- Present an argument for how meritocracy supports dominance but still should not be shunned completely.
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Agent vs. Target
- Agent: Members of dominant social groups privileged by birth or acquisition who knowingly or unknowingly exploit and reap unfair advantage over members of the target groups.
- An agent group has the power to define and name reality, and determine what is normal, real and correct.
- Differential and unequal treatment is institutionalized and systematic.
- Target: Members of social identity groups who are discriminated against, marginalized, disenfranchised, oppressed, exploited by an oppressor and oppressor’s system of institutions without identity apart from the target group, and compartmentalized in defined roles.
- The target group’s culture, language and history is misrepresented, discounted or eradicated, and the dominant group culture is imposed.
Psychological colonization of the target group occurs through socializing the oppressed to internalize their oppressed condition.
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How free are you to be your authentic whole self?
- Dominant vs. subordinate
- Marginal vs. center
- Empowered vs. powerless
- Agent vs. Target
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Identity benefits
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- How you view yourself, and how others view you, has a major impact on how effective you are.
- “Halo effect” if other people identify you with a positive and successful group, they are more likely to think of you the same way.
- Not only that, but as a result they are more likely to present you with opportunities, forgive you for minor mistakes and recognize you for your achievements.
- But what about those who are identified with groups that society view negatively?
FDA Diversity Module
FDA Diversity Module
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Generally speaking, EEO and affirmative action programs are considered legislated employment equity risk management programs.
EEO and Affirmative Action programs generally cover those groups protected by title 7 of the 1964 Civil Rights act, whereas Diversity is a more inclusive concept. AA programs contain goals and timetables designed to bring the level of representation for minority groups and women into parity with relevant labor force statistics.
Diversity is a voluntary approach that does not utilize artificial programs, standards, or barriers.
Systemic isms
Despite your race, ethnicity, gender have you been a victim of systemic isms or have you had a position that offers you advantages based on your positionality?
It is not just a black/white issue as the video may show there are other factors such as socioeconomic status, ability, etc. that make Meritocracy a myth for many people
While watching the video, write down the broken systems that may hold people back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bNr4o3jJo4
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The meritocracy myth
- Challenges the validity of these commonly held assertions, by arguing that there is a gap between how people think the system works and how the system actually does work.
- This gap is called “the meritocracy myth,” or the myth that the system distributes resources—especially wealth and income—according to the merit of individuals.
- The meritocracy myth suggests that while merit does indeed affect who ends up with what, the impact of merit on economic outcomes is vastly overestimated by the ideology of the American Dream.
- Second, there are nonmerit factors that suppress, neutralize, or even negate the effects of merit and create barriers to individual mobility such as systemic racism, sexism, homophobism, hidden bias, discrimination, differential educational systems, etc.
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Why people suppress themselves at work
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FEAR
ACCEPTANCE
SUCCESS
MONEY
Positionality in the Workplace
- How do those groups that are dominant, at the center and empowered create inclusion for those that are deemed marginal, subordinate and with no power?
- Are they concerned with broken systems?
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Last Words To Ponder
In cultural accounts of experience and bringing self to work, positionality refers to both the fact of and the specific conditions of a given situation.
So, where one might talk about the “position” of an individual in a social/work structure, “positionality” draws attention to:
- the conditions under which such a position arises,
- the factors that stabilize that position, and
- the particular implications of that position with reference to the forces that maintain
- systemic issues that keep the environments from being open to everyone
- None of which helps with inclusion and employees being authentic and reaching their desired goals.
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FDA Diversity Module
FDA Diversity Module
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