Peer Responses

Respond to two students discussion post. Just type the paragraph under the discussion. It doesn’t have to be in essay form.

Also, make sure that your response(s) are substantial and at least 100 words.  In your responses, you must include connections to course learning objectives. 

Discussion Post #1

By: Amanda

Diversity is basically the differences between people, such as race, ethnicity, gender, etc. Multiculturalism goes deeper than that, which is basically inclusion, respect, and equal power in society. Also, diversity can help us in the workplace with policies that prevent racism and discrimination, while multiculturalism can help us with a deeper understanding of how people are different. In a case study done by Cedric Herring "Does Diversity Pay?" he found that when there is more diversity in the workplace, sales, revenue, and the number of customers went up.  More research on the topic by Scott Page got similar results. He found that people with varied backgrounds are better at working together than those from similar backgrounds. The differences are important in the workplace because you have to have multiculturalism and diversity. Not only because it is illegal not to provide a fair opportunity but because your business will be more successful in the long run. Here are some things that can be a problem as a result of a lack of diversity in the workplace; limited role models, intersectionality, and limited perspectives. Limited role models can be a problem because you need to be able to have access to the same type of support at the beginning of your career. The example this article gave is if a new worker immigrates to the U.S. and has to learn a new language, go through the neutralization process, and adopt a whole new culture then there might be a senior employee of the company that has done the same thing and can assist her. Intersectionality can be a problem because each person's experiences in the world are unique. Limited-perspectives are the most important thing because limited perspectives due to lack of gender diversity could create a burden on men and women such as a dress code that requires women to wear restrictive clothing or a specific amount of makeup. Even architecture and layout need to be equally diverse. If you have a glass layout for the floor it would show the undersides of woman dresses and skirts. This is not equal to women at all. Power and privilege run hand in hand. If you feel like you have privilege then you feel powerful. However, you should be able to feel this way without having a certain privilege. Even if you think you don't have privilege it's still there. This is why it's referred to as an invisible privilege. Race privilege happens everywhere, unfortunately. Race privilege would be if you were out to dinner with an African American friend who is also a male and you are a caucasian male the server might possibly hand the check to you. This doesn't seem like a big issue but he just assumed that since you are white and a male you will be paying for the meal. Next, there's social class privilege, this would be like not being able to save your own life from a storm of something because you can't afford the gas to leave. Gender privilege is basically saying that one gender is more dominant than the other. For example, expecting that a woman will change her name to her husband's when they get married. Sexual orientation privilege is important especially nowadays because for a heterosexual individual you'd have no problem talking to other about your relationship but if you were gay you might be faced with harshness and judgment. The power of privilege affects diversity and multiculturalism in the workplace because this causes people to feel bad and be left out and then they won't perform the way they would if they felt included.

Discussion Post #2

By Jessica Nix

Privilege, power, diversity, and multiculturalism are hot topics in the last few years. The world has gotten bigger for many people and as such, there are new challenges in the workplace environment. The digital world, immigration, and the realization that the status quo set years ago is no longer acceptable has brought to light many challenges that must be faced head on to ensure future growth and development.

For purposes of this discussion, privilege will be defined as “advantages based on a system in which one [set of people] is predominant in setting societal rules and norms” (2011). In Human Resources Management, there are four different types of privilege discussed: racial, social class, gender, and sexual orientation. Racial privilege is when someone is a benefit someone receives based on their skin color. Perhaps you are more likely to receive a loan, or a scholarship because of how you look. By that same token, perhaps a man is paid more than a woman for the same job, which would be gender privilege. Sexual orientation privilege can be seen in scenarios of adoption and job offers, because in the past same-sex couples have been denied adoptions and employment. While other types of privilege can be controversial to the point of some groups denying that privilege exists, social class is a privilege hardly anyone denies. There are a couple of old sayings that “it’s not WHAT you know, but WHO you know”, and “the rich just keep getting richer”.

Because privileged group are the ones setting societal rules and norms, they wield the most power. If heterosexual couples of one predominant race and social class are unable or unwilling to see diversity as acceptable, they then have the power through their privilege to prevent anyone different from them from living a ‘normal’ life. For example, armed forces have always been predominantly male, therefore, there is inherently gender privilege built into those organizations. Women have made great strides over the years with numbers in 2010 reaching anywhere from  9% in the Marines to 20% in the Air Force, but these are still male dominated areas where the men hold the most power (Dever, 2019).

The armed forces are also a great example of how the power of privilege can affect diversity and multiculturalism in the workforce. While there are varying races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds of those serving, the fact that it is a male dominated workforce shows a glaring lack of gender diversity. There are not many other careers in which a 20% female workforce would not only be considered huge growth but lauded for its sheer numbers