Diversity Essay Example

Chapter One

Two positive messages I have been told throughout my life is to never give up even if I were in a difficult situation and to look at the ‘bright side of life’ or the ‘silver lining’ whenever a bad thing occurs that discourages or demotivates me. These messages manifest themselves in my life in the way that I see or view things, especially when I encounter problems or difficulties. When I am faced with tasks or responsibilities at school or in the workplace, for instance, I do not easily give up but look for ways to accomplish them despite the challenges. I also once applied for several jobs. At first, some employers rejected my application. Nonetheless, this did not discourage me from pursuing positions in other companies. Similarly, I always look at the positive side of things or situations. After being rejected at a job application, for instance, I comforted myself by looking at how I could improve the way I conduct myself or answer questions at a job interview or understanding how I can use a negative feedback or comment about my performance to make improvements in future job interviews. Overall, thinking positive helps me to manage or deal with difficult problems and situations.
Encountering someone different than myself could cause conflict between us. Thinking negative instead of positive in this situation would deter me from looking at our differences in a good way. If I think negative, I would fail to see an issue from the other person’s perspective. I would also easily make assumptions or judgments about the other person. This would hinder any possible improvements in our relationship or reaching an understanding with one another because I already made assumptions and judgments about the other person. If I think positively, on the other hand, this would increase chances for us to reach an understanding as I would be more open to a discussion or dialogue to address our differences.

Chapter Two

I think that changing our own ways of thinking to positively impact dealing with diversity necessitate our openness to change and a desire within us to view people, issues or situations from different perspectives. Opening our minds is one of the first steps to deal with diversity. We must be open to change how we see other people different from us. Openness means expressing willingness to learn or know more about diversity and other people. Furthermore, openness means opening our minds so we can accommodate information about other people such as their culture or way of life, as well as varying views and perspectives.
After opening our minds to new information and diversity, we must then be willing to explore varying views and perspectives about people, things and situations. Consequently, we should use this information to understand people and phenomena. Exploring views and perspectives mean talking to other people, particularly about issues that we hold strong opinions about, and hearing what they have to say or share without judgment. Other means to know more about people and the world involves reading news or current events, editorials or articles that share opinion, and conducting research about a particular topic. We must remain open to all kinds of views and opinions.
After exploring different views or perspectives, we must then seek to understand them. This does not mean that we forget or forego our own views or opinion but that we accept and respect other people’s views and perspectives by understanding their culture and way of life.
Furthermore, dealing with diversity also necessitates the capacity to set aside differences in favor of communication or discourse that aims to help one another understand these differences. In the workplace, for instance, people from different cultures may deal with diversity by taking turns to share their views, perspectives and culture. One of them listens while the other shares his or her experiences, and vice versa. In this way, they both would know how and why they behave the way that they do in particular situations. Overall, openness, willingness to learn, and exploring diverse views and perspectives are crucial to dealing with diversity.

Chapter Three

If I were ‘prescribed’, so to speak, with the wrong gender by my parents as an Intersexed person, I believe I would have to go through the transition process. Based on the discussion in Chapter Three, the transition process involves the way through which I would be able to show and formally establish my gender. Doing so is most important in the workplace where gender must be formally stated or made known to employers. This may also be important in the school setting as well as when it comes to formalizing or legalizing one’s gender. I believe I would have to file for transitioning legally so I would have documents to prove my gender.
Furthermore, this transition also requires support from family and friends. Transitioning, I envision, would be a difficult and challenging time. I would have to make changes not only in my public or personal records but also in the way that I conduct myself or introduce myself to other people. I would also have to pursue initiatives to establish my gender in all areas of life such as in my career. For this reason, I would need the support and understanding of family, friends and even colleagues.
I intend to take all means necessary to legally change my gender so it would be true or genuine to my personal interests and preferences. The transition process is a social and legal one. First, I would have to legalize my gender. Second, I would have to submit such documents as needed.

Chapter Four

I disagree with the statement that our freedom requires us to remain loyal to our nation without questioning authority. In addition, I do not agree that patriotism means remaining loyal and never questioning authority. On the contrary, patriotism to me is standing by, upholding, and supporting the welfare or wellbeing of the state – that is the entire population. Essentially, patriotism means an individual’s devotion to his or her nation or country. A nation, to me, is made up of all the citizens and not just people in authority. Hence, patriotism means serving the people and looking after their best interests. For this reason, if people in authority make decisions that do not promote the welfare of the people, patriotism means questioning authority and demanding that changes be made to make amends and to show respect for the people as members of the state.
Let us take, for instance, the issue of spying. Recently, many news agencies revealed the American government’s spying strategies. In partnership with online companies including social media sites, government agencies may freely access private information of even ordinary citizens. Clearly, this is a breach of privacy. It may be true that doing so is crucial to the country’s anti-terrorism policies. Nonetheless, the act of violating the privacy of the people is not in their best interests. Government agencies may do everything necessary to address terrorism but they must do so in a way that maintains and respects people’s civil liberties including right to privacy. In this situation, I believe it is morally upright to question aspects of government policies that infringe upon people’s rights while remaining patriotic. In fact, remaining vigilant and questioning authority when necessary is crucial to being patriotic as we would be protecting and serving the interest of the people.

Chapter Five

The issues that women face in the workplace have existed for decades. Although several policies and practices in workplaces led to improvements in the treatment and experiences of women, some issues still persist until today. Gender biases in the workplace include restrictions on female employment because some believe that there are some tasks or responsibilities that women are incapable of accomplishing. Other reasons for restrictions on female employment include some employers’ refusal to offer benefits for married women with children such as maternity leave, among others. Hence, employers prefer to hire men because they can do difficult tasks and would not need maternity leaves or other special types of treatment that employers expect due to prevalent female stereotypes.
Other stereotypes that affect employers’ views and perspectives of female employees include the idea that women are emotional, or lack education and skill to fulfill roles and responsibilities in the workplace, among others. Some women also raise the issue of equal pay. In various industries, many women experience discrimination because they receive less pay than men in the workplace.
All these issues are real and they happen in real life. Hence, dismissing them means also dismissing the plight and struggles of women all over the world. I do know and acknowledge that men and women are different. Based on research studies, our physiological and emotional make-up prove that men and women are different from one another. However, we are all human beings, and therefore, must be treated equally in the workplace. I support the idea that leaders in organizations must look for ways to break the glass ceiling and to implement policies that would improve the situation for women in the workplace. Hiring and recruitment must be based on the knowledge and skill of individuals and not based on their gender. Furthermore, the value of individuals in the workplace must be based on their knowledge, skills, talent, and contributions and not their gender.

Chapter Six

Some organizations and school systems feel that they have the right to utilize stereotypical mascots. I used to not be affected by this issue because I am not aware of the implications. It never crossed my mind to view mascots within the context of culture and diversity. Hence, the discussion in the chapter is a welcome development to learning more about diversity and how stereotypical mascots violate or offend cultures. Based on the discussion in Chapter Six, I learned that organizations and school systems that feel that have the right to utilize stereotypical mascots must think twice before doing so.
Stereotypical mascots offend cultures they represent. First of all, although mascots and sports team names were derived from ethnic groups, the former do not accurately represent cultures and sports team names make use of terms that are derogatory to ethnic groups. The discussion illustrates how stereotypical mascots and sports team names promote racisms and disrespect the culture of ethnic groups. Furthermore, mascots and sports team perpetuate stereotypes. Many Indians expressed their disapproval of mascots and sports teams because these fit ethnic groups into ‘boxes’ so to speak, which exacerbates the stereotyping of cultures and people. It becomes easy for other people to assign traits or characteristics to ethnic groups just because of how their images were used as mascots or sports team names. Some sports teams, for instance, use native names or terms to project the image of strength based on ethnic group’s history of being warriors (as in some Indian tribes). Nonetheless, doing so is culturally insensitive, particularly to the history of ethnic groups who were oppressed, massacred, and displaced by colonizers in the past. This bitter history is shared by Indian tribes in the US, whose names and images are often used as mascots and sports team names.

Chapter Seven

One of the main issues raised in Chapter Seven is the idea of Blacks and Whites uniting during the period of slavery. Unity among Blacks and Whites in the United States was one of the most monumental events in American history. Moreover, this pairing resulted in the force or mechanism behind the abolitionist movement in the US. Unity among Blacks and Whites in the US also illustrates how people accept and address diversity in a proactive manner where people do not merely accept diversity but also find a way to achieve equality for all despite these differences.
As formerly noted, unity among Blacks and Whites was the driving force behind the abolitionist movement. This was monumental because it showed that Blacks are not the only ones fighting for racial equality. Even Whites understand that racial equality is important and former policies and practices such as segregation violate the rights of minority groups in the US. Consequently, the abolitionist movement led to a series of strides that changed and abolished slavery in the US. The success of the abolitionist movement was mainly due to the involvement of Whites to the cause. Many white people publicly expressed their support of the abolitionist movement, thereby, showing people that blacks and whites are no different because both races agree that slavery is immoral. Furthermore, the presence of whites in the initiative led to the involvement of more whites to the cause, consequently strengthening the initiative and raising the morale of the oppressed Black population. Overall, the pairing and collaboration among Blacks and Whites strengthened initiatives to abolish slavery in the US.

Chapter Eight

Issues of immigration led to the creation of laws that banned equal opportunity for nonwhite immigrants. Even until today, these policies influence immigration laws and practices. Several restrictions hinder illegal immigrants from gaining access to needed social services such as healthcare.
Banning equal opportunity to nonwhite immigrants is unjust. One of the examples discussed in the book is the passage of a law or policy in California, which limited undocumented immigrants from receiving social services such as welfare benefits and health care. I am divided about this topic. I believe that illegal immigration is a crime and is therefore, punishable by law. However, it is unjust to treat people in a certain way just because they are undocumented migrants. For this reason, it is important that the American government look for ways to enforce immigration laws but at the same time reflect moral soundness when it comes to treating human beings – legal or illegal immigrants – equally and as they deserve. For this reason, it is immoral to set limitations, particularly when it comes to health care and emergencies, on illegal immigrants because of their status. People need health care regardless of their citizenship, which is why it is important that they receive adequate access to health care. Some children from illegal immigrant families are also prevented from attending schools. This is another violation of human rights, particularly of children. Despite their status, children must also be given the opportunity to learn. This would also help their situation as they would be able to finish school and earn a degree, through which they may be able to gain employment that would allow them to help their families.
Overall, I believe that despite the status of illegal immigrants, the government should implement concessions or allowances for those in need. Policies should be aimed towards assisting illegal immigrant families improve their situation, return to their home countries, or achieve a legal status as immigrants.