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Gender Diversity in the Workplace

Gender is normally a factor that influences the role that people have within their society.  Societies expect specific behavior patterns from the two genders.  People are expected to behave in a certain way which makes them an acceptable part of the society. The difference in these gender roles can be observed everywhere including the workplace.  Apart from the physical differences, there exist the mental differences which distinguish both the genders. Females are generally stronger in their language skills which enhances their writing skills while males are stronger in their visual skills.

Males and females have specific attributes to contribute to the workplace. Gender differences consist of both physical and emotional factors. These physical and emotional characteristics influence the behavior of males and females in the workplace. Various psychological and physiological factors allow men and women to differ in perception. These differences in perceptions can be an asset to workplaces when gender differences are managed correctly by employers. Employers should be willing to accept gender diversity within the workplace and encourage input from both genders when important decisions are being made.

Some organizations still are hesitant to maintain an adequate gender diversity within their organization. For many years the dominant group in the workforce was always men, but in modern times this has begun to change as there has been an increase of women in the workforce and upper management positions. This change has made it necessary for managers to develop practical techniques and strategies to successfully manage a more mixed gendered workforce. In many workplaces an overhaul of all operating practices would be required to retain women and enable them to take on management positions in large numbers. There still needs to be more progress made to increase the gender diversity within workplaces, but with the implementation of effective strategies gender diversity can be a significant asset.

This article was contributed by volunteer blogger Shan Simpson.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwTVf3KnDl4]

Diversity in Disabilities

Diversity consists of the ways that people differ from each other.  There are diverse types of disabilities including physical disabilities, mental disabilities, and even emotional disabilities. These disabilities can create several challenges for disabled employees. Every person, whether disabled or not disabled, possesses diverse individual strengths and weaknesses. Workplaces obviously need to become aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each employee.   

A physical disability is a limitation on a person’s physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina

A mental disability is a significant behavioral or psychological syndrome characterized by a lower mental ability than an average person. An emotional disability is a condition that, over a long period of time, consistently interferes with a person’s learning process and adversely affects the person’s workplace performance.

I was born with the physical disability Spina Bifida which has caused my lower body to be weak.

I have used a wheelchair for several years. It has also been difficult for me to find job in the small community where I live due to accessibility issues. It is also challenging for me to be as mobile during the winter months due to bad weather. However, I do have skills and abilities that could be useful within a workplace.   

Workplaces need to be aware of disability issues and address these issues properly so that the workplace can function as effectively as possible. Training is one of the most important aspects that will eventually deal with most of the factors concerning disabilities in a workplace. When a person with a disability is hired this person may require different training methods to help this person to be successful within the workplace. Specific training strategies for him to sharpen his skills faster. Reasonable accommodation is another important element. Employees with disabilities deserve an accommodation that suits their rational requirements for expected productivity. Communication with these employees is another factor you need to pay heed to. If an employee has problems with speech, ask him again what you don’t understand. Just because he cannot take active part, doesn’t mean he/she isn’t allowed to participate in activities/discussions/meetings. These strategies could be useful to allow the workplace to function more effectively and efficiently.

This article was contributed by volunteer blogger Shan Simpson.

A New Year of Volunteering

Can you believe it? Today is already August 18th. In some places, kids have already gone back to school. In others, they prepare to return in the next few weeks. I can hardly believe this gorgeous summer is almost over!

With the end of summer, and the start of school, comes a new year with the opportunity to volunteer. We all do it. Girl Guides, Scouts, Hockey, etc. The fall is a great time to start volunteering, and we would love for you to take the opportunity to volunteer with us!!

Volunteering certainly is very rewarding, and most of this can be done from the comfort of your own home! It’s easy get get involved!

We need volunteers for:

  • The Board of Directors
  • Committees
  • Recruitment
  • Graphic design
  • Fundraising
  • Copy writing & editing (especially for blog posts and library articles)
  • Community outreach
  • Admin/clerical
  • Promotion and Media
  • Photography and/or Videography
  • Translation
  • Nationbuilder website design
  • And so much more!!

We would love to have you involved with J2DW this fall! We’re on an upward ascent, and we’d love to have you on board!

How can you get involved? Apply online! It’s easy!!

Thank you for reading today’s post, and I hope to see your volunteer application soon!

Be sure to join us on social media!

That term ‘for-profit’…

I am really, really curious. When did the term for-profit, become a dirty word?

There are numerous organizations in our community that are, dare I say, for-profit. They exist to make their owners money. Lots, and lots of stinking money. Honestly, there isn’t anything that should be wrong with that. Some of these businesses are large, such as TD, Wal-Mart, and Canadian Tire. Others are small such as the Barrie-based Local Foods Mart, and Angie’s Outdoor.

No sane business owner goes into business without the intention of at least making some profit, after all it’s their hard work, sweat, tears, and capital going into the business.

So when did the term for-profit become dirty?

The circles I mix with, that certainly seems to be the case. It’s one I disagree with wholeheartedly. There’s a distinct difference between being a business with a conscience, and a non-profit. They’re not mutually exclusive.

There’s no reason a company like Canadian Tire can’t earn a profit. They have shareholders to pay. Landlords to pay rent to. However, they can do that while still being socially responsible. Donating to chosen charities, paying their employees a livable wage (if they’re not already doing so, are they?) , and generally carrying on for the greater good.

Why for the greater good? Well in theory, under market economics, if the market doesn’t like what a business is doing, then they will loose money, from a lack of sales. Does this always work? Heck no. Otherwise the CRTC wouldn’t be giving the smack down to Canada’s cell phone industry. But I am so tired of people who think being a for-profit business is some sort of evil. Like it’s the worst possible sin. Then they go buy something made in China from Wal-Mart, vs buying something locally made from a small shop that might cost more, but keeps that money in the community.

Now I should make a distinction here. When I talk about profit, I mean money left over after all expenses have been covered, and all taxes legally paid. A for-profit corporation still has an ethical duty to pay their taxes. And the government has an ethical duty to change corporate taxes more than just a paltry sum. So if a for-profit corporation is paying no taxes, then they need to be re-assessed or audited.

What we are trying to do is to teach for-profit businesses to be ethical on how they treat their workforce. Their personnel. We all face barriers in life. We want to destroy barriers to employment, and even advancement from within. Companies can save money by instead of laying off employees, to moving them elsewhere within their organizations. 

Be sure to check our our statement of values.

At the end of the day, we need to remember that the word for-profit is our friend in today’s world. But let’s have it be our friend in a way that doesn’t alienate the 99%.

The role of the healthcare provider.

We often hear about the role employers, schools and teachers, landlord’s, and so forth have in ensuring that a disabled patient can get their treatment. Things such as time off work/school, and accessible apartment, and so forth.

Which is fine, but what if your healthcare provider is exploiting that?

From the Ontario Human Rights Commission:

Ontario’s Human Rights Code, the first in Canada, was enacted in 1962. 

The Code prohibits actions that discriminate against people based on a protected ground  in a protected social area.

Protected grounds are:

  • Age
  • Ancestry, colour, race
  • Citizenship
  • Ethnic origin
  • Place of origin
  • Creed
  • Disability
  • Family status
  • Marital status (including single status)
  • Gender identity, gender expression
  • Receipt of public assistance (in housing only)
  • Record of offences (in employment only)
  • Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding)
  • Sexual orientation.

Protected social areas are:

  • Accommodation (housing)
  • Contracts
  • Employment
  • Services
  • Vocational associations (unions).

So the code says that someone with a disability, for example, can’t have their rights infringed. But it DOES NOT SAY that only employers, for example, infringe.

What if it is your healthcare provider infringing?

I don’t think doctors, nurses, managers, and administrators think of it as infringing on your rights. They book your appointment for 3 pm Thursday, but I might only be part time, that might be my only work shift that week. What about MY RIGHT to earn an income?

Now I’ll freely admit that most health providers can easily re-schedule most tests and procedures. But what if they insist, and you have to fill out one of those against medical advice forms to do so? In my view, that’s infringing on my rights as a disabled person.

I think we need to have a conversation on how our healthcare providers work with our professors/school, employers, landlords, etc. Everyone probably tells you that “your health comes first.” That’s total BS. Without money to pay the rent, and purchase groceries, the treatment means nothing.

It’s time to reconsider our priorities.

The diversity of motherhood.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. A day to celebrate mother’s of all kinds. Most of us have the traditional view of mother’s. That being the female figure that gave birth to you (or adopted you), and raised us to be upstanding citizens. Doesn’t every mother want their child to attend Harvard Medical School?

My Mom is an amazing person. She stood up for me as a child, told me to chew with my mouth closed, and bought me clothing to wear. I was fortunate to have such a Mom.

Unfortunately, (or not, depending on your perspective), not everyone gets that experience.

 

To me, a mother is the emotional caregiver in the family. But with stay-at-home Dad’s, that’s not always true anymore. Or alternative families, single parents, the whole gambit of diverse options.

We so often assume that every family has a Mom, and a Dad. Despite changes in Canada’s families, and their makeups, we in general, still assume this. But more often than not, it’s not true. So how then do we change our assumptions?

How do we celebrate the Mom in our life, whomever that person is?

[themify_quote]

According to a team of world-renowned social psychologists led by Harvard University professor Dr. Mahzarin Banaji, the root of this apparent disconnection between intent and outcome may lie in the unconscious mind. Put simply, our mindset is not as inclusive as we think it is.
It is a distressing claim, one that tends to surprise those who are confronted by evidence that shows their behaviour is out of sync with their intentions. But research conducted by Dr. Banaji and her colleagues reveals that the human brain is hard-wired to make quick decisions that draw on a variety of assumptions and experiences without us even knowing it is doing so. This implicit or hidden system produces lightning-fast but often misguided generalizations while dismissing subtle but important distinctions. Ultimately, these unconscious predispositions shape the decisions we make by affecting the way we interpret information and how we evaluate and interact with people. – Outsmarting our brains

[/themify_quote]

I think that we overcome the assumption by getting to know other people, and families. By changing the way we think about family, and our parents, so that we recognize, and celebrate the people who do provide us with emotional growth.
And weather we have a nuclear family, or not, we celebrate that Mom in our life, as someone who is extraordinary.


Can your manager be a gift horse?

Can you manager be a gift horse? Setting expectations.

In our lives, growing up, in school, entering the working world, and moving up the ladder, along the way we get ideas as to what our ‘ideal’ manager would be. The person we report to. Everyone has a different experience, and I’m sure there are more than a few entry level folks afraid of their manager.

Why afraid? We see examples of manager’s on tv. But what if you’re that one unlucky person, who has just had the worst manager in every role they’ve been in? Never allowed even a brief escape so they can breathe. Those are your people who end up on short and long term disability.

We’d like to avoid that.

Instead, I believe manager’s have a duty and obligation to be a gift horse. You’ve heard the saying “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Being in customer service, I know all about setting expectations. A mother may expect that her child will grow up and become Prime Minister of Canada. A father may expect his child to simply grow old due to a developmental disability. And yet another parent may expect their child to pass away due to being born with HIV.

For a manager, the challenges, and juggling, are immense. But that manager has to set expectations with their employees, and vice versa. It’s a relationship that both employee, and manager must, at the very least, endure. But why should both of those people simply endure it?

I have long believed that you have to check your issues at the door. Your spouse might have left you. It’s not your employee’s fault. They don’t deserve to take the brunt of your anger. Instead they deserve your compassion. And yes, this might be a one way street, because you are the manager. You were chosen to lead for a reason.

I don’t expect a manger to be giving out favours and gifts, I expect a manager to give out fairness and compassion. Treat your employees fair, have compassion at all times, and evaluate them fairly, always erring on the side of the benefit of the doubt for them. It’s been proven that employees with low work stress levels are happy, productive employees.

What are the benefits?

What are the benefits of serving on a nonprofit board? 

Most individuals who already serve on a nonprofit board need no outside justification for being a board member; they know perfectly well what they are doing and why they want to continue doing it. However, there are others who are too shy to join a board or who need someone else to tell them why it makes sense. Here are some reasons why people join nonprofit boards: 

• They know their skills are needed. 

• A nonprofit is going to improve and will benefit from their contributions. 

• There is a possibility to effect change in an organization. 

• They will feel good by doing good. 

• They enjoy collaborating with interesting people who have the same interests and values. 

• They want to learn new skills. 

• They enjoy being recognized for their efforts. 

• They want to give back to the community. 

• They have found a new reason to live productively. 

• They want to have an impact. 

• It can be fun. 

(Source: BoardSource.org)

Consider joining our board today!

A livable work week

Pay check to pay check, week to week, mouth to mouth. We’re not really living.

I firmly believe that we work too much. I have a friend here in Barrie, who works 6 days a week. You’d think that would be illegal, but you’d be wrong. The Ontario Employment Standards Act only limits the number of hours per week, and how many hours you should have off between shifts. Other than that, 6 days a week is acceptable. To me it isn’t.

There is no time to relax, no time to enjoy the result of all our hard work.

[themify_quote]Income insecurity affects many Canadians – in 2005, 10.8% of Canadians were under the poverty line, and nearly half of Canadians polled by Environics in 2006 said they were only one or two missed paycheques away from poverty. – CPJ[/themify_quote]

“We know that families and individuals in British Columbia who are caught in the cycle of poverty have really no hope in exiting that cycle and certainly tweaking the system that we have now with small amounts of money is not going to solve the problem.” – Jane Sterk, former BC Green Party leader.

Some of the ways we propose to fix some of this are:

  • A 4 day work week. Let’s give people more time to enjoy some R&R.
  • Paying a higher wage.
  • Lessening the stress on employees.

While a Guaranteed Annual Income would be paid by the government, a minimum wage should be kept so employers don’t take advantage and pay low ages. At the same time it would ideally raise wages, and give some competition for employees.