diversity | Journey to Diversity Workplaces

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

A decent variety identifies with various societies, foundations, ages, sexual orientations, identities and different elements. It likewise identifies with how individuals see themselves and how they see others. Cultural variety in the work environment has turned into a key worry to pioneers and chiefs of associations today. Associations are crossing outskirts and mainland in the mission for more markets. Work movements are acquiring individuals from various races, foundations, sexual orientations and identities into the work environment. Enrollment masters are hunting down work ability all around. At this point, what are the ramifications of these to an association? How does these influence administrators? What are the principle things a director has to know in regards to variety in the work environment? We should think about some notable angles.

To the employee: listed are some of the ways to respect the diversity in the workplace;

We all have biases. This is a natural result of our life experience. Take a moment to write down what your biases are and ways in which you wouldn’t allow these biases to affect how you conduct yourself in the workplace.

Take a genuine interest in someone with a different background than your own. Make sure your conversions are deep rooted in a common ground that does not offend cultural sensibilities.

Bring together, diverse groups for invitation. Doing this will increase the pace and creativity involved with innovation. Companies that do not change and innovate will crumble and the diversity can be a company’s most valuable resources in this area.

Respect religious holidays. Most company’s respect Christian holidays, however, the workplace tends to have a variety of religions. Thus, all-important holidays should be respected of that particular religion.

Create interest in organizing a lunch with someone from a different background and try changing lunch tables to meet new people.

To the Director: In the worldwide town, having decent variety is a reality and not simply administrative buildup. As a director, you have to comprehend, embrace and value cultural diversity. The director of a company will unquestionably have various groups in any case and the onus is on him/her to adjust their administrative abilities corresponding to this.

It is prudent for human asset supervisors and enlistment specialists to think about assorted variety while distinguishing and pulling in ability.

Cultural variety must be implanted into the way of life of the association. Your association’s way of life is produced after some time and contains the convictions, values, practices, states of mind and other basic suppositions shared by individuals. Envision a different work environment with its way of life genuinely skewed and doesn’t consider having a variety of diversity.

As an administrator, you have to realize that having a decent variety in a working environment is a benefit. Numerous focal points gather from having a decent variety and your association can profit from this because cultural variety upgrades cooperative energy in a work environment. Cultural variety additionally enhances inspiration and motivation and these can bring about expanded efficiency, gainfulness and rate of profitability. It gives a decent stage to learning since it brings new points of view and methodologies, new authority styles, better basic leadership and so forth. The mix of various encounters, foundations and vocation ways can be a gift. This can be utilized to enhance productivity and viability of people and furthermore, groups. Item advancement groups for instance, can be multidisciplinary and multicultural for motivations behind having a decent variety.

Presently, shouldn’t something be said about the drawback of having a decent cultural diversity? Work environment assorted variety additionally has its impediments and risks. Correspondence issues commonly emerge and these can be trying to your element’s activities. Isn’t this test regular with multinationals? Cultural diversity may likewise breed protection from change. Most times workers may likewise be enraptured along lines of decent variety. Past the substance and into the business world, complexities in business arrangements crosswise over societies and so on can emerge because of cultural variety.

Associations can take the advantage of cultural diversity to enhance administrations of the association. When you lead business universally for instance, your client base is exceptionally different. The general public you work together in is various. Decent variety in this manner mirrors your client base and the general public overall. Wouldn’t you be able to then utilize your differing group to enhance administrations to the classified client?

Presently, would you say you are setting adequate accentuation on work environment decent variety? Is your association very much situated to oversee work environment assorted variety? Thinking about all the above certainties, it is crucial that you do the needful. Comprehend cultural variety and make its best utilization, while limiting its negative effect on your company.

Embrace diversity in your workplace and you will be on the way to a more fulfilling and productive organization. The world is a beautiful mosaic of differences and the workplace should be as well. Respecting your co-workers and employees is paramount to tapping the valuable diversity in your organization.

Reference

Charlie Bentson King: Writer and producer of training ABC

This article was edited by volunteer editor Erin Murphy.

Promoting Social Cohesion Through Diversity and Inclusion

Social cohesion refers to the social factors that bond individuals at the community, national, or universal levels. It occurs through the building of positive social relationships.

This involves the willingness of members of society to cooperate with each other in order to survive and prosper and an accessible community with a barrier-free environment. One that does not limit anyone’s participation in everyday life.

Diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It includes an understanding that each individual is unique and recognizes the individual differences of people in a society.

Social inclusion improves on the terms that individuals and groups take part in a society. A socially inclusive society is where people feel valued by others. Their differences are respected. Their basic needs are met, so that people can live in dignity within the society.

Inclusion is a feeling of belonging, being treated fairly, and providing people with an equal opportunity to be successful. Social exclusion is a process where people are denied full access to various rights, opportunities, and resources that available to members of a different group in the society.
Diversity and inclusion can promote social cohesion. Social cohesion a means to bond diverse groups of people in working toward a common goal for the improvement of the society to benefit the well-being of everyone.

Social cohesion is when people live peaceful lives. When diversity is accepted in societies, they begin to be more productive innovators by approaching problems from different perspectives.
Some of the benefits of social inclusion cohesion are people experiencing a sense of belonging in community with an increased level of acceptance, providing valuable societal roles to increase individual self-worth, and developing stronger social bonds between people from a wider range of diverse backgrounds.

When people experience even some of these conditions in their life, they will more likely be happier and healthier. In non-inclusive societies, people are more likely to experience poor physical and mental health, loneliness, isolation, and lower self-esteem.

Several people with various disabilities unnecessarily experience life in a worse way. Unfortunately, these people may not have gained a sense of presence in their community due to not having adequate access to the social activities to significantly enhance their wellbeing.

People with disabilities may also lack opportunities to work, learn, and develop social relationships with others. Disabled people are sometimes not acknowledged in their community with their skills and unique perspective, where they are untapped or underutilized by society.

Strategies should be developed to promote social cohesion through diversity and inclusion. When a society becomes invested in promoting social cohesion through diversity and inclusion, every person can benefit and societies can be more successful by utilizing the skills and abilities that each member of society has to offer.

References:
Diversity and Inclusion Aids Social Cohesion
The Upside of Diversity and Inclusion
Why Diversity?: Advocacy and Issues
Why Social Inclusion?: Advocacy and Issues

This article was written by volunteer blogger Shan Simpson and edited by volunteer editor Scott Jacobsen.

Lack of Diversity in the Workplace Can Cause Stress Among Employees

This is a sponsored article.

The success of an organization in today’s competitive world depends upon how well it embraces the challenges of diversity and realizes its benefits. Employees from different backgrounds, ages and ethnicities bring their own set of experiences and world views, and are better able to provide a wider range of solutions to developing problems. Most of all, a lack of diversity has been linked to increased discrimination which in turn leads to elevated stress levels among employees. The National Center for Biotechnology Information note that discrimination due to immigrant status, legal status, skin tone or language can contribute to increased stress in individuals.

So how do companies deal with the diversity in the workplace? U.S. companies spend millions of dollars every year on diversity programs and policies, ranging from equal employment opportunity compliance to cultural sensitivity training programs. This leads most people to assume that it makes companies fairer to both women and minorities; the reality is much different, however. Implementing diversity program has little actual positive effect and may even decrease representation according to the Harvard Business Review. Even when there is clear evidence of discrimination, the mere presence of a diversity policy automatically leads people to discount any claims of wrongdoing.

This leads to increased stress levels and with long-term discrimination can lead to acute and chronic stress. The body enters a defensive posture which closes our ability to learn and impairs judgement. Statistics Canada states that over one in four workers report being highly stressed and over 62% of workers reported that work is the main source of stress in their lives.
Lottoland describes this kind of stress as ‘distress’, which could be permanent, prevents the body from coping, is demotivating and decreases productivity. As opposed to ‘eustress’ which is a euphoric stress that can actually motivate, increase productivity and make us feel excited. Strong leaders create a stress-free environment where people do not need to get into that kind of defensive posture.

Diversity should be a critical component of the innovation that leaders strive to achieve in their organization, and research shows that diverse groups outperform homogenous ones. Research conducted by Credit Suisse focusing on 2,400 companies, found that organizations with at least one female board member yielded higher returns on equity and net income growth than those who did not employ women on their board. Working with people from different backgrounds than you will challenge your brain to think more diversely and expand your horizons. The effect of this relationship is that the brain is happier which in turn lowers stress levels and makes a person generally happier as well.

Workplace diversity can, however, have some unwanted effects which leaders must manage effectively by promoting diversity of thought and innovation. Here at Journey to Diversity Workplaces we say that diversity brings about a variety of ethical issues like sexual harassment due to sexual orientation, racism and gender bias. These are critical situations that interfere with work, personal lives and cause high levels of stress both in the workplace and at home. Particularly in a company that is lacking gender and racial diversity these unwanted effects can be more pronounced. A good leader, therefore, must be fair to manage diversity effectively and when employees enter that stressful phase, the leader must be able to pull them out if it. When people experience fair treatment and a positive and genuine diversity, it will in turn reduce their stress levels and improve their health.

This sponsored article was edited by volunteer editor Erin Murphy.

Diversity for Productivity

According to the University of Florida, people are living longer and the world’s globalization will require further interaction from people who are more diversified and come from an array of backgrounds. Typically, they work in diverse and varied environments and this raises questions about tracking this trend and adapting to it. Companies want to perform better in the business world and many would like to advance diversity as well.

The importance of a diverse work and business environment is to be able to maximize and capitalize on workplace productivity and effective management. This places a lot of responsibility on supervisors and managers. We see that the workplace environment is continuing to evolve with the times and that the culture and workplace will follow suit. Based on the report, Diversity in the Workplace from the University of Florida, companies looking to embrace diversity and have inclusive organizational structures will likely gain greater productivity and competitive advantages. Thus, those workplaces that do not choose to evolve will potentially lose productivity.

There are some questions that arise from companies planning or thinking about evolving. How do you do it? What forms will it take? To do it is simply to build a structure from which to onboard people from diverse backgrounds. The forms that it will take will be much more diverse and inclusive from the managerial side all the way down to interns. Of course, as noted in the research, “there is no single recipe for success.” The manager’s ability to be able to understand teamwork and the dynamics of the team in the workplace is very important. A manager or supervisor wants to look into things such as equal employment opportunities in order to capitalize on the larger talent pool, especially when looking at a broader base of the variables for potential employees.

In addition, the manager or supervisor may want to look into the means through which those throughout the hierarchy of the organization can find advancement. If an intern, they can potentially be promoted to part-time or full-time employment. If a full-time employee, they may be able to be promoted to some sub-managerial or supervisory role. As the article summarizes, a diverse set of teams can bring a higher value to organizations in addition to respecting individual differences that can provide an organization or business with a “competitive edge” and increase in “work productivity.”

Many workplaces in the modern era have diverse backgrounds, people, educational experiences and certifications, and so on. If this comes into play, then it will eventually result in a higher productivity of the organization as a whole towards its stated mission, mandate, and goals.

References
Green, K. et al. (2002, June). Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/HR/HR02200.pdf.

This article was written by volunteer blogger Scott Jacobsen and edited by volunteer editor Erin Murphy.

Our Co-op Experience

Ishita Malhan, B.B.A & M.B.A, Social Media Analyst
Patrick MacIntyre, B.A & B.Ed, Social Media Analyst

My colleague and I were employed as Volunteer Social Media Analysts for a not-for-profit organization known as Journey to Diversity Workplaces (J2DW) from October 2017 to mid-December of the same year. We are so thankful to have had this co-op opportunity available to us through our Research Analyst program at Georgian College. J2DW first caught our attention because it provided us with the ability to work from home and communicate with one another using different types of multimedia tools. We were motivated to work with an organization that we found so inspiring and shared similar perspectives on business ethics as we do.

The time we spent working for J2DW has granted us the opportunity to build and enhance our skill set that we will utilize throughout our career. There was no designated team lead within our social media analyst team, therefore, we approached each assignment with a very democratic perspective. Communication was a crucial factor to our success, as each member would offer his or her thoughts and opinions on the best approach to each task. Through this method, we were able to understand the importance of clarity on tasks at hand, allowing everyone to focus towards the same goal. Each member of the team had specialties and was able to provide a unique perspective on how to best approach each task. We held one another and ourselves accountable for assigned sections that enabled us to further develop our teamwork and communication skills.

After completing our co-op, we can honestly say that we have learned and developed new skill sets. Some of our assignments required collective work and at times it was challenging because we were not in the same city. Setting a plan, sticking to it and holding one another accountable while working remotely was not an easy task. My colleague and I had the privilege of working together prior to this experience, which was a great asset to the team. We had the opportunity to complete diverse tasks, learn new programs, problem solve and overcome challenges.

Below are examples of the tasks we assisted with during our co-op with the J2DW organization:

• Conduct User Analysis
• Social Media Platform Comparison and Trend Analysis
• Key Word Analysis
• Crowdfunding Analysis
• Post on various Social Media Platforms
• Conduct Research on various topics for the organization
• Google AdWords’ Marketing Campaigns
• MailChimp Marketing Campaigns
• Google Forms Survey Development, Distribution, and Analysis
• Drafting Policy Guidelines
• Blog Post

J2DW is an organization bent on setting the standard for diversity in the workplace and has been spreading its message and gathering new followers every day. By focusing on issues that influence the Canadian workforce, it is relatable knowledge that both employers and employees should be aware of. Subjects such as labour, education, and equality are things that are becoming more readily spoken about in public and J2DW is a resource bent on ensuring that employees know their rights. J2DW wants to set a workplace standard for equal treatment that will spread to other businesses, illustrating that equality is attainable.

This post was written by volunteer co-op students Ishita Malhan and Patrick MacIntyre. It was edited by volunteer editor Erin Murphy.

J2DW Launches Titles and Pronouns for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals

Journey to Diversity Workplaces Launches Titles and Pronouns for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals

J2DW joins companies such as Royal Mail, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, and numerous others making this change.

For Immediate Release

BARRIE, ONTARIO, 10 OCTOBER 2017 – Journey to Diversity Workplaces (J2DW) is excited to announce the addition of new titles and pronouns to their online applications and databases for transgender and gender diverse individuals.

J2DW’s goal is to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We respect differences ethically, morally, and legally. We want a different kind of workplace where diversity is championed and so is the worker. An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and to realize the benefits of diversity.

“It is important that we respect and recognize individuals in our society in a way they wish to be addressed. By doing this, we promote out-of-the-box creativity and respect for those who explore their lives fully in a way that is right for them. We’re proud to take a stand on this.” said Peter V. Tretter, President & CEO of Journey to Diversity Workplaces.

The board of J2DW green-lit the project over the summer and immediately went into beta testing. New titles available include Ind., Mre., Msr., Mx., Myr., Pr., Sai., and Ser. New pronouns available include Ne/Nem, They/Them, Ve/Ver, and Ze/Zir.

Organizations such as Royal Mail, HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Oxford City Council have introduced these titles since the start of 2017, and we believe J2DW is one of the first Canadian companies (for-profit or non-profit) to launch these options.

Journey to Diversity Workplaces is a Barrie, Ontario based organization formed under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act in December 2013. Find out more about us at www.j2dw.ca

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Contact:

Peter V. Tretter, President & CEO

705-481-7784 ext 2

pe…@j2dw.ca

Whitewashing Hollywood

We all watch them, use them as forms of entertainment, and follow the news leading up and after them. But did you know that there is an entire strategy behind how movies and Hollywood pick their actors and actresses to skew the racial distribution?

The term used to best describe this practice is “white washing” and can be defined as the entertainment industry’s attempt at making ethnic characters more appealing to the white, money-spending masses by making exotic characters less ethnic and more “white.” An example of a whitewash would be an Asian movie cast with half Asian actors and actresses instead of ethnically Chinese actors, even if the roles required the actors to be full Asian.

Such whitewashing not only plays a role in direct consequences for the viewers of the film, it also plays an important role in propagating its effects into society’s realms. Numerous times, Middle Eastern, or people of colour, have been asked to play roles as criminals or terrorists in films. Statistically, the majority of terrorists around the world are not Middle Eastern and criminals are not always people of colour.

In an article recollecting 7 Middle Eastern actors and their experiences with such discrimination, one actor says “…I had an epiphany. I called my agent: ‘Hey! Don’t send me out on these terrorist parts anymore. I’ll be open for anything else, but not the terrorist stuff.’ “After that, she never called. [She used to call] three or four times a week.” (GQ online magazine).

The statistical evidence by the FBI is that 94% of terrorist attacks in the USA from 1985 to 2005 have been by non-Muslims. Putting that into perspective, an American terrorist suspect is over nine times likely to be not Middle Eastern than Middle Eastern. According to the same report, there have been more Jewish acts of terrorism than Muslim, but when was the last time you saw a Jew being cast as a terrorist in a movie versus a Muslim Middle Eastern?

A recent example of such colour whitewashing has been the casting of Scarlett Johansson, a blonde white actress in a Hollywood remake of classic Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell. The argument used by the movie producers and directors for such Asian white-washing is the argument of green colour, the amount of money the movie would gross if they would not hire a white actress.

The argument of money should not be valid anymore as the world progresses towards eradicating racism. An increasing number people are becoming accepting of people of a different colour and will definitely pay to see a movie even if the lead character is non-white. Many scholars have partially blamed the entertainment industry for the racism that exists in the world today and it only makes sense for the same industry to solve the problem.

Another common argument Hollywood uses for casting non-minorities in their movies is simply that there exists no talent in the minorities. However, this argument does not hold much water. In fact, Hollywood has recently developed a strong reputation for casting relatively modest actors and actresses in blockbuster films. One look at the Marvel Studios model shows at the time of their initial casting actors and actresses such as Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, and Scarlet Johansson were not guaranteed box office commodities. So apart from it being Marvel Studios, and most of them having the first name “Chris,” why were these actors considered safe risks while Asian actors aren’t given the same luxury? The only other variable is that they are white. Hollywood will risk box-office uncertainty on Caucasian actors, while not risking box-office uncertianty with Asian actors, but not all is lost with whitewashing. An actor, Ed Skrein, exited a movie once he figured out that the role was whitewashed. It seems like the more awareness we generate about this, the more likely the problem will go away.

This article was contributed by volunteer blogger & co-op student Mohammadali Saleh.

Ongoing crowdfunding for the Doris Tretter Memorial Scholarship

On 12 July 2017, we launched a crowdfunding effort to raise funds to offer a new scholarship.

The Doris Tretter Memorial Scholarship for Diversity in the Fine Arts is our effort to help promote diversity in theatre, dance, visual arts, and music at the post-secondary level.

We are still accepting donations towards this scholarship!

My Mom always encouraged me and sister to do whatever we wanted. Music lessons, dance classes, scouting or guiding, and participating in the Greely Players were all par for the course for us, and I am very thankful that my parents were able to do that for us.

Mom also was an accomplished painter. I have this amazing milk can by my front door decorated like an old-church stained-glass window.

Because of this, the arts are a subject that I hold quite dear.

Mom passed away from cancer in June 2014.

Like any good son, I had been wracking my brain for ways I could do something special to honour and celebrate my Mom. Unfortunately, I lack the $100,000+ to have something like a new wing at the hospital named after her.

The Doris Tretter Memorial Scholarship for Diversity in the First Arts was born as my way of honouring Mom.

Please, donate today.
We are a non-profit organization but not a charity. Donations are not eligible for a tax receipt.

Crowdfunding

CDN$20
CDN$5,250

get a progress bar at dollartimes.com

I want to tell you about my Mom

Hello –

How does one put into words over 30 years of memories, experiences, and emotions?

Many don’t know that I spent three years at Ryerson’s theatre school. It was a time of adventure and discovery. I still value those experiences to this day.

Mom also was an accomplished painter. I have this amazing milk can by my front door decorated like an old-church stained-glass window.

Because of this, the arts are a subject that I hold quite dear.

Mom passed away from cancer in June 2014.

The Doris Tretter Memorial Scholarship for Diversity in the First Arts was born as my way of honouring Mom.

Except I need your help.

Tomorrow we are doing a Thunderclap.

A thunderclap is when many social media users send the same message at the same time on the same day. Unfortunately, coordinating something like this without technology is almost impossible.

So we are using a website, appropriately named Thunderclap. You can sign up, for free, with your Facebook and/or Twitter and/or Tumblr accounts. It takes no more than a minute.

We need 100 signed up social media accounts. Right now we have 52.

Then on Wednesday at noon Thunderclap will release the same message on all the signed up accounts at the same time.

Hopefully, we become a trending topic.

The other way you can help is by directly contributing to our crowdfunding campaign. We have contribution levels for all incomes.

I appreciate you loaning me a few minutes of your time to tell you about my Mom.

All the best,

Peter V. Tretter
President & CEO
Journey to Diversity Workplaces

Journey to Diversity Workplaces Launches Crowdfunding for new Scholarship Program

The Doris Tretter Memorial Scholarship for Diversity in the Fine Arts aims to award $1,000 each to two students pursuing post-secondary studies in Ontario in May, 2018.

For Immediate Release

BARRIE, ONTARIO, 12 JULY 2017 – Journey to Diversity Workplaces (J2DW) is excited to announce the creation of a scholarship aimed towards promoting diversity and fair representation in dance, theatre, film, and visual arts. This scholarship is an incredible opportunity for people pursuing a Fine Arts degree to boost their career aspirations.

“According to Statistics Canada, the number of visible minorities in Canada is expected to increase by two hundred percent and account for approximately twenty percent of Canada’s population through 2017. Racialized and transgender groups are underrepresented in the fine arts such as film. It is important to take steps now to increase workplace diversity and inclusion that will allow for a better future.” said Peter V. Tretter, President & CEO of Journey to Diversity Workplaces.

Anyone who has gone to school in Ontario in the previous academic year and is taking a post-secondary fine arts program in the following September is eligible to apply.

Today, we launch our crowdfunding effort so that J2DW will have funds to award in May 2018. We are aiming to raise $5,000 to fund the scholarship to start off with. The additional funds will be used in future years. The campaign may be found at https://igg.me/at/dtretter

The mother of J2DW founder Peter V. Tretter, Doris was an avid painter creating various paintings over the years. As well Doris was an avid community volunteer, doing makeup and set painting with The Greely Players, leading the Parkway Community Kids Choir, both in Ottawa, and creating wonderful creations at the Gilda Club of Simcoe-Muskoka in Barrie. Doris was a registered nurse and promoted health to the congregants at both the Parkway Road Pentecostal Church before moving to Barrie in 2007 and then to Mapleview Community Church. Doris passed away from cancer July 2014.

Journey to Diversity Workplaces is a Barrie, Ontario based organization formed under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act in December 2013.

— 30 —Contact:

Peter V. Tretter, President & CEO
p…@j2dw.ca