OLEAD 410: Leadership in a Global Context

Cultural Leadership blog

Diversity: A Tiny Crack on the Glass Ceiling

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 Diversity: A Tiny Crack on the Glass Ceiling

Crack in the Glass Ceiling
The attached cartoon Image from Flickr.com illustrates the disparity between women and men in the workplace.  According to Inc.com,  in an article titled: “Breaking the Glass Ceiling as a Female Entrepreneur” by Stephanie Chung, a reality we must face is that men are still exercising control over leadership roles.  It is alarming to know that women make up only 15.4 percent of CEO positions and 33 percent of senior management roles. Women want to make a name for themselves, they are anxiously and fervently trying to break that glass ceiling.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly earnings of full time and salary women workers is always a lot less than that of men, in every single profession.  Take a look at the data of annual averages detailed by occupation and sex.

Can we crack the glass ceiling? Is there any hope for our future generation of women?

Diversity is really about all of the differences, it is so important that we include in our lives and workplaces the many different perspectives of the various groups of people.   According to Moran et al. (171), diversity exists in different forms, of culture, age, gender, racio-ethnicty, nationality,  personality, values, and attitudes.  I will focus on the issues surrounding gender in the legal field.

The American Bar Association recently released a publication on January 2018 titled “A current glance at Women in the Law” which is very informative.  We can easily see the gap in salaries among men women lawyers.  In the legal profession, men hold 65% of the seats while women hold only 35%.  The General Counsels of the top Fortune 500 companies are 73.6% male and only 26.5% women.   We can probably go on and on and the list will be immensely long.

We have a problem, what are we going to do about it?

There are several organizations that are trying to make waves to create and incorporate awareness and changes.  For example, The Minority Corporate Counsel Association – Advancing diversity, inclusion and Equity, released a survey about minorities in the law profession  and (MCCA’s 18th Annual General Counsel survey of Breaking through the Concrete Ceiling, One Woman at a Time) while they document the progress that has been made since 1999, there is still a huge gap especially for minority women.

In Stepanie Chung’s in Inc.com, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling as a Female Entrepreneur” she suggests that we become bolder, network with other women, show passion for our work, try to promote ourselves and cultivate a variety of mentors.  We must continue to move forward, continue to prepare and educate ourselves so that we can break the glass ceiling and pave a better furture for our daughters and granddaughters.

Works Cited:

Breaking the glass on the ceiling [Image] retrieved from Flickr.com (Sept 8, 2018)

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Chung, Stephanie, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling as a female entrepreneur”, Inc.com, Retrieved from: https://www.inc.com/stephanie-chung/breaking-the-glass-ceiling-as-a-female-entrepreur.html

“MCCA’s 28th Annual General Survey of “Breaking through the Concrete Ceiling, One Woman at a time”,  Diversity & the Bar, Retrieved from: https://DiversityandtheBardigital.com (Sept 8, 2018)

United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey”, Retried from: https://bls.gove/cps/cpsaat39.htm (Sept 8, 2018)

A glance at Women in The Law, The American Bar Association, Retrieved from: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/women/a-current-glance-at-women-in-the-law-jan-2018.authcheckdam.pdf (Sept 8, 2018)

It’s His Rank That Matters

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The Marine Officer’s Spouse Club is an organization made up of, exactly as it sounds, spouses of Marine Officers.  There are a few exceptions to that, where one could be an “equivalent” as a Navy Officer spouse or a GS employee spouse of a certain “level”.  This club started an amazing non-profit which provides scholarships and charitable giving to local (overseas station) and American charities.  They do this by the sale of gift and household items in a gift shop on base.  All the net profits are given to the club to be distributed as they see fit.  This gift shop is operated by a staff of 4-5 employees and many volunteers.  For 40 years in order to be a staff member or volunteer it was a requirement that you also be an officer’s spouse (or equivalent).  While Moran, et.al. state that “Human diversity is popularly understood to refer to differences of color, ethnic origin, gender, sexual or religious preferences, age and disabilities” (2009) there are more encompassing definitions within organizations.  Within this particular organization the one area that lacked was that no wife of an enlisted military person could be employed or volunteer.  They could have a graduate in fundraising and years of experience, the ability to bring the charitable giving to all time highs, but could not apply.

About 10 years ago, due to a lack of applicants, they club decided to allow spouses of all military members and their equivalents apply.  The lack of applicants was due to a variety of other opportunities that had started to be available for spouses at this station.  So, even though they didn’t want to, they accepted the fact that they would have no choice but to hire someone who was not an officer’s spouse.  Many spouses scoffed at this new policy and required that at a minimum the Director continue to be required to be an officer’s spouse.  The spouses who were against it were unsure if the enlisted wives could deal with the differences between themselves and the other spouses they would be working with. Just as the Moran, et.al. describes “strategies and interventions had to be put in place for the interactions” between the spouses, not only for the enlisted staff member but for the officer spouse volunteer as well (2009).  The staff has the authority to direct the volunteers, some officer spouses were not willing to take direction from someone they did not think should be there.

This continued for many years where staff could be enlisted spouses but the Director and all volunteers were required to be officer spouses or equivalent.  Until the day came where they could not fill the role of the director.  They had to accept someone who was not an officer’s spouse.  Now, she wasn’t an enlisted spouse either, she was a contractor’s spouse, but they questioned whether she would be able to relate to all the military spouses she would be working with.  They made a one-time exception to the rule in order to fill the position. As time went on and the world around them changed more and more, they held tightly to their beliefs that this company could only and should only be run by officer spouses.  That if they brought in others they just would not be able to relate to each other and it would cause chaos and break the system they had so carefully built.

The day came when they had to face the cold hard truth.  They had been limiting themselves by not accepting others to volunteer in the company.  The day came when they had so few volunteers that the staff was burning out and becoming jaded.  Where other similar companies that they competed with were surpassing them, even though they were the first, the oldest.  They finally folded and accepted that they needed more volunteers and they were not able to, after many campaigns, get those volunteers from their officer spouse club.  They opened up the volunteering to everyone who was 18 and up.  Fortunately, the company did not crumble and now has plenty of volunteers to man the shop and can continue to give to charity.

The fact that it took them so long to accept that by adding diversity to their ranks they would excel is unfortunate.  I am thankful that they finally did realize that there was no other way to continue to serve their mission.  I am hopeful that they will continue to diversify within the company.  They next step would be to allow someone who is not an officer’s spouse to be on the Board of Supervisors.  I don’t think I’ll see that in my time here, but I will keep an eye out for when it will happen.  They day must come when a spouse is chosen not for the rank her husband wears, but for her own education and experience.

Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R., & Moran, S. V. (2009). Managing cultural differences: Global leadership strategies for the 21st century. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

 

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…?”

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Human rights

This weeks readings on Diversity resonated with me on a personal level. I am a person first and one of the roles in my life is a mother. I came across an article headline that stated “Trump admin wants ability to hold migrant kids indefinitely, upending decades-old ban”. My heart felt heavy. I knew vaguely of what totally encompassed fully what Human Rights entailed prior to reading this weeks assignment. I could not help but wonder, “What part of human rights involves continuing to confine families that are seeking shelter?” While I understand the need to secure borders and protect US citizens from possible infiltration, I don’t quite understand how there is justification for holding people who seek asylum, especially when it’s the US that must foot the cost, which is quite the expense. A better question is why do we marvel at international travel, foods and lands, but disdain those people that only seek a basic human need, which is safety.

Article 13 states of the declaration of human rights states :

“(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14 of the declaration of human rights states:

“(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”

How is this then not a blatant disregard for basic human right which the US has agreed to?

To further speak to the egregious nature of this heinous and inhumane act, Carroll county columnist Tom Zirpoli offers the following commentary:

“It has been documented by Dara Lind, a writer who specializes in immigration issues, that many asylum seekers trying to do it “the right way” at the U.S.-Mexico border are turned away or physically blocked from setting foot across the U.S. border in clear violation of international law. Journalist Robert Moore, writer for the Texas Monthly, wrote that he witnessed a group of asylum seekers being blocked from crossing the United States border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The officials, wrote Moore, stood on the other side of the U.S. border, in Mexican territory, physically blocking people from presenting asylum applications in the United States.

As stated by the International Justice Resource Center, “It is perfectly legal to come to the United States without papers and request asylum. International law prohibits the U.S. government from turning away people with legitimate humanitarian claims or from sending them back to countries where their lives are in danger.” The center goes on to point out that “Federal law and regulations specify that anyone who comes to the U.S. without legal status, and claims a fear of persecution, has the right to an interview to determine whether that fear is credible (by a judge); then, if they pass that interview, they have the right to formally seek asylum.”

I am trying to understand what law was broken, what crime committed and how this isn’t a total violation of human rights. And besides voting every few months, what can be done about the actual crimes of holding humans in confinements for no real reason? Do people who migrate here truly know what they are walking into? What is the real agenda behind keeping people. We Is America reopening the door of no return?

Sometimes in the market I look at the back of the label and see where the food comes from. We have coffee from Venezuela, Honduras, Chile, Brazil. Seafood from China. Sugar and bananas from Haiti. We love the language, culture and the beauty of the people from these lands surrounded by the sea. We long to vacation in lands where the music is electrifying and the warm weather makes us feel lost in time.We even love what they add to our atmosphere when they become famous. We love hard to pronounce names like Pryanka, Aziz, and Kumar become mainstream household names and realize that nuances in their culture isn’t much different than ours. We all bleed the same and want the same things. To be happy, fed, safe and to work. No matter what land you were born on. No one should be punished for wanting to sleep well at night.

The plaque upon the Statute of Liberty reads:

“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Emma Lazarus

References

Tom Zirpoli, 2018 http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/opinion/columnists/cc-op-zirpoli-20180904-story.html

United Nations. (n.d.). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-admin-plans-hold-migrant-kids-indefinitely-defying-decades-old-n907006

https://www.howtallisthestatueofliberty.org/what-is-the-quote-on-the-statue-of-liberty/

911 What’s your emergency?

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To be Black (African American) in America often means having been raised from a certain set of values, most of which are a mix of beliefs watered down from post slavery Christianity and re-adapted African diaspora. Having been “disenfranchised” as a people, Black people are slowly reemerging what it means to have cultural pride, to thrive within as a family unit and to begin the road back to building generational wealth. After decades, perhaps even centuries of being made to adapt European cultures and values and our attempts at building businesses destroyed. (Ex. Black Wall street in Tulsa OK, 1921). Much of this reemerging comes with mixing in what are usually considered “white spaces”. Slowly African Americans are assimilating and progressing in sports, business and entertainment. Names like Serena Williams, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) are becoming transparent within pop culture and bridging the divide between what used to be exclusive to either racial group.
People identify and understand culture differently. It’s a very personal concept. I am at the point in my life where I am exploring all things I am curious about and no longer intimidated by `entering spaces that at one point used to feel foreign to me. Most of the time, things are all in my head and I avoided a space for no real reason except my own fear. However, there are some spaces however that remain under the guise that it’s unorthodox to see people of color. Most recently I had an experience at an art studio who advertised a free event for families. My family, excited to try a new art medium excitedly joined in. That excitement soon faded when we felt like we were being followed around and observed under scrutiny. The owner kept asking “how I found about her business” and for those who are used to being the only black person in a room, this usually translates to “why are you here?”. This incident and others like it can be that Art used to be something exclusive to White Americans only. Thus, this stereotype is perpetrated that Blacks are out of place or class within these spaces. Hofstede illustrates a similar point: “Cultural values and social norms influence the behaviors of people within a society and form the basis of rules these societies share and on which they depend for guidance (Hofstede, 1980; Rokeach, 1973).
Learning to navigate traditionally white spaces isn’t something that’s often talked about. America is supposed to be this great melting pot full of shared values, but not making space for those that are finding a way to break stereotypes leaves us a generation behind. Things like art, water sports, country club activities like golf, tennis, lacrosse, and affluent spaces, that culturally entertain mostly white audiences need to be safe for all people to feel welcome. One does wonder, is it intentional to keep these spaces uncomfortable towards people of color?
“In addition to the role of status, there is evidence to suggest that divergent ideas from followers who are more prototypical are likely more influential as well. Hogg’s (2008) social identity theory of leadership suggests that members create both shared norms and a shared identity for the group. These shared norms, attitudes, and beliefs describe how ingroup members differ from outgroups (Hogg, 2008), and both leaders and followers vary in the extent to which they represent this ideal image of the group. Empirical research has demonstrated that the more prototypical a leader, or the more he or she embodies the group attributes and norms, the more flexibility s/he has to challenge group norms (Hogg, 2008; Hogg, van Knippenberg, & Rast, 2012). “
In the past few years we’ve approached on a culture that is incumbent on reliving every moment, what that translates to is everything being recorded. Much to the chagrin of people who like to police the actions of people of color, it helps when exposing these types of folks. But what of those in present and times past that did not my recording devices? What about those stories of cultural divide that don’t go viral? Do they just leave us feeling unwelcome to never return?

An online blog I follow about a family of color that travels the world, recently recalled their experience in Czech Republic. They told of being bypassed for service, being stared at on the train and snide remarks about their presence. Experiences like this can deter people of color from world travel because they remind them of more fearful times when people of color were admonished for simply existing in a space that white people occupied. How does one navigate in spaces where people of color aren’t used to being seen? How does a culture adjust to being more inclusive, when it’s inherently white?
“We propose that the intersection of followership, minority influence, and cultural norms and values theories provides a rich opportunity to cultivate new understandings of proactive followership, including expressions of dissent, new insights, and divergent thought. Previous literature defines proactive followership as followers who are committed to excellence, have the courage to challenge leaders, and take the initiative to stand up for leaders who are being undermined or unfairly criticized or marginalized (e.g., active co‐contributors, Chaleff, 1995; Kellerman, 2008; Shamir, 2007; Uhl‐Bien et al., 2014). Acting in this way, followers dynamically demonstrate both followership and leadership on their own behalf as well as that of the team. (For more comprehensive reviews of followership theory, see Bligh, 2014; Bligh & Kohles, 2012; Uhl‐Bien et al., 2014). ”

Having the courage to challenge these stereotypes and decide you will be in spaces even if it makes others uncomfortable takes gall. I don’t have a complete solution to teaching others to be more welcoming of people different from them except to say that, if you enjoy a thing, an activity or space. Chances are others do too, and that person may just be Black.

References
Degnan, A., Baker, S., Edge, D., Nottidge, W., Noke, M., Press, C. J., & … Drake, R. J. (2018). The nature and efficacy of culturally-adapted psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 48(5), 714-727. doi:10.1017/S0033291717002264

Blair, B. A., & Bligh, M. C. (2018). Looking for Leadership in All the Wrong Places: The Impact of Culture on Proactive Followership and Follower Dissent. Journal Of Social Issues, 74(1), 129-143. doi:10.1111/josi.12260

https://progressive.org/dispatches/ever-heard-black-wall-street/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/06/america-police-called-on-black-people-everyday-racism

Woman as Leaders

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Rosalinde Torres studies leadership and advises on leadership practices. In her Ted talk, “What it takes to be a great leader,” Rosalinde gives 3 qualities that make a great leader in the 21rst century. First, a great leader has to the ability to anticipate change to their next business model or in life (Torres, 2014). Anticipating change involves taking stock of who you engage with, how you travel and what you read (Torres, 2014). The second involves building relationships and spending time with a diverse network of people from different backgrounds and expertise (Torres, 2014). The last is being courageous enough to build the emotional stamina to withstand people telling you that your new idea is naïve or reckless or just plain stupid (Torres, 2014). Thus, your diverse experiences, exposures, and relationships will make you a great modern leader. Unfortunately, as a woman, we also have to deal with our juxtaposed status as women and the traditionally held views about leadership and masculinity.

There are more than 70 countries in Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific where women have held top leadership positions. “America is still seen as the policeman of the world, the guardian of the world and we still have a very gendered version of what leadership means,” said Laura A. Liswood, secretary general of the United Nations Foundation’s Council of Women World Leaders, a network of current and former female prime ministers and presidents. Women are expected to be both likable and tough (Bennhold & Gladstone, 2016). To be accepted in many top leadership positions that have been historically dominated by men, women leaders are expected to conform to our female stereotypes of femininity, modest, and credit sharing maternal figures while also demonstrating masculine traits that convey agency and have historically been identified with leadership (Eagly & Carli, 2007). These traits include self promotion, aggressive attitudes, ambition and decisiveness, to name a few. The masculine traits that are stereotypical of not only men-but also of leadership itself are embedded in many parts of our society, making it difficult to break (Eagly & Carli, 2007). However, when women exhibit these traits without also tempering them with the accepted traits that are expected from women, like being communal, well liked, kind, nurturing and warm, subordinates tend to reject the woman leader as inauthentic or too aggressive (Eagly & Carli, 2007).


Women are not less motivated, capable, or less desirous of leadership positions than men. In fact, studies have shown that men and woman don’t lead all that differently, and where both are equally qualified, not more effectively either (Kellerman & Rhode, 2007). Bridging the leadership gender gap is a work that is underway. With exploration into the complex issues that keep women from exiting the labyrinth and moving into top leadership positions, and dealing head-on with the challenge of negotiating the inclusion of differences on a deep and surface-level, we may eventually come to a place of greater equality in leadership roles – regardless of differences in gender.

Works cited

Bennhold, K., & Gladstone, R. (2016, November 11). Over 70 nations have been led by women. So why not the U.S.? Europe. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/world/europe/women-world-leaders-clinton-trump.html?_r=0

Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the labyrinth: The truth about how women become leaders (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Kellerman, B., & Rhode, D. L. (2007). Women and leadership: The state of play and strategies for change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint.

Torres, R. (2014, February ). Transcript of “what it takes to be a great leader.” Retrieved October 24, 2016, from https://www.ted.com/talks/roselinde_torres_what_it_takes_to_be_a_great_leader/transcript?language=en

Corporate advice on inclusion

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As we have learned thus far diversity matters and in legitimizing diversity we must follow the concept of inclusion to be successful. Inclusion is “the process of including the various diverse aspects and characteristics” (Redmond, 2018). Through inclusion, companies can improve their organizational functioning by creative problem solving that might expand to new markets (Redmond, 2018).  Diversity alone cannot thrive; we need to ensure that every individual is included by valuing their perspectives and approaches.

I found an interesting article titled, “Why Diversity and inclusion Matters, and how to drive it”. The article successfully pin points different ways companies can promote and foster inclusion in the work place. So here we go!

In order to have a diverse group: There has to be “enough people of a particular group that no one person has to represented the supposed viewpoint of their group-whether ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, gender, identity, socioeconomic background, or disability” (Linders, 2016). The article advises to get out there and “hire women, hire people of different ages, backgrounds, education, and work experience, ethnicities, etc. and make sure that they are welcomed” (Linders, 2016). Keyword is to ensure that individuals feel welcomed. Furthermore, the article also argues that there is no point in having a diverse group if the different ideas are not taken into consideration, and member contributions are being excluded (Linders, 2016). The goal is to “enable people to be fully present, contributing and valued” (Linders, 2016).

The general advisory points seem very logical and easy to follow by any and all persons in a leadership role. The guidelines provided by the article are a great way to legitimize diversity and ensure that diversity and inclusion thrive in the work place.

Linders, B. (2016, June 23). Why Diversity and Inclusion Matters, and How to Drive It. Retrieved 2018, from https://www.infoq.com/news/2016/06/diversity-inclusion

Redmond, B. (2018). Lesson 03: Diversity; Inclusion. [HTML]. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1916378/modules/items/23640522

A Difference Within

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My husband and I first moved in together in a little town, Wadsworth, just outside of Akron, Ohio. We were 22 or 23 at the time and thought it would be a good fit for us. The rent was cheap, the house was safe and clean, and everywhere we looked, it felt just like the towns we grew up in. We both grew up not too far from Wadsworth, in slightly larger cities, with slightly different demographics. We ended up, a few years later, buying a home there.  We sold it 6 years later and moved to Cleveland.

The impetus for the move was my commute. My job was based in Akron when we bought the home, a promotion had me in our Cleveland office every day. It was a 45-mile one-way commute, a commute I did for almost 6 years. My husband can work from home, so for him, location is nearly irrelevant. We also wanted to live closer to “the action”. Wadsworth has a “nightlife” that ends promptly at 11 PM, the big event is the football game, you get the drift. It’s a nice place, it’s just not right for us. That was the second reason we moved. I had a third reason that I didn’t realize I had until after we moved.

Wadsworth is 96% white (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018), it’s small-town America, it’s homogenous. We moved to a neighborhood called Detroit-Shoreway. It’s called that because the first boundaries for the neighborhood were between Detroit Avenue and the Shoreway. Cleveland is very creative. Detroit-Shoreway is one of Cleveland’s most diverse neighborhoods, with roughly 55% white, 27% black, and 18% other and a 25% Latinx population (City of Cleveland, 2014). In the state of Ohio our zip code, 44102, is the second most diverse in the state (HometownLocator, 2018), according to the ESRI Diversity Index (HometownLocator, 2015). The neighborhoods could not be more different.

I realized that I had a latent urge to express my difference. I never felt comfortable “being gay” in Wadsworth. I’d play the part of the effeminate man for a laugh, I’d act extra butch to blend in, and I’d avoid holding hands with my husband in public. Well, he wasn’t my husband yet, because the Supreme Court hadn’t ruled yet. Anyway, after we moved up and made friends, I felt more comfortable in my own skin, I was okay “being gay”. Remembering back, I had a lot of internalized homophobia. I thought that gay pride parades were shameful and disgusting because people had the audacity to wear leather thongs in public or something like that. I’ll spare you the rest of the examples. Here’s what it comes down to: in Wadsworth, my husband and I were “the gay neighbors”, in Cleveland, we’re “some gay neighbors” or just “neighbors”. We live in what turned out to be a very gay-friendly neighborhood.

Since we moved, I have become much more liberal, much more empathetic, much more engaged.  The same holds true for my husband. I learned to respect and appreciate the differences between my experience and the experiences of others. I learned about how privileged I was to grow up in a rich ex-urban community and all the advantages I had, and some that I blew. I was exposed to new lifestyles, new cultures, and new experiences. I love where we live. I can’t look away from how my co-workers treat the city now. They come in and they leave, they treat it as a place to visit, an “other”, an outside. They go back to their suburbs and exurbs. I see what I used to be.

Living in a highly diverse environment helped me become the person I am now. It changed my worldview, it changed how I treat others, it changed how I listen. In short, navigating an environment with lots of different groups and all their differences between, made a difference within me.

References:

City of Cleveland. (2014). Detroit-Shoreway. Retrieved from: http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/2010census/downloads/DetroitShoreway.pdf

HometownLocator. (2018). 44102 Zip-Code map, demographics, & rankings. Retrieved from: https://ohio.hometownlocator.com/zip-codes/data,zipcode,44102.cfm

HometownLocator. (2015, July 17). Measuring diversity in America: Diversity index. HometownLocator Blog. [Web log post]. Retrieved from: https://blog.hometownlocator.com/2015/07/17/measuring-diversity-in-america-diversity-index/

U. S. Census Bureau. (2018). American fact finder – community facts. Retrieved from: https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/cf/1.0/en/place/Wadsworth city, Ohio/ALL

Diversity: Equality Act

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This week’s lesson had me ruminating on a topic that I often bring up to friends and family when we talk about actions we would like to see in government. Especially as a political science major, I have done a lot of research on The Equality Act of 2010, which is one of the major pieces of legislation supported by Human Rights Campaign that seeks to protect citizens in the United States from discrimination.

 

In the lesson 3 Commentary, we learned about specific legal protections that defend citizens against discrimination, specifically the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Pennsylvania State University, Lesson 3) The Equality Act was introduced to both the House of Representatives and the Senate. According to the Human Rights Campaign (2017) “The Equality Act would provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.”  The legislation would also amend the 1964 law and make it so that one can not be discriminated on based on their gender. In many of these realms one can still legally be fired, or unapproved for housing and credit, or denied an education based on their gender or sexual preference. This type of discrimination should not exist in the United States today.

 

In learning about discrimination and inclusion this week, I wonder why more politicians are not making it a top priority to pass this legislation. There is good movement in social change via the women’s movement at the moment. The courts have also been kind to the LGBTQ community in recent years, with ruling on marriage equality. However, when it comes to workplace discrimination and the encouragement of inclusion, the law is behind the social conversation. If we hope to break the “glass ceiling” (Moran 2014) as discussed in this weeks reading on women’s rights and work towards greater inclusion, providing proper legal protections is a good place to start!

 

References:

 

Human Rights Campaign. 2017. The Equality Act. Retrieved from: https://www.hrc.org/resources/the-equality-act

Moran, R., Abramson, N. & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Oxford: Routledge.

Beyond Diversity – The Inclusion Revolution

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(Blessingwhite)

 

For the past few years, it seems like “diversity” and “inclusion” have been buzz words in my organization. Like many other global companies, a few years ago, we started making the shift from the idea of diversity as hiring employees from “protected classes” to creating and defining a culture that embraces people from all backgrounds. This new mindset and expanded corporate culture not only recognizes the differences in its employees, but actually celebrates them! It’s an inclusion revolution!

To me, the most impactful change that my organization made was the introduction of the Employee Resource Groups or ERGs. By definition, ERGs are “voluntary, employee-led groups that foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with organizational mission, values, goals, business practices, and objectives.” (Catalyst, Inc., n.d.)  In short, ERGs allow employees from normally excluded groups to create a resource group where they are included. The company promotes and values these groups, which drives the concept of inclusion.

While building our roster of Employee Resource Groups has taken time, there are now 8 ERGs for employees to join and participate in. The most recent ERG to launch is OUT – a group supporting the LGBTQ community and its allies. I was nominated to be a Steering Committee member when this ERG was being formed last year and since our official launch, I moved into the role of Membership Chair. The experience of working with this team has been invaluable and I have learned much more about building a community of inclusion than I ever expected. Our mission itself is inclusive – to empower the LGBTQ community and its allies. I love that we are able to embrace everyone that wants to know more about the LGBTQ community and the challenges OUT employees face.

While there are still opportunities to improve our corporate culture and to further encourage inclusion, I believe these ERGs are a great way for employees to feel empowered and to learn more about culturally diverse groups. I am excited about the possibilities for my OUT group as we head into our first full year as an organization. I am also encouraged by the effort put forth by my company to support and embrace these Employee Resource Groups.

2018 – To Inclusion and Beyond!

 

 

 

References

Blessingwhite. (n.d.). To Inclusion…And Beyond. Blessingwhite.

Catalyst, Inc. (n.d.). ERGs (Employee Resource Groups). Retrieved from Catalyst: Workplaces that Work for Women: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/topics/ergs-employee-resource-groups

 

 

Respecting Social Norms

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In our reading this week on managing cultural differences Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014) discuss the importance of identifying and respecting the social norms of other cultures in order to be a better leader. (p. 52) In order to analyze this idea further, I wanted to introduce an article I read in my Linguistics 100 course, “Using AAVE in Oakland CA Classrooms; The Real Ebonics Debate: An Interview with Oakland Teacher Carrie Secret.” (2016). This article highlights the methods of teacher Carrie Secret and can help us learn about managing cultural differences.

 

Carrie Secret is an elementary school teacher in Oakland, CA who has an enlightening perspective on the use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or more well-known as ebonics. The demographics of Miss Secret’s current class is one Lakota Sioux student, two Cambodian students, two Mexican students and 26 African American students. Miss Secret’s classroom is both global and highly representative of her local community, which makes for a good case in studying how a school teacher can use global leadership skills in a domestic occupation.

 

Miss Secret is unique in her approach to teaching students English. For most of her students, formal “Standard American English” as used in Academia and Professional environments is not spoken in their homes and, therefore, the students do not use this dialect for their common communication. However, for linguists, a Standard dialect is no more or less rational or “correct” than any other dialect. It is in this way that Carrie Secret wants to treat ebonics with equal respect and dignity as any other dialect or common language. Students freely use ebonics in their speech because that is their natural common language. Miss Secret is deliberate in her approach to teaching the “Standard American English” dialect, by requesting her students to speak in this way at certain times of the day, or for reading activities, or oral reports, so that they can practice the dialect that will be used in future academic and professional environments. At the same time, she respects their use of ebonics as one would with any other foreign language or variant English dialect that is spoken in a child’s home.

 

I believe that this example truly highlights Moran, Abramson, and Moran’s assertion that it is important for global leaders to respect others social norms. (p. 50) It is especially important to respect the cultural area of communication and language. This is a very specific example of showing respect for a culture and placing equal importance to using one’s common dialect while respecting the academic culture in the United States. Miss Secret is able to respect both American teaching cultural standards and student’s known common language. Likewise, the teacher is also showing a respect for the social norm of one’s sense of self. Because Carrie Secret never puts down a child’s use of ebonics and never treats it as a substandard dialect, she is reinforcing and encouraging the students’ sense of self.

I think that this story is a great example to follow in our approach to global leadership and managing cultural differences. For me, it called me to be more observant of others cultural norms. Although an action or behavior may not be the cultural norm for me, it doesn’t mean that it is a behavior that requires correction, nor should it spark and aversion in my mind. Instead, I will implore to notice these behaviors and then seek to learn where these behaviors come from. In doing so I can avoid cultural gaffes and will be careful not to unintentionally invalidate another’s sense of self. This will be an important tool for me to use in developing better global leadership.

 

Sources:

 

Moran, Robert, Abramson, Neil, & Moran, Sarah. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Oxford: Routledge.

 

Using AAVE in Oakland CA Classrooms; The Real Ebonics Debate: An Interview with Oakland Teacher Carrie Secret. (2016). Rethinking Schools.

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