My 2 Cents on Diversity in the Workplace

To my fellow co-workers: I frankly do not think that you should care that I am a 44-year old diabetic Jewish Asian-American lesbian that is pregnant, or any derivative of such; Or express your hate for me at work because I am this way. What we should care about is one thing: the mission of our organization. Which implies we will work collaboratively in a respectful manner.

Additionally, you were hired as an adult so be an adult. Just because you think or feel something hateful does not mean you have to act upon it. That is what separates adults from children.

This is the simple basis for respecting diversity in the workplace. But it's not really that simple. People bring their personal thoughts and feelings to work. Sometimes they struggle with what they can and cannot express. Sometimes it leads to disrespectful behavior. So how should this be handled in the workplace?

There are many ways to approach this. Fran Melmed's recent article on Fistful of Talent called, We Don't Need No Stinking Diversity Training does a good job of explaining the problems with diversity training and offers some good alternatives. Which ever path is chosen though, I believe it's important to keep the program based in reality.

For example, a program that attempts to eliminate thoughts and feelings of hate and prejudice is unrealistic. Even though I wish for it to happen, I just don't think it is possible. Besides, where does it say in your organization's mission statement that employees should think or feel a certain way? It probably doesn't. Your organization's mission probably says something about moving forward toward some goal. Which as I just pointed out implies we agree to come to this workplace and work collaboratively in a respectful manner.

If you tell employees what they are not allowed to think and feel and they are full of hateful feelings, they will turn that hate toward you and your organization. Try achieving your mission then.

I was lucky. My personal diversity training occurred during childhood. Between the ages of 4 and 9, we lived in a cul-de-sac in Tacoma, Washington. Our next door neighbors were an Afro-American couple with a daughter one-year younger than me. Across the circle was a husband and wife. He was from Mexico. She was from Japan. They had a son one-year older than me. And around the corner was a family from Puerto Rico with a son my same age.

When I was 9, we moved to a little town in Indiana. It was predominantly white and protestant and people there vocalized their prejudices toward those who were not. By the time I was 10, it was clear I was not like other Hoosiers due to my family's non-church participation.

In Tacoma, it was peaceful. I knew my friends were different culturally but I don't remember this affecting our friendship. In Indiana, those differences meant everything which made no sense to me; which made me even more of an outcast.

As much as it sucked, I'm glad I experienced this prejudice. I think I'm a better person for it. Fortunately one does not have to experience prejudice and hate to see that it is a problem in our society. Some people get it, some people don't. Some people will eventually see it, some will never see it.

I know this simply...
The ridiculousness of prejudice seeps from our society into the workplace and I can offer tools that can enlighten. But it's not my job to make employees think or feel it otherwise. It's my job to make sure they keep their heads on straight, work together with respect and get the job done.