Cultural Diversity

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Cultural Diversity

• Code Blue
• Chapter 8

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Terms Used in Chapter 8
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Bias

• An emotional leaning to one side.
• Sometimes people have a bias towards people of
  other cultures.
• This bias may be positive, or negative.
• Recognizing the existence of a bias helps one
  overcome negative bias.

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Cultural Blindness

• A condition that exists when individuals assume
  that cultural differences do not exist.

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Cultural Sensitivity

• An appreciation for the cultures and beliefs of
  others.
• All cultures have something to teach us
• America is made up of people from many cultures

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Culture

• Social, artistic, and religious structures and
  manifestations that characterize a specific
  societybeliefs and traditions handed down from
  generation to generation.

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Culture Differences

• Food
• Gender roles
• Beliefs concerning personal illness
• Personal space
• Touching
• Communication

What is your favorite ethnic food? Does your
family have any ethnic foods that they eat on
special occasions (Christmas, Thanksgiving, other
family holidays?)
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Ethnicity

• The unity that comes from a common religion,
  belief, language, and culture.
• What ethnic groups are represented in your class?

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Hispanic

• An American of Spanish or Portuguese descent.
  The term is sometimes used as a classification of
  those who speak Spanish.

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Multiethnic

• Being composed of members from more than one
  ethnic group
• America is a multiethnic country.

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Personal Space

• The area surrounding a person that an individual
  regards as his ownthe distance from other people
  that an individual needs to feel secure or
  comfortable.

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Race

• A classification system based on genetic
  characteristics such as color of skin, the
  structure of hair, etc.

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Supplementary Reading 1--Discrimination

• Discrimination is the practice of treating an
  individual differently based on some
  distinguishing characteristic.

No Aliens Need Apply
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Supplementary Reading 1--Discrimination

• Discrimination based on race, gender, age, and
  disability are illegal.
• It is important that employers and employees
  understand laws prohibiting discrimination.
• Employers who ignore these statutes and rulings
  risk significant penalty.

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Legislation

• Legislation on discrimination initially focused
  on minority groups.
• A minority group is a cluster of people who
  differ from the majority in religion, race,
  speech, culture, appearance, etc.

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Legislation

• Recent legislation has focused on groups that
  might not numerically constitute a minority
  within a community, but differ in some
  significant way from other populations.
• Women and the aged are two examples.

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Racial Discrimination
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Racial Discrimination

• Many countries have a history of racial
  discrimination the United States is one of
  these.

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Racial Discrimination

• As the result of unfair practices, legislatures
  passed a series of laws aimed at eliminating this
  form of discrimination.
• Court rulings interpreted and reinforced that
  legislation.
• Lets look at the history of racial
  discrimination legislation.

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Racial DiscriminationAmendments, Laws Court
Rulings

• Congress adopted the 13th Amendment in 1865.
  This abolished slavery but did nothing to address
  the issue of citizenship.
• Three years later, the 14th Amendment corrected
  this problem. In addition, the 14th Amendment
  mandated that states grant all citizens equal
  protection under the law. Nevertheless, some
  states continued to prevent African Americans
  from voting.
• In 1870, Congress passed the 15th Amendment that
  prohibited states from denying anyone the right
  to vote based on race.

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Racial DiscriminationAmendments, Laws Court
Rulings

• While the 14th Amendment, discussed above,
  guaranteed people equal protection under the
  law, the meaning of that phrase evolved slowly
  as courts successively interpreted its intent.

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Racial DiscriminationAmendments, Laws Court
Rulings

• In 1954, the Supreme Court heard the case Brown
  versus the Board of Education of Topeka, and
  ruled that separate but equal education was not
  equal. Segregation in schools was ruled
  unconstitutional

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Racial DiscriminationAmendments, Laws Court
Rulings

• Three years later, Congress passed the Civil
  Rights Act of 1957, which established the
  Commission on Civil Rights, a governmental agency
  charged with investigating civil rights
  violations.
• To assist with enforcement and compliance,
  Congress also established the Civil Rights
  Division of the Department of Justice to enforce
  the provisions of the act.

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Racial DiscriminationAmendments, Laws Court
Rulings

• Congress followed this with
• The Civil Rights Act of 1960, which provided for
  the appointment of referees to help blacks
  register to vote
• The 24th Amendment (1964), which barred poll
  taxes in federal elections
• Additional legislation outlawing poll taxes

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Racial DiscriminationAmendments, Laws Court
Rulings

• One of the strongest civil rights acts ever
  passed was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which
  outlawed race-based discrimination by employers
  and unions.
• It also established the Equal Opportunity
  Commission to enforce the provisions of the law.

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Gender Discrimination
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Historical Treatment of Women

• Throughout history, societies have treated women
  inappropriately.
• Prior to 1900, few countries offered women the
  right to vote.
• It has only been recently that legal bodies
  seriously considered equal rights for women.

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Amendments, Laws, and Court Rulings

• In 1920, Congress approved the 19th Amendment
  extending suffrage to women.

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Amendments, Laws, and Court Rulings

• In 1940, the federal government outlawed
  sex-based wage discrimination for firms with
  federal contracts.
• The government then mandated equal pay for men
  and women who perform the same tasks for all
  firms through The Federal Equal Pay Act of 1963.

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Amendments, Laws, and Court Rulings

• The following year, Congress outlawed job
  discrimination based on sex through Title VII of
  the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

• This legislation prohibited firms from firing
  women for pregnancy, when pregnancy did not
  affect job performance.
• It also outlawed the practice of reserving
  specific jobs for men, or for women.

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Amendments, Laws, and Court Rulings

• Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972
  prohibited gender discrimination by universities
  and colleges who receive federal funds.

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Amendments, Laws, and Court Rulings

• A number of court rulings have affected women in
  the workplace.
• The Supreme Court has ruled that women must
  receive the same fringe benefits as men,
  including social security, welfare, and workers
  compensation.

Fringe Benefits
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Amendments, Laws, and Court Rulings

• Some states now mandate that women must pay
  alimony, if the wifes salary is greater than the
  husbands.

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Age Discrimination
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Age Discrimination

• Advances in modern medicine have allowed people
  to work longer than in previous decades.
• Individuals over fifty-five years of age
  constitute a major segment of the workforce.

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Age Discrimination

• Consequently, legislatures are focusing on age
  discrimination in the workplace.

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Laws and Rulings

• In the late 1960s, Congress enacted The Age
  Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. The
  reasons for this act cited in the legislation
  included
• Older workers were finding themselves
  disadvantaged in their efforts to find and retain
  employment.
• Employers were setting arbitrary age limits for
  some jobs.
• Long-term unemployment was up for older workers.
• Discrimination on the basis of age was deemed to
  be a burden on the economy.

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The purpose of the act is

• To promote employment of older persons based on
  ability, rather than age.
• To prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in
  employment.
• To help employers and workers find solutions to
  problems that arise from old age.

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The act specifically prohibits

• Discriminationin hiring or firing based on age.
• The limitation, segregation, or classification of
  people in a way that deprives them of opportunity
  or status as employees.
• Reduction in wages to comply with this
  legislation.

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Disability
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Definition

• A disabled person is an individual with a
  disability, who is qualified to perform the
  essential tasks of the position with or without a
  reasonable accommodation by the employer.

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Disability

• In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with
  Disabilities Act prohibiting employers with 15 or
  more employees from
• Discriminating against qualified people who have
  disabilities, when
• An accommodation will impose no hardship on the
  employer

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Americans with Disabilities Act

• Discrimination under the ADA is prohibited in
• Recruitment
• Hiring
• Pay
• Promotion
• Selection for training

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Americans with Disabilities Act

• The Americans with Disabilities Act has no
  affirmative action requirement.
• Employers are free to hire the best qualified
  applicant.

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Sexual Preference
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Political Agenda

• Many gay and lesbian organizations have adopted
  an active political agenda.
• Many are campaigning for laws that prohibit
  discrimination against homosexuals.
• Some are campaigning for same sex marriage.

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Supreme Court Rulings

• In 1986, the United States Supreme Court ruled
  that states could outlaw homosexual conduct.
• In 2003, it reversed that ruling.

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Critics

• Some critics charge that homosexuality is a
  learned behavior and that gays and lesbians
  should not have special legal protections.
• Research on whether homosexuality is biologic or
  learned is inconclusive.

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Case Law

• Case law on this topic is in its infancy.
• Most certainly, there will be additional
  legislation and new judicial rulings.

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Sensitivity to Cultural Differences in Patients

• In treating patients, health professionals must
  consider the whole patient. This includes
  sensitivity to cultural differences.

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Discuss Examples of how cultural differences in
the following areas may affect the delivery of
personal healthcare.

• Food
• Gender roles
• Beliefs about personal illness
• Personal space
• Touching
• Communication

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The End!