Diversity Appreciation

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Diversity Appreciation

• Presented by
• Iowa Civil Rights Commission

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Iowa Civil Rights CommissionDisclaimer

• The information contained in this presentation is
  a brief overview and should not be construed as
  legal advice or exhaustive coverage of the topic.

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What is Diversity?
What is Culture?
Why does it matter?
What can I do?
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What is Diversity?

• The differences which make us each unique
• Recognizing the differences until the differences
  dont make a difference anymore
• All of our differences and similarities

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What does Diversity Include?

• Age
• Race
• Religion
• Gender
• National Origin
• Disability
• All of our differences and similarities

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What is Culture?

• Culture refers to all the accepted and patterned
  ways of behavior of a group of a given people. It
  is a body of common understanding. It is the sum
  total of the organization of arrangement of all
  the groups ways of thinking, feeling, and
  acting.

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Cultural Differences

• Visual
• Subconscious

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First Thoughts
Caucasians are... Gays are Lesbians are Native
Americans are Teenagers are...
Men Are... Women are African-Americans
are Latinos are Asians are
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Factors Which Interfere With Diversity
Appreciation

• Stereotypes
• Prejudice
• Discrimination

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Stereotype

• A misconception about an individual or group
  based on the belief that all people in a given
  group will act in the same way.
• Example All .are lazy.

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Prejudice

• An irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular
  group, race, or religion
• Making up your mind about what a person or group
  is like before you get to know them

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Discrimination

• The act of giving unequal treatment to an
  individual or group of people because they are
  members of a certain culture or race, or because
  of other differences. People are denied equal
  opportunities because of their differences.

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Attitudes or Behaviors

• Training involves teaching a person to perform a
  new skill, learn a body of knowledge, and display
  a new attitude.
• Forklift 80 skill, 10 knowledge, 10 attitude
• Spreadsheet 20 skill, 70 knowledge, 10
  attitude
• Diversity 15 skill, 10 knowledge, 75 attitude

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Diversity Appreciation in a Business Environment

• Developing an atmosphere in which it is safe for
  all employees to ask for help
• Actively seeking information from people from a
  variety of backgrounds and cultures
• Including people who are different than you in
  informal gatherings such as lunch, coffee breaks,
  and spur of the moment meetings
• Creating a team spirit of which every member
  feels a part

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Recognizing, appreciating, valuing, and utilizing
the unique talents and contributions of all
individuals.
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Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Grimes State Office Building Des Moines, Iowa
50319 515-281-4121 800-457-4416 FAX
515-242-5840 http//www.state.ia.us/government/crc