What Is Diversity? Racial/Ethnic Disability Cultural Age Gender Sexual Orientation SWHArif Altaf

Am I Diverse? Who am I? What about my family? Who are my associates? Who do I associate with? SWHArif Altaf

Do I think Diverse? What am I comfortable with? Am I willing to go outside the box? Can I change myself? Can I go beyond tolerance? SWHArif Altaf

What do I assume? 1. The US is a meritocracy of equal individuals. 2. Americans don’t have a culture. 3. If it is different, it is wrong or deficient. 4. One should not talk about cultural diversity. 5. One should not admit to being biased or prejudiced. Hogan-Garcia (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Does diversity matter? “results of the study provide evidence that practicing European American vocational rehabilitation counselors may be underestimating the future potential of African American clients.” Rosenthal (2014) RCB 47:3 SWHArif Altaf

Who Me? My profession – roles and responsibilities, ethical requirement A helping professional – empathic and understanding Employee (Public Program) As an advocate and concerned citizen SWHArif Altaf

Why Me? Front Line – face to face If not me – who? Have an impact and influence – increase the quality of life for persons with disabilities Be efficient and professional SWHArif Altaf

Impact and Influence Top Down Bottom Up Importance of both Responsibility to self, consumer (client), profession SWHArif Altaf

Small Group Exercise “Applying the Aspects of Culture/Ethnicity to an Organization” Purpose: To demonstrate the need for cultural understanding in the workplace. – from Hogan-Garcia (2014) The Four Skills of Cultural Diversity Competence. SWHArif Altaf

Aspects of Culture or Ethnicity History Social Status Social Group Interaction Patterns Value Orientations Language and Communication: Verbal and Nonverbal Family Life Processes Healing Beliefs and Practices Religion Art and Expressive Forms Diet/Foods Recreation Clothing Hogan-Garcia (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Discuss: What are 3 aspects of culture you need to understand to work or communicate better with your fellow students? SWHArif Altaf

Aspects of Culture or Ethnicity History Social Status Social Group Interaction Patterns Value Orientations Language and Communication: Verbal and Nonverbal Family Life Processes Healing Beliefs and Practices Religion Art and Expressive Forms Diet/Foods Recreation Clothing SWHArif Altaf

Discuss: What are 3 aspects of culture you need to understand to work or communicate better with strangers? SWHArif Altaf

Why does cultural diversity matter? SWHArif Altaf

Changing Demography What’s changing? Not business as usual Globalization SWHArif Altaf

Percent of Total Population Group Anglo Black Hispanic Asian (Murdock, 2013) Racial/Ethnic Composition SWHArif Altaf

Caution! Not easy – very complex Avoid stereotyping No one has ALL the answers If in doubt, ASK! SWHArif Altaf

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Recommendations In working with customers, keep in mind the centrality of respect in many cultures. Don’t assume a title of address; ask the client what he or she prefers (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., family or given name). Hays (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Recommendations Even if you are knowledgeable about the other’s culture, do not assume that you are therefore knowledgeable about the personal experience of her or his culture and identity. Hays (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Recommendations Use of self-disclosure in a way that allows clients to assess your ability to help them. Stay aware of the different meanings of physical gestures, eye contact, silence and other forms of nonverbal communication. Hays (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Recommendations Be aware of differences in preferences for physical space, including your own; if possible, use easily movable furniture to allow for different preferences. Do not touch the assistive device (walker, wheelchair, prosthetic, etc.) of a person who has a disability without asking. Hays (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Recommendations Consider what your office location, accessibility, and furnishings communicate about your awareness of people of different ages; people who have disabilities; religious or spiritually oriented people; people of various ethnicities; people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Hays (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Recommendations Think about the meanings and intentions in your use of humor as carefully as you think about any other communication with clients. Avoid psychological jargon. Ask the client about the meaning of his or her use of a particular term Hays (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Remember… Continually use critical thinking skills to think about your own assumptions in relation to clients’ communication styles, including verbal and nonverbal communication. Hays (2014) SWHArif Altaf

Questions for Reflection… Go back to your small group. Discuss what you learned about yourself in the course of this presentation. Name 2 ways you can use what you learned in your daily life. SWHArif Altaf

Thank You! SWHArif Altaf