Business Communication Skills for Managers Module 13: Social Diversity in the Workplace

Diversity in the Workplace

Factors of Diversity Diversity can be understood as a range of human characteristics that differ from our own Can include range of demographic and psychographic factors Demographic: age, education, gender, race/ethnicity, etc. Psychographic: behavior, beliefs, lifestyles, values

Advantages of Employee Diversity Leveraging cross-cultural awareness Increases productivity of employees Improving organization’s employer brand Improving market relevance of company Diversity statistics in the workplace available in the module: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-businesscommunicationmgrs/chapter/advantages-of-employee-diversity/ Hands. Authored by: rawpixe. Provided by: Pixabay. Located at: https://pixabay.com/en/man-people-achievement-african-3230661/. License: CC BY: Attribution

Challenges of Employee Diversity Unconscious bias: disconnect between conscious thoughts and unconscious beliefs due to sociocultural conditioning IAT: reveals participant’s unconscious biases based on demographic factors Biases undermine organization’s brand and intent Link to the IAT test: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Intercultural Communication

Race and Ethnicity Concept of race has changed across cultures and eras (geographic region, ethnicities, skin color, etc.) Ethnicity: describes shared cultures of a group such as religion, language, and traditions Race: individuals may be identified with ethnicities in complex ways, some argue it isn’t a choice

Race and Ethnicity (cont.) Language, Communication, and Diverse Social Groups Classify people into social categories Information about geographical location, socio-economic states, ethnicity Can create language barrier Differences in what is polite, emotions, how to interact, what is appropriate

Countries Each country has different languages, business practices, and social customs Different countries have different interpretations of nonverbal communication (gestures, body movement, eye contact) Gestures are cross-cultural communiation blindspot Blindspot: “peace” or “goodbye” is insulting in some countries. Thumbs up is negative in some regions (equivalent of middle finger)

Religion People who identify as religious may have different ideas and opinions about what is appropriate Beliefs: What topics are appropriate, beliefs about time off work for religious gatherings, food allowances (caffeine, meat), role of family in personal, social, work life Communication breakdowns happen often, whether religious or not: treat individuals with empathy, curiosity, and respect

Culture and Communication Topics are linked and messages can be misconstrued without context Intended message may not be what is received Controversy with NIKE logo NIKE logo controversy: logo was perceived to resemble Arabic word for Allah (God) which some Muslims considered to be disrespectful NIKE apologized and implemented changes to their design department

Working Across Genders

Using Gender Neutral Language Replace gendered nouns with more neutral language Choose equitable titles and names Use pronouns equitably More than one pronoun Alternate genders and pronouns Make pronouns plural

Attitudes and Gender Communication Men and women often interpret the same conversation differently: causes miscommunication Female: create and foster connections with others Males: establish identity (independence, control) Leadership: predominantly male Examples: “men engage in report talk, women in rapport talk”, women request; men direct, women are information focused; men are image focused, women are judged by appearance, men by what they say/do

Working Across Abilities

Disabilities Lack of understanding due to minimal exposure Person with a mental or physical impairment that limits their everyday lives Experience challenges: speaking, listening, reading text, staying on task, interpreting language, communicating, etc. Consider moving to a quieter place for them, offer assistance, be patient, flexible, and supportive

Disabilities (cont.) Developing an Accessible Workplace Technology accommodations, language changes Allocate additional time Change tone Moderate speaking pace Focus on abilities Use specific language

Working Across Generations

Working Across Generations (cont.) Each generation is a subculture with different communication styles Bridging generation gap: communication barriers, different strengths/weaknesses Create a compromise and try to make everything inclusive

Combating Bias

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination Stereotypes: oversimplified generalizations about groups of people (based on race, ethnicity, gender, etc.) Prejudice: beliefs, thoughts, feelings someone holds about a group Discrimination: actions against a group of people Prejudice & Discrimination overlap and intersect

Bias in the Workplace Important to be aware that bias can affect behavior: Microaggressions and Microinvalidations Microaggressions: brief exchanges that send denigrating messages to individual Microinvalidations: cues that exclude thoughts, feelings, or reality of certain groups Microaggressions in Everyday Life. Authored by: Derald Wing Sue. Provided by: Wiley. Located at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJL2P0JsAS4&feature=youtu.be. License: CC BY: Attribution

Quick Review Prioritizing diversity: NIKE Diversity drives recruitment of the most dynamic people, enriches creativity, grows competitive advantage, heightens belief in brand Diversity is a verb; action is required “Progress is never permanent, will always be threatened, must be redoubled, reinstated and reimagined if it is to survive”