Diversity Definitions  Key Terms:  Majority  Minority  Diversity  Ethnocentrism  Prejudice  Stereotype  Discrimination  Tokenism

Majority  Refers to that group of people in the organization who hold the most positions that command decision- making power  Have the greatest access to system rewards  May also refer to the group that has the largest numbers

Minority  Refers to the group that are usually smaller in number  The group that has less access to decision-making  Group that has less access to system rewards  In the larger society, the minority group has a perceived lower status

What is Diversity?  Diversity includes the more obvious demographic differences (primary characteristics):  Race/Ethnicity/Language  Nationality  Gender/Sex  Age  Sexual Orientation  Physical Ability/Physical Attributes

What is Diversity  Diversity also includes other differences such as (secondary characteristics):  Religion  Socio-economic Status/Income Level  Education Level  Military Experience  Marital Status  Parental Status  Political Affiliation  Regionality/Geographic Location

Ethnocentrism  The belief that one’s own group, culture, country or customs are superior to others’

Prejudice  A preconceived judgment, opinion or assumption about an issue, behavior, individual or group of people

Stereotype  A positive or negative assessment of members of a group and/or their perceived attributes

Discrimination  The act of treating an issue, person or behavior unjustly or inequitably on the basis of stereotypes or prejudices

Tokenism  Refers to being one of a very few members of a group in an organization  The practice of hiring only one of a certain group simply to fill a quota without proper evaluation of the person’s skills

Sex/Gender  Sex is the biological difference between individuals…in this case, male and female individuals  Gender is a psychological and social construct formed to explain masculinity and femininity within a social group  Leisure choices are often strongly influenced by both sex and gender

Sexism  Language (calling women “girls”, etc)  Lack of paid parental leave for men  Social (and agency) pressure to prevent girls from participating in rugby, boxing, etc (see Title IX)  Social pressure to prevent boys from participating in sewing, cooking, ballet, etc  Lack of available child-care in leisure facilities

Status  The amount of esteem and prestige one can elicit from others in society  May be based on any of the primary or secondary characteristics that form the dimensions of diversity

Culture  Surface Culture  Deep Culture  Subculture

Surface Culture  Those elements of a culture that are visible, or able to be picked up by the immediate senses  Music  Clothing  Food  Appearance  Gestures  Often people make judgments based on surface culture elements alone

Deep Culture  Those elements of an individual that are not visible to others, yet may be even more important in terms of self-identity  World views  Social systems  Beliefs  Values  Unstated (informal) norms  Religion

Subculture  It is common for people to belong to one primary culture and one or more than one subculture  Subcultures may be associated with groups relating to work or leisure activities or with an individual’s economic or social status

Subcultures  Middle class  Single  Country western line dancers  Stamp collectors  ΔΔΔ  CPRS

Classifications  While cultures, subcultures and other categories of diversity are convenient methods of classifying people, recreation agencies must always be aware of over- generalizing to the point of stereotype

Diversity in Rec and Leisure  Leisure services are not alone in being affected by the changing demographics of the US  In many ways, diversity is the term that replaces the term multicultural

How it Affects Us  California became a “minority majority” in 2000  The number of people age 65 and older that will remain at work is increasing  Individuals with disabilities will compete more effectively for employment within leisure services organizations  ADA requirements are still being implemented  Two out of three new workers are now women and by 2008, women will be 48% of the workforce  Affirmative Action programs are being questioned

How it Affects Us  Increased day care services and flexible work schedules  New types of benefits  Multicultural programs and employee training  Changing facility design  Increased programs for the “elderly”

How it Affects Us  Lawsuits related to discrimination and sexual harassment  Responding to changing societal values  Sensitivity and political correctness  Equal opportunity in hiring and delivery of services

How it Affects Us  Privacy regarding HIV and AIDS  Inner-agency growing pains