Thoughts about the diversity paradigms…I thought the case studies were very interesting (too bad they changed the names). The thought I had regarding the first paradigm was the disconnect that occurs between what we think we want and what we really want. I got the feeling that from the example given that they wanted diversity (probably becuase it is politically correct to want it), but the firm didn’t really want to change. Interesting.
With the access and legitimacy paradigm my comment in the margin was…”mirroring the environment”. Mirroring is a term used in psychology and seems to fit here, that firms want to mirror the consumers they serve, which makes sense. It works one on one to gain trust and get information, why wouldn't it work for groups.
But I still have the feeling that seeking to increase diversity is discriminating, because it buys into stereotypes regarding groups. Yes, I am a female, but I don’t think I typify all females any more than my Latin relatives in Miami are typical Hispanics. Who, after all, is really a typical anything? Even the learning and effectiveness paradigm uses the stereotypes and capitalizes on them by knowing that we tend to group ourselves. Won’t it be an interesting world when we just see people and not demographic categories?
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I really love your last comment. In our children's lifetime, the "ethnicity" checkbox may be removed from job applications, bank loan forms, etc. I can't believe race is still such a debated and researched issue. The color of our skin does not prove the qualities (or lack of) of a person. Not that different races have their own cultures that may lead to generalizations about that particular race. The research interest to me is how to educate everyone on all of the culture habits of all races so that education can be improved in these schools. Leave the "black/white/hispanic/other" checkboxes off and just focus on the weak areas of each race in research.
ReplyDeleteI am rambling here, I hope you understand! haa.
Good post, Tim
I feel similarly energized by your last comment Catherine. In my previous life as a non profit funder, I started getting interested in funding for African American males, particularly in South Carolina, as they are more likely to end up in jail and stay there ... I digress. Do you think that its better to focus on understanding than on diversity?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the answer is, I just know that lumping people into groups does not do any individual or group justice.
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