Just got this email from the Southern Poverty Law Center, SPLC.
Plan now to participate in Mix It Up at Lunch Day, the national event that breaks down social barriers in schools. This year, Mix It Up is on Nov. 9. Teachers will be able to register their schools on the Mix It Up map by mid-September.
Mix It Up Lunch is a great program that's free and simple to organize. Students are simply encouraged to sit at a different table and meet someone new who is different than they are. The event is a simple call to action: take a new seat in the cafeteria. By making the move, students can cross the invisible lines of school division, meet new people and make new friends.
Mix it Up at Lunch Day helps students become more comfortable interacting with different kinds of people.
SPLC has all of the instructions and even a video to watch at http://www.tolerance.org/mix-it-up/lunch-day.
So,here's an idea. Write a letter of support to your local newspapers and school boards. It could go something like this:
Dear Editor (Or School Board Member):
We have so much work to do if we are every going to become a diverse, multicultural society that works together. Every fall, I hope that our local schools will take the opportunity to help students learn more about each other by participating in Mix It Up Lunch Date. This year’s date is set for November 9.
The event, promoted by the Southern Poverty and Law Center, is a simple call to action: take a new seat in the cafeteria. By making the move, students can cross the invisible lines of school division, meet new people and make new friends.
Mix it Up at Lunch Day helps students become more comfortable interacting with different kinds of people. As a civil rights and diversity supporter, I support this program and hope that others will, too.
Sincerey,
YOU!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Minorities disproportionately discharged for 'don't ask, don't tell' violations, reports Washington Post
U.S. military officials threw out hundreds of service members in 2009 for violating its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, including a disproportionate number of women and minorities and dozens of service members in "mission critical" positions, according to a new analysis of military data.
According to a report just filed by Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post, the Pentagon honorably discharged 428 service members for violating the gay ban in 2009, according to statistics reviewed by the Palm Center, a nonpartisan University of California think tank studying the impact of gays in the military. O'Keefe reports this figure is down from 619 discharged for violating the policy in 2008:
"Women account for 14 percent of Army soldiers but made up 48 percent of the Army's "don't ask" discharges in 2009, the study said. Six percent of the Marine Corp is female, but women accounted for 23 percent of its discharges. Among officers, the Navy discharged only two for violating the policy in 2009, and both were Asian. The Army discharged five officers -- two were African American, one was Asian and two were white, the Palm Center said."
O'Keefe's story continues --
According to a report just filed by Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post, the Pentagon honorably discharged 428 service members for violating the gay ban in 2009, according to statistics reviewed by the Palm Center, a nonpartisan University of California think tank studying the impact of gays in the military. O'Keefe reports this figure is down from 619 discharged for violating the policy in 2008:
"Women account for 14 percent of Army soldiers but made up 48 percent of the Army's "don't ask" discharges in 2009, the study said. Six percent of the Marine Corp is female, but women accounted for 23 percent of its discharges. Among officers, the Navy discharged only two for violating the policy in 2009, and both were Asian. The Army discharged five officers -- two were African American, one was Asian and two were white, the Palm Center said."
O'Keefe's story continues --
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Sesame Street and Diversity: AA, EEO and MVD: “How Is One Thing Not Like The Other Things?”
Hank, a new supervisor at the XYZ Company, has just been called into his boss’s office and told that excellence through diversity is one the company’s newest goals. Hank is to make this happen ASAP so that his boss can report back that “the diversity thing” is under control.
Unfortunately, Hank’s boss provides no further explanation and Hank is left alone and confused.
Hank is not alone. Over half of U.S. companies have little or no diversity plans in place, even though diversity is considered an important topic in today’s global economy. To achieve diversity excellence, what should Hank’s boss focus on and why?
For many supervisors and even executives, the term diversity still raises controversy, confusion, and tension when first introduced. What does diversity actually mean? Is it the same as affirmative action? Equal employment opportunity?
When many people like Hank and his boss think of diversity, without proper diversity management education they often fall into thinking about ethnicity and race, and then gender; however, diversity is much broader than these three terms. Dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience (Loden and Rosener 1991, 18-19).
How these dimensions affect performance, motivation, success, and interactions with others becomes part of measuring an organization’s success in becoming excellent through diversity. Institutional structures and practices that have presented barriers to some dimensions of diversity should be examined, challenged, and removed in the process.
This is probably what Hank’s boss’s bosses were thinking about when they came up with the idea of excellence through diversity. It’s just too bad they did not include any education when trying to move their workforce in this direction.
If I were trying to help Hank and his boss understand what to do, I would explain they must both first understand that managing and valuing diversity (MVD) is clearly different from equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. When consulting with such businesses that are just beginning to value and manage diversity, I often draw on one of my favorite Sesame Street sayings -- How is one thing not like the other things -- to explain differences between MVD, EEO and AA. It is critical these distinctions be understood, because not understanding the differences is just one more barrier to change.
Quite simply, MVD allows for voluntary change while AA and EEO require obligatory change. This is because AA and EEO are legal processes that have the force of the law behind them.
AA and EEO involve individuals who belong to legally protected groups and who are further affected by others such as human resources or the judiciary. But MVD involves not only those groups but is even more inclusive and includes members of many social and cultural groups, even those members of the dominant group (usually white males).
Here’s another difference: MVD appeals to the broadening and more representative market and workforce. In turn, AA and EEP appeal specifically to those who value related legislation and goals.
Here is still another way to understand how “one thing” is not like “the other things”: MVD focuses on economic performance of the organization or business. A successfully diversified workforce broadens the company’s appeal to the global market and if managed well, can add to workforce flexibility in such areas as problem solving. On the other hand, AA and EEO focus on achievement of individuals in a legally protected class, making their focus far more specific and defined.
Finally, the purpose of AA is to ensure past discrimination is remedied and to prohibit future discrimination of legally targeted, protected groups. The purpose of EEO is to set and meet AA goals. While both AA and EEO are clearly critical to an organization’s legal operations, the purpose of MVD is quite different, that is to maximize economic goals that have no legal basis but are set by businesses and organizations for their benefit.
Today’s organizations and businesses, no matter their size or customer base, must learn to manage and value diversity. This first requires learning the difference between AA, EEO and MVD and then taking proactive steps to create and sustain an organizational climate in which the dynamics that harm performance are minimized and the potential to enhance performance is maximized. MVD is all about enhancing organizational performance by using every member’s abilities and by leveraging diversity as an organizational resource.
Will Hank and his boss succeed in attaining diversity excellence? The answer is quite possibly yes, if both are provided the proper MVD education and resources, starting, of course, with understanding “...how one thing is not like the other things.”
* * *
* * *
Susan Klopfer, MBA, helps organizations discover and implement diversity plans. Visit Susan's website to learn about her free online workshop, Five Costly Diversity Mistakes Companies Make and How To Avoid Them. http://susanklopfer.com/
Unfortunately, Hank’s boss provides no further explanation and Hank is left alone and confused.
Hank is not alone. Over half of U.S. companies have little or no diversity plans in place, even though diversity is considered an important topic in today’s global economy. To achieve diversity excellence, what should Hank’s boss focus on and why?
For many supervisors and even executives, the term diversity still raises controversy, confusion, and tension when first introduced. What does diversity actually mean? Is it the same as affirmative action? Equal employment opportunity?
When many people like Hank and his boss think of diversity, without proper diversity management education they often fall into thinking about ethnicity and race, and then gender; however, diversity is much broader than these three terms. Dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience (Loden and Rosener 1991, 18-19).
How these dimensions affect performance, motivation, success, and interactions with others becomes part of measuring an organization’s success in becoming excellent through diversity. Institutional structures and practices that have presented barriers to some dimensions of diversity should be examined, challenged, and removed in the process.
This is probably what Hank’s boss’s bosses were thinking about when they came up with the idea of excellence through diversity. It’s just too bad they did not include any education when trying to move their workforce in this direction.
If I were trying to help Hank and his boss understand what to do, I would explain they must both first understand that managing and valuing diversity (MVD) is clearly different from equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. When consulting with such businesses that are just beginning to value and manage diversity, I often draw on one of my favorite Sesame Street sayings -- How is one thing not like the other things -- to explain differences between MVD, EEO and AA. It is critical these distinctions be understood, because not understanding the differences is just one more barrier to change.
Quite simply, MVD allows for voluntary change while AA and EEO require obligatory change. This is because AA and EEO are legal processes that have the force of the law behind them.
AA and EEO involve individuals who belong to legally protected groups and who are further affected by others such as human resources or the judiciary. But MVD involves not only those groups but is even more inclusive and includes members of many social and cultural groups, even those members of the dominant group (usually white males).
Here’s another difference: MVD appeals to the broadening and more representative market and workforce. In turn, AA and EEP appeal specifically to those who value related legislation and goals.
Here is still another way to understand how “one thing” is not like “the other things”: MVD focuses on economic performance of the organization or business. A successfully diversified workforce broadens the company’s appeal to the global market and if managed well, can add to workforce flexibility in such areas as problem solving. On the other hand, AA and EEO focus on achievement of individuals in a legally protected class, making their focus far more specific and defined.
Finally, the purpose of AA is to ensure past discrimination is remedied and to prohibit future discrimination of legally targeted, protected groups. The purpose of EEO is to set and meet AA goals. While both AA and EEO are clearly critical to an organization’s legal operations, the purpose of MVD is quite different, that is to maximize economic goals that have no legal basis but are set by businesses and organizations for their benefit.
Today’s organizations and businesses, no matter their size or customer base, must learn to manage and value diversity. This first requires learning the difference between AA, EEO and MVD and then taking proactive steps to create and sustain an organizational climate in which the dynamics that harm performance are minimized and the potential to enhance performance is maximized. MVD is all about enhancing organizational performance by using every member’s abilities and by leveraging diversity as an organizational resource.
Will Hank and his boss succeed in attaining diversity excellence? The answer is quite possibly yes, if both are provided the proper MVD education and resources, starting, of course, with understanding “...how one thing is not like the other things.”
* * *
* * *
Susan Klopfer, MBA, helps organizations discover and implement diversity plans. Visit Susan's website to learn about her free online workshop, Five Costly Diversity Mistakes Companies Make and How To Avoid Them. http://susanklopfer.com/
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