Читать книгу Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies - Dr. Shirley Davis - Страница 15

Simply put, diversity is the collection of unique attributes, traits, and characteristics that make up individuals. They include values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, preferences, behaviors, race, gender, abilities, socioeconomic status, physical appearance, age, and so on. Some of these traits are visible, and many others are invisible.

For decades, I’ve been defining diversity as being comparable to an iceberg (see Figure 1-1). Scientists say that 90 percent of what makes up an iceberg is invisible or below the waterline, and only 10 percent is above it. Think about diversity. People can only see about 10 percent of visible traits that make you diverse. The rest is invisible (beneath the surface). Sometimes you can see the diversity, and sometimes you can’t.

Diversity also has different meanings within various cultural contexts. For example, the U.S. perspective of diversity suggests all the various ways you can see or describe people. But in some European countries, diversity leans more toward gender differences. In Middle Eastern countries, diversity often speaks to religious beliefs.

Courtesy of Dr. Shirley Davis

FIGURE 1-1: Just like an iceberg, most diversity traits are below the surface.

Generational differences are also a key component of diversity. Much like people born within the same time frame share so many coming-of-age experiences (such as music), generations tend to understand and view diversity similarly as well. For example, Generation X (born between 1965 and 1981) and baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) lean toward describing diversity in terms of race, gender, and ethnic background. On the other hand, millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) think of diversity beyond demographics to the manner in which people think, learn, and have various experiences. I talk more about generational diversity in Chapter 2.