Diversity Who, Me

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Diversity Who, Me?
Paul Leung, Ph.D. University of North Texas Joan
Mueller Reed University of Texas-Pan
American TRAN Annual Conference 2004 Doral
Tesoro Hotel Ft. Worth, TX
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What Is Diversity?

• Racial/Ethnic
• Disability
• Cultural
• Age
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation

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Am I Diverse?

• Who am I?
• What about my family?
• Who are my associates?
• Who do I associate with?

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Do I think Diverse?

• What am I comfortable with?
• Am I willing to go outside the box?
• Can I change myself?
• Can I go beyond tolerance?

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What do I assume?

• The US is a meritocracy of equal individuals.
• Americans dont have a culture.
• If it is different, it is wrong or deficient.
• One should not talk about cultural diversity.
• One should not admit to being biased or
  prejudiced.
• Hogan-Garcia (2003)

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Does diversity matter?

• results of the study provide evidence that
  practicing European American vocational
  rehabilitation counselors may be underestimating
  the future potential of African American
  clients.
• Rosenthal (2004) RCB 473

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Who Me?

• My profession roles and responsibilities,
  ethical requirement
• A helping professional empathic and
  understanding
• Employee (Public Program)
• As an advocate and concerned citizen

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Why Me?

• Front Line face to face
• If not me who?
• Have an impact and influence increase the
  quality of life for persons with disabilities
• Be efficient and professional

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Impact and Influence

• Top Down
• Bottom Up
• Importance of both
• Responsibility to self, consumer (client),
  profession

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Small Group Exercise

• Applying the Aspects of Culture/Ethnicity to an
  Organization
• Purpose To demonstrate the need for cultural
  understanding in the workplace.
• from Hogan-Garcia (2003) The Four Skills of
  Cultural Diversity Competence.

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Aspects of Culture or Ethnicity

• History
• Social Status
• Social Group Interaction Patterns
• Value Orientations
• Language and Communication Verbal and Nonverbal
• Family Life Processes

• Healing Beliefs and Practices
• Religion
• Art and Expressive Forms
• Diet/Foods
• Recreation
• Clothing
• Hogan-Garcia (2003)

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InstructionsPart 1

• Form a small group with 4 or 5 other people.
• Discuss What are 3 aspects of culture you need
  to understand to work or communicate better with
  your colleagues?

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Aspects of Culture or Ethnicity

• History
• Social Status
• Social Group Interaction Patterns
• Value Orientations
• Language and Communication Verbal and Nonverbal
• Family Life Processes

• Healing Beliefs and Practices
• Religion
• Art and Expressive Forms
• Diet/Foods
• Recreation
• Clothing

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InstructionsPart 2

• Keep the same small groups.
• Discuss What are 3 aspects of culture you need
  to understand to work or communicate better with
  consumers?

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Why does cultural diversity matter?
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Changing Demography

• Whats changing?
• Not business as usual
• Globalization

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Racial/Ethnic Composition of Texas

Percent of Total
Population       Group
1980 1990
2000     Anglo
65.7 60.6
53.1   Black
11.9 11.6
11.6   Hispanic 21.0
25.6
32.0   Other
1.4 2.2
3.3     (Murdock, 2002)
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Racial/Ethnic Composition of Texas

• Percent Change 2000-2040 
•  
• Group 0.5. Scenario
  1.0 Scenario
•  
•  
• Anglo 2.8
  10.4
•  
• Black 35.6
  65.0
•  
• Hispanic 175.7
  348.7
•  
• Other 185.0
  546.8
•  
• Total Pop 67.9
  142.6
•  
•  
• (Murdock, 2002)

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Caution!

• Not easy very complex
• Avoid stereotyping
• No one has ALL the answers
• If in doubt, ASK!

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Recommendations

• In working with clients, keep in mind the
  centrality of respect in many cultures.
• Dont assume a title of address ask the client
  what he or she prefers (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr.,
  family or given name).
• Hays (2001)

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Recommendations

• Even if you are knowledgeable about the clients
  culture, do not assume that you are therefore
  knowledgeable about the clients personal
  experience of her or his culture and identity.
  Use the ADDRESSING acronym to remind yourself of
  within-group variations.
• Hays (2001)

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Recommendations

• Use of self-disclosure in a way that allows
  clients to assess your ability to help them.
• Stay aware of the different meanings of physical
  gestures, eye contact, silence and other forms of
  nonverbal communication.
• Hays (2001)

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Recommendations

• Be aware of differences in preferences for
  physical space, including your own if possible,
  use easily movable furniture to allow for
  different preferences.
• Do not touch the assistive device (walker,
  wheelchair, prosthetic, etc.) of a person who has
  a disability without asking.
• Hays (2001)

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Recommendations

• Consider what your office location,
  accessibility, and furnishings communicate about
  your awareness of people of different ages
  people who have disabilities religious or
  spiritually oriented people people of various
  ethnicities people who are gay, lesbian or
  bisexual and so on, using the ADDRESSING
  acronym.
• Hays (2001)

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Recommendations

• Think about the meanings and intentions in your
  use of humor as carefully as you think about any
  other communication with clients.
• Avoid psychological jargon.
• Ask the client about the meaning of his or her
  use of a particular term
• Hays (2001)

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Remember

• Continually use critical thinking skills to think
  about your own assumptions in relation to
  clients communication styles, including verbal
  and nonverbal communication.
• Hays (2001)

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Questions for Reflection

• Go back to your small group.
• Discuss what you learned about yourself in the
  course of this presentation.
• Name 2 ways you can use what you learned in your
  daily life.

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NEW! Online Diversity Training Resource

• Why Diversity Matters
• A Training ToolKit for Community Rehabilitation
  Programs

See it online at www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Home Page
http//www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri/
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Staff Page
http//www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri/Design/staff/ind
ex.htm
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Research
Activities Page
http//www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri/Design/research/
index.htm
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Diversity
Resources Page
http//www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri/Design/diversity
/index.htm
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Diversity
Training Links
http//www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri/DiversityTrainin
gLinks.htm
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Guidelines for
Conducting Diversity Training
http//opm.gov/hrd/lead/policy/divers97.asp
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative 101 Tools for
Tolerance
http//www.tolerance.org/101_tools/index.html
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Free Materials
for Educators
http//www.tolerance.org/teach/expand/res/index.js
p
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Cultural
Competency Links
http//www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri/CulturalCompeten
cyLinks.htm
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Quality
Culture Quiz
http//erc.msh.org/mainpage.cfm?file3.0.htmmodul
e providerlanguageEnglish
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Rehab
Providers Guide to Cultures of the Foreign Born
http//cirrie.buffalo.edu/mseries.htmlseries
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative Geography
Demographics Links
http//www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri/GeoDemoDiversity
.htm
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Rehabilitation Research Initiative 2002 American
Community Survey
http//www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles/Si
ngle /2002/ACS/index.htm
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Thank You!