Diversity Definitions

1
Diversity Definitions

• Key Terms
• Majority
• Minority
• Diversity
• Ethnocentrism
• Prejudice
• Stereotype
• Discrimination
• Tokenism

2
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

3
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

4
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

5
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

6
Ethnocentrism

• The belief that ones own group, culture, country
  or customs are superior to others

7
Prejudice

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

8
Stereotype

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

9
Discrimination

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

10
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 persons skills

11
Sex/Gender

• Sex is the biological difference between
  individualsin 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

12
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

13
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

14
Culture

• Surface Culture
• Deep Culture
• Subculture

15
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

16
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

17
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
  individuals economic or social status

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Subcultures

• Middle class
• Single
• Country western line dancers
• Stamp collectors
• ???
• CPRS

19
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

20
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

21
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

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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

23
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

24
How it Affects Us

• Privacy regarding HIV and AIDS
• Inner-agency growing pains