Celebrating Differences Celebrating Differences A Growing Opportunity for Job CorpsA Growing Opportunity for Job Corps

Dr. Valerie R. CherryDr. Valerie R. CherryLead Mental Health SpecialistLead Mental Health Specialist

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ObjectivesObjectives• Provide overview of the concept of diversity.• Increase awareness of the various dimensions of

diversity.• Examine your own cultural identity and how that

identity affects your relationships with Job Corps staff and students.

• Become more aware of your own attitudes, perceptions, and feelings about various aspects of diversity.

• Make a commitment to continue to increase your understanding of diversity issues on Job Corps centers and train others.

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DIVERSITYOverview/DefinedOverview/Defined

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DiversityDiversity is… is…

• a range of human perspectives, backgrounds, experiences, cultural values, beliefs, and practices.

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DiversityDiversity is… is…

• EVERYONE, because people differ from one another in many ways. The major dimensions of diversity can be categorized as primary and secondary dimensions. The primary dimensions are unalterable

and are extremely powerful in their effect. The secondary dimensions are important in

shaping us, but we have some measure of control over them.

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Diversity Diversity Brief skill-based trainingBrief skill-based training

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Dimensions of DiversityDimensions of DiversityPrimary or Secondary?Primary or Secondary?

• Gender • Religious Beliefs• Marital Status• Race• Parental Status• Ethnicity• Language

• Education

• Occupation• Physical Ability• Learning Ability

• Income• Sexual Orientation• Age• Geographic Location• Veteran Status

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Something to think about…• One in every 7 Americans speaks a language other

than English at home.• An estimated 2 to 10 percent of the population is

gay/lesbian.• People with disabilities make up the largest minority

group today at 15 percent of the U.S. population.• Currently in California, our most populous state,

Whites account for less than 50 percent of the state’s population.

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Why is Diversity Important?Why is Diversity Important?

More to think about…• Today, Whites represent about 70 percent of the

population. By the year 2050 approximately 50 percent of the U.S. population will be non-White.

• Shortly thereafter (by 2056), there will be no single majority group in this country. The United States will be composed of multiple minority groups.

• African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos will be the majority population in more than one-third of the nation’s 50 largest cities and five of the nation’s states.

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Why is Diversity Important?Why is Diversity Important?

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Brown and Blue Eyes

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CNN: Kids and Race

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Girl Like MeGirl Like Me

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Are You Straight?

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CultureCulture• What are some

examples of your cultural programming? – Think about the family or

personal beliefs or values you hold, or rituals you perform based on the cultural programming you received.

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Cultural ProgrammingCultural Programming

• “The marriage will be more successful if you say your vows while the clock is on the upside of the hour, not while it is on the downside of the hour.”

• “Your hair will grow back if you cut it on the full moon.”

• “You can’t teach an old dog. . .”• “Big boys don’t. . .” • “You can lead a horse to water, but. . .”

These commonly recognized statements represent cultural attitudes that are, in some cases, inaccurate.

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Cultural ProgrammingCultural Programming

• Read each word or phrase as it comes up. For each one, write down the first thought that comes to your mind. Don’t spend a lot of time thinking—just write down the first thing that comes to mind.

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• Politician • Homeless person• Lawyer• Black male teenager• Professor

• Police officer• Man in a wheelchair• Farmer• Californian• 300-pound woman

Some Common Some Common Automatic ResponsesAutomatic Responses

• Politician: liar, government, white male

• Lawyer: evasive, expensive, snake, someone who compromises

• Professor: absent-minded, intelligent, educator, lifelong learning

• Man in a wheelchair: weak, helpless, dependent, pity, suffering, asexual

• Californian: surfer, physically fit, blond, tan

• Homeless person: irresponsible, dangerous, drug and alcohol addict, unfortunate

• Black male teenager: good athlete, drug dealer

• Policeman: power hungry, helpful, trust, fine, beater/ abuser, risk-taker

• Farmer: hard worker, unsophisticated, country bumpkin, American

• 300-pound woman: motherly, lacking in discipline, lazy, greedy, unattractive, jolly

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Developing Diversity ProficiencyDeveloping Diversity Proficiency

• To help us move “off automatic” and begin to value differences, we need to develop Diversity Proficiency.

• Diversity Proficiency consists of four areas:– Awareness– Knowledge– Skills– Action or Behavior

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• Recognize staff and student differences as diversity rather than abnormal behavior or inappropriate responses to the environment.

• Respect the benefits of Job Corps staff’s and student’s diverse values and behaviors.

• Recognize your own ethnocentricity—the ways in which you stereotype, judge, and discriminate.

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AwarenessAwareness

• Understand the effect that historic distrust has on the present-day interactions of our staff and students.

• Recognize the similarities that are shared across the “human culture,” regardless of the differences.

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AwarenessAwareness

• Explore your family history and background.

• Learn factual information about other cultures and groups with different backgrounds represented on your Job Corps center.

• See a movie about other cultural lifestyles. Compare how you live your life to what you’ve seen on film.

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KnowledgeKnowledge

• Take personal responsibility for the way you respond to difference.

• Make continued and sincere attempts to understand the world from a staff or student point of view.

• Assist your center to look for ways to work effectively with diverse groups on center.

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SkillsSkills

• Develop and model problem-solving skills.

• Develop and model skills in conflict management.

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SkillsSkills

• Provide training to staff and students about cultural differences.

• Develop a mentoring relationship with someone from a different culture or identity group represented on your center.

• Show more patience when working and interacting with staff and students who have different learning styles than you.

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Action/BehaviorAction/Behavior

• Integrate diversity issues as an ongoing topic in your center staff meetings.

• Develop a personal plan for continued learning toward diversity competency based on the needs of your center.

• LEARN

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Action/BehaviorAction/Behavior

• Listen with empathy and understanding from the individual’s perspective

• Explain your perception of the issue

• Acknowledge and discuss the differences and similarities

• Recommend a solution

• Negotiate an agreement29

LEARNLEARN

• Diversity Competence requires that each Job Corps center has a clearly defined, congruent set of values and principles, and demonstrates behaviors, attitudes, policies, structures, and practices that enable the center staff to work effectively with diverse groups.

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Diversity Proficiency in Job CorpsDiversity Proficiency in Job Corps

• Physical• Cultural• Fear• Denial• Equity• Cost• Attitude

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What is greatest barrier to diversity? What is greatest barrier to diversity?

SUPPORTING DIVERSITYJob Corps InitiativesJob Corps Initiatives

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• Collaborative Relationships– Civil Rights Center (CRC)– Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)– Disability Navigators– Job Accommodation Network (JAN)– Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Supporting Diversity Supporting Diversity

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• Activities/Resources– Policy and Requirements Handbook (PRH)

• EO Officer and Programs• Diversity Coordinator• Required Diversity Training • Career Success Standards

– Multicultural Awareness Standard

– Webinars– Disability websites

• Job Corps Disability• Job Corps Learning Disability and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity• Cultural Competency Resources

Supporting Diversity Supporting Diversity

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Diversity ResourcesDiversity Resources

• Job Corps Community Website – Cultural Competency Resources– http://jcweb.jobcorps.org/EnglishLanguageLearning/

Pages/CulturalCompetencyCurriculum.aspx

• National Center for Cultural Competence– http://www.clcpa.info

• Smith, B., Miller; A. W., Archer, T., and Hague, C. Working with Diverse Cultures Fact sheet. CDFS-14. This is a publication of Ohio State University Extension. – http://ohioline.osu.edu/bc-fact/0014.html

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Diversity ResourcesDiversity Resources• Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity A Supplement to

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/cre/

• Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network http://www.glsen.org

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