Answer the following questions given below.

Answers should not less than 100

words each.

1. Define diversity and its significance.

- The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means
understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences.
These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-
economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other
ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing
environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance
to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each
individual.
Diversity is a reality created by individuals and groups from a broad spectrum of
demographic and philosophical differences. It is extremely important to support and
protect diversity because by valuing individuals and groups free from prejudice and by
fostering a climate where equity and mutual respect are intrinsic, we will create a
success-oriented, cooperative, and caring community that draws intellectual strength
and produces innovative solutions from the synergy of its people.
"Diversity" means more than just acknowledging and/or tolerating difference.
Diversity is a set of conscious practices that involve:
 Understanding and appreciating interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the
natural environment.
 Practicing mutual respect for qualities and experiences that are different from our
own.
 Understanding that diversity includes not only ways of being but also ways of
knowing;
 Recognizing that personal, cultural and institutionalized discrimination creates
and sustains privileges for some while creating and sustaining disadvantages for
others;
 Building alliances across differences so that we can work together to eradicate all
forms of discrimination.
Diversity includes, therefore, knowing how to relate to those qualities and
conditions that are different from our own and outside the groups to which we belong,
yet are present in other individuals and groups. These include but are not limited to age,
ethnicity, class, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, as well as
religious status, gender expression, educational background, geographical location,
income, marital status, parental status, and work experiences. Finally, we acknowledge
that categories of difference are not always fixed but also can be fluid, we respect
individual rights to self-identification, and we recognize that no one culture is intrinsically
superior to another.

2. Discuss the dilemma of diversity.

The dilemma of diversity is the tension between the values of economic equality
and diversity can be found throughout the world, and yet it rarely is recognized by
scholars, partly because it deals with the sensitive area of culture and poverty. This
article will focus on where this tension comes from, how and where it is expressed both
worldwide and in the United States, and why anthropologists and sociologists neglect it.
The tension expresses itself in predicaments in contexts ranging from government
policy to the workings of local antipoverty nonprofits, often confounding attempts to deal
with the issue of inequality. The issue is neglected for a number of reasons, including
the preferred narratives of poverty scholars and their assumptions about human
aspiration and fault. Instead, I argue for better attention to the complexities of human
action, culture, and agency in order to understand poverty and inequality.
3. Research and discuss Loden's Diversity Wheel.
The original version of the Diversity Wheel appeared in Marilyn Loden and Judy
Rosener's book, Workforce America! Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource.
A second version was published in Loden's 1996 book, Implementing Diversity. In this
version, Loden added four identifiers to the secondary circle: first language, family
status, work style, and communication style. Many of these additions were already
implicit in the original model, but Loden chose to make them more explicit in the second
version. First language was the only modification that was not included in the original
model.
In the 1990s, according to Loden, many people wanted to minimize the impact of
race and gender and focus more on diversity of thought. But Loden remained convinced
that these two dimensions of diversity were still very important and should not be
glossed over or minimized in diversity discussions. In developing the model, Loden has
always believed it was more important to emphasize key group-based differences that
are present and powerful throughout people's lives. She chose to emphasize the
differences that often lead to frustration, suspicion and conflict when they are not
understood or acknowledged.
Loden wanted the model to be empowering, so that someone could say, "I want
to talk about race and the impact it has on my opportunities in this organization." Or
women could point to their gender and the impact it may have on their voice and how
they are heard in the organization. Loden's depiction of important group-based
differences was the Diversity Wheel, a model that pointed to what is core to our social
identities, the ways in which people derive a sense of self when identifying with certain
groups. The wheel consists of what she called primary, or core, and secondary
dimensions of diversity. The categories suggest how much influence these differences
exert on a person's beliefs, expectations and life experience.
She described the primary, core dimensions as the most powerful and sustaining
differences, ones that usually have an important impact on us throughout our lives. In
the original model, Loden presented six primary dimensions that help shape our basic
self-image and our worldviews: age, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race,
and sexual orientation. She defined the secondary dimensions as other important
differences that are acquired later in life and presumably have less influence in defining
who we are. "They are more mutable differences that we acquire, discard, and/or modify
throughout our lives," Loden states. In the original model, the secondary dimensions
included: educational background, income, marital status, work experience, military
experience, religion and geographic location.
Loden has made several changes to her Diversity Wheel model since the original
publication in 1991. While most of the latest additions were implicit in the earlier
versions, Loden decided that several needed further emphasis in order to validate the
experiences of people who felt that these issues were more central to their core
identities.
 Loden's first piece of advice to people using the model is to open up the diversity
conversation so that everyone at the table can identify with some dimensions. "The goal
for an organization is to create an environment where, regardless of one's diversity
profile, everyone feels welcomed and where everyone's skills are leveraged. Loden
explains. "The Diversity Wheel is useful in explaining how group-based differences
contribute to individual identities."
Loden defines RICR as:
•RESPECT: treating others as they wish to be treated;
•INCLUSION: making certain everyone on the team is truly a part of the team decision-
making process;
•COOPERATION: actively helping others succeed rather than competing or attempting
to one-up someone;
•RESPONSIBILITY: managing personal behavior to maintain a diversity-positive
environment and questioning inappropriate behavior when it occurs