anization
Diversity Organization
Robert McReynolds
University of Phoenix
Diversity Organization
For many years, Americans have held certain opinions concerning gender, sex, women, and sexual orientation. A definition of both gender and sex will be provided. The roles of women throughout American history will be discussed. When people think about masculinity and femininity, they have certain preconceived ideas. How these ideas contribute to the understanding gender, sex, and sexual orientation will be examined. Finally, the status of GLBT individuals will be explored. An increased understanding will be gained concerning these issues.
Gender and Sex
Gender can be defined as an individual’s feelings of being either male or female
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Persecution of these individuals has been around in this country since shortly after America was discovered in 1492 by Columbus. In 1566 the first execution for same-sex activities occurred in what is now Florida by the Spanish ("LGBT History in the United States: A Timeline" [LCBT], 2014). In 1778 the American Army discharged Gotthold Enslin for sodomy. Even the term “homosexual” has been around since 1869 when psychologist Karoly Maria Benkert developed it. Then in 1924 The Society for Human Rights was organized and has been recognized as the first gay rights organization in America (LCBT, 2014). Another blow against the gay community came in 1953 when newly elected President Dwight Eisenhower, through executive order 10450, banned employment of gays by the government (LCBT, 2014). In 1973 The American Psychiatric Association ended a century of attempting to cure homosexuality by taking it out of the DSM. After 29 years, Wisconsin became the first state to ban employment discrimination due to sexual orientation in 1982. The sitcom Will and Grace was first aired in 1998 and put the gay lifestyle in the mainstream spotlight. This program helped get the LGBT community the much needed attention it needed and shed a positive light on this style of living. Then in 2004 Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same sex marriage (LCBT, 2014). Although still discriminated against in many areas today, acceptance has come a long way.
The purpose of this paper is designed to introduce, educate, and promote diversity within your company. Your company will be shown the merits of diversity and how diversity within your organization can be a benefit. This paper will be broken down into three main areas: Benefits of Diversity, Challenges of Diversity, and Recommendations for an effective diversity within your organization..
Many people from the United States hold the belief that being gay is something that has always been considered to be okay. They believe that it is just a given. Despite people’s current beliefs on the subject, for a very long time, it was something that was widely believed to be taboo. In the past, people were imprisoned due to their sexuality. Regardless, throughout the decades, people have pushed for the widespread acceptance of people who are part of the LGBT community. Today, homophobia still exists in some parts of the United States, but we have come a long way since the early 1900s.
Ideas about sex, gender and homosexuality have been changing rapidly over the past several decades in the United States. There are several obvious reasons for this. The primary one is legal: various legal decisions by the United States Supreme Court have altered existing law on the subject of sex and homosexuality, and substantially affected matters of gender as expressed in law. But there has also been a social shift driven by medicine, largely based on response to the AIDS epidemic at its height in the 1980s and 1990s, but also in terms of other medical matters such as contraception and abortion.
During the 1980s, Wisconsin became the first state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation while Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions between same-sex couples in 2000. The first legal marriage in the US took place in 2004 in Massachusetts. But LGBT couples still did not have complete freedom throughout the country to marry the partner of their choice. California made same-sex marriage illegal in 2008 and the struggle continued till President Barack Obama became the
According to an opinion widely held, homosexuality is said to be freer today than ever before. It is present and visible everywhere: in the street, in the newspapers, on television, at the movies. It is even supposedly completely accepted, judging by the recent legislative advances made in many countries for the recognition of same sex couples. Certainly, some work remains necessary in order to eradicate the last vestiges of discrimination. But with changing public opinion, it will only be, according to some people, a matter of time, the time needed for a movement begun many decades earlier to achieve its goals.
Throughout most of history, women have endured so much. They almost always had fewer legal rights and career opportunities. The main professions tied to women were wifehood and motherhood. According to "Women's History in America" (1995), “Women were long considered naturally weaker than men, squeamish, and unable to perform work requiring muscular or intellectual development.” The common stereotype was “a woman’s place is in the home.” Women went through the struggles of not being able to get an education, voice their opinions, not having the right to vote, and being viewed as property.
In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people
Discussion of 2015 UNCF Diversity & Inclusion STEM (STEAM) Forum (Hosted at Hyatt New York)—closed a 3-year contract
I moved to California around one year and a half ago with my family. My parents decided to move here to give their daughters a better education and better opportunities. My parents are my biggest influence because they have helped me understand how important it is to work hard to achieve my goals. I learned that if I work for what I want, I can be very successful. My parents left their own house, land, jobs, and family just to give their daughters a chance to be successful in life. I think that seeing them give everything away just so that my sister and I can study and get our degrees is incredible. They have not only shown me to be independent and a hard working person, but they have taught me how to be considerate and selfless. I lived in
Diversity and inclusion are critical strategies for any organization that wants to be successful in business. Organizations cannot expect for diversity and inclusion to appear and work smoothly within the workplace automatically. Diversity and inclusion is a journey that companies must take to reap the rewards of being a truly global business. There are eight steps that organizations can apply to their workplace that will make diversity and inclusion a smooth and fun journey. Organizations can start the inclusion process by first learning the eight steps to inclusion in the workplace.
In the United States, the gay rights movement began much earlier. Dating back to 1924 the Society for Human Rights in Chicago, the earliest
Sex and gender play a big part in american society today and are often misconstrued. These two topics have become progressive as people are starting to express their gender and sexuality in ways other than what is and has been considered the norm. Many people believe that sexuality and gender are synonymous with one another. Gender is socially constructed while sex is biologically determined. In society’s past, Americans often strayed away from discussing controversial topics, but with the rise of different ways of addressing people, it is deemed more important to understand. Along with the blurred lines of gender and sex comes sexuality, who someone is attracted to sexually. When people stray from society’s heteronormative mindset, they are often faced with many more challenges than the average hetero man or woman. People often have the preconceived notion that if something does not concern them, then they should not be involved in it. A person who could be your neighbor, co worker, or even child, may have to deal with the troubles of people confusing their gender identity with their sex. While also facing challenges that deal with the sex of the person they choose to love. Learning the difference between gender and sexuality will open the eyes of many people and see how the two are different but relate to one another very much.
In the United States of America, 1.8 percent of men and 1.5 percent of women identify themselves as homosexuals (Volokh 1). This means that in a group of one hundred men, around two of them are homosexuals, and the same goes for women. The background regarding sexual orientation is vast, and a lot of different definitions of the concept have been introduced throughout time. Nevertheless, although homosexuality is fairly common in the United States, many people still misunderstand it. The different types of sexual orientations and their difference from other sexual-related terms, such as gender role and gender identity, are all confused by the general population. Sadly, even today, there are people that believe in a right or wrong sexual orientation. Moreover, the origins of sexual orientation are highly discussed and debated by the scientific community, with theories including biological and environmental explanations. The importance of such origins resides in the fact that this nature-nurture debate is capable of changing people’s perspectives towards homosexuality, and even though the media has done a great job by transforming any sex-related topic from a taboo to an acceptable conversation point, society still needs to grasp a lot about sexual orientation. Particularly, the fact that sexual orientation is a complex, largely misunderstood human characteristic resulting from a combination of biological and environmental factors that play an essential role in society’s
Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. Workplace diversity is about acknowledging differences and adapting work practices to create an inclusive environment in which diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds are valued. It is about understanding the individual differences in the people we work with that arise from a broad range of backgrounds and lifestyles, and recognizing the value of using those different perspectives, ideas and ways of working to enhance the quality and outcomes of work. Our diversity is shaped by a variety of characteristics including age, ethnicity, gender, disability, language,
Organizations have been becoming increasingly diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. This diversity brings substantial potential benefits such as better decision making, greater creativity and innovation, and more successful marketing to different types of customers. But, increasing cultural differences within a workforce also bring potential costs in higher turnovers, interpersonal conflicts, and communicational breakdowns. The utilities of diversity training and the essential managerial skills required for effectively managing diversity will also be discussed.