Diversity
In a sense, I don't understand diversity at all.
I mean, I've been to the diversity training our company sponsors - which for management is a two day odyssey.
Yet, on the other hand, I don't see where diversity comes in.
Now, two points are worth bringing up here. First, the company I work for is on the Diversity 100 list of most diverse companies to work for. Second, I worked for 10 years in IT infrastructure.
The second is relevant since IT infrastructure is the stronghold of the geek. Specifically, the white male geek. Of the 70 or so people in our area, there were 3 women and 5 or so non-whites.
The IT department as a whole is significantly more diverse (about 2/3rds male and 2/3rds white).
Nevertheless, this whole diversity thing confuses me.
In theory, what diversity does is allows for different viewpoints which gives us an appreciation of different people and different points of view.
I get that, but... to me, successful people share the same values. While I'm not sure if there is a set of cultural values that include sleeping late among them, successful people get into work early. It's one of those corporate culture things. By the way, if you do know of said culture, I'd be interested in joining it, getting up at 4:30 is just not fun at all.
While a corporation may say it values work/life balance and spending time with your family and the like, when you start competing for promotions, the person who puts work first is the person who is going to have an edge. All other things being equal of course. Which they never really are, but that's another story.
And no matter how much people try and pretend there's not a 'mommy track', a three month maternity leave is going to put a damper on a career. Enough so that a lot of women who take some time off often either don't come back or don't stay when they do come back.
Now, I'm not sure how much we've gained as a society by having both parents work so for that and other reasons, I'm in favor of stay at home parents.
Anyway, diversity. If diversity is really just hiring people who share the same (work) values as you regardless of gender, skin color, whatever, how is that being diverse really?
Or, to put the question another way, what different perspectives or values are we supposed to be encouraging or seeing via diversity?
I mean, I've been to the diversity training our company sponsors - which for management is a two day odyssey.
Yet, on the other hand, I don't see where diversity comes in.
Now, two points are worth bringing up here. First, the company I work for is on the Diversity 100 list of most diverse companies to work for. Second, I worked for 10 years in IT infrastructure.
The second is relevant since IT infrastructure is the stronghold of the geek. Specifically, the white male geek. Of the 70 or so people in our area, there were 3 women and 5 or so non-whites.
The IT department as a whole is significantly more diverse (about 2/3rds male and 2/3rds white).
Nevertheless, this whole diversity thing confuses me.
In theory, what diversity does is allows for different viewpoints which gives us an appreciation of different people and different points of view.
I get that, but... to me, successful people share the same values. While I'm not sure if there is a set of cultural values that include sleeping late among them, successful people get into work early. It's one of those corporate culture things. By the way, if you do know of said culture, I'd be interested in joining it, getting up at 4:30 is just not fun at all.
While a corporation may say it values work/life balance and spending time with your family and the like, when you start competing for promotions, the person who puts work first is the person who is going to have an edge. All other things being equal of course. Which they never really are, but that's another story.
And no matter how much people try and pretend there's not a 'mommy track', a three month maternity leave is going to put a damper on a career. Enough so that a lot of women who take some time off often either don't come back or don't stay when they do come back.
Now, I'm not sure how much we've gained as a society by having both parents work so for that and other reasons, I'm in favor of stay at home parents.
Anyway, diversity. If diversity is really just hiring people who share the same (work) values as you regardless of gender, skin color, whatever, how is that being diverse really?
Or, to put the question another way, what different perspectives or values are we supposed to be encouraging or seeing via diversity?