A Letter From The Fringe By Joan Bauer

”Diversity is about all us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.”  Was stated by Jacqueline Woodson and is referred to millions of people from different religion, culture, color, etc. Diversity is just like a one of the most important spice in food . If there is no diversity than life will be so boring. Not everyone in a family has the same likes and dislikes; everyone is unique either by behavior or lifestyle or thoughts.

As humans, we have a connection to people of the world based solely on our physical and chemical makeup of being a living, breathing human being. These bonds are almost instinctual; Being humans is something that we all relate too and experience every day, some experiences differ from others, but all needs are similar. We as people of this earth depend on human connections and interactions to fulfill our need for emotional well-being. There are many different versions of this relationship we seek, some stemming from blood connections like family or even just strangers that we have a common interest with. However, what connects more people than all others I believe is what we call culture.

Diversity in the united state has been extended to a broader understanding of what diversity really means. Diversity first meaning is that positions should not be segregated by gender. For example a board of directors should have women on the board and there should be a male as the receptionists. Next be the diversity of wide range of ethnicities like Asian, Hispanics, etc., religions national origins, class. For example people from poor and rich should both be represented.

What is Diversity? Diversity 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 dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.

Diversity is Everywhere It is important to understand that the understanding of diversity is about much more than just being open-minded towards others and avoiding judgment or stereotyping. America prides itself on the values of freedom, equality, and respect of human dignity. Cultural diversity reinforces the idea that every person can make a unique and positive influence on society because of their differences. We need to make the world a place where diversity is celebrated; acknowledged and respected; contributions from all groups are encouraged; various cultural ideas are accepted and valued; differences are admired; and people are empowered to achieve their full potential.

Diversity breaks up every person in the world all up into groups and it affect us all in everyday life. Diversity separates us all by Color of skin, Religion, Age, Gender, Nationality, Language, Major and the list goes on. It affects me on the daily basis like my major in college so I 'm put in a certain class. My color of my skin divides me into another group. No matter what we do or say Diversity will always affect us daily and you can never escape

When I think of the word “diversity” I think of variety or an assortment of many different things. Diversity adds a lot of values to a college education for many reasons. For example, diversity is shown in school in many ways like the different kinds of classes you can take such as a language class, science, math or English, etc., teachers also have many different variety’s like the teacher you choose, the way that they teach, the subject, also the many different types of clubs show how the club itself and the schools diversity. All these things add value to a college education because it shows the many different options that a person has, it also shows how each one is different and that you can expand yourself and your education.

How does one define diversity? Diversity to me is how one individual is different from another. This includes your gender, religion, race, ethnicity, physical abilities, and socio-economic status. We are different from one another but should all be treated equally with respect. Working in a male dominated organization I have been able to witness the firsthand realities of how female employees are treated.

Diversity can be defined as a point or respect in which things differ. It is an understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences. The areas of diversity that we focused on are gender, cultural background and age. Diversity plays an important role in leadership and team roles. Rauch & Behling (1984), define leadership as “the process of influencing the activities of an organized group toward goal achievement.”

Diversity can mean many things. The definition itself is a form of diversity. However, it means the differences a group of people or even countries. Diversity can be grouped by human context, business context and the list goes on. In this day and age, harmony within diversity has an important role to play.