DIVERSITY
“In this diverse world we are still living beings with feelings. Just as plants and animals, we are part of the earth, we accept ourselves with our differences, which we recognize as part of our identity.”
Theoretical Background
Wellner (2000) conceptualized diversity as representing a multitude of individual differences and similarities that exist among people. Diversity refers to the great variety of human characteristics (gender, origin, culture, language, sexual orientation, skills, etc.) in which we are different even though we are all human and share more similarities than differences. Diversity tends to involve things that significantly affect the perception that people who think they are the “norm”’ have of others. However, it is important to consider that diversity does not involve just other people, and that we are as different to other people as they are to us (EDUC 1300).
We must consider that the dimensions listed above do not exist independently and for this same reason they cannot describe an individual, community, or population alone. The interaction of the dimensions which are part of someone’s identity is referred to as intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989). Intersectionality focuses on how the dimensions can overlap and give rise to different experiences as well as multiple privileges or inequities.
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 139-168.
EDUC 1300: Effective Learning Strategies. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/austincc-learningframeworks/chapter/chapter-17-diversity-and-cultural-competency/#return-footnote-81-1
Wellner, A. (2000). “How do you spell diversity?” Training, vol. 37, 2000, pp. 34-38.
