Author: Valerie Solomon

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Final Reflection

From the research complied from Unit 2, i had ultimately decided to continue focusing on the LGBTQ community. Fascinated by the amount of information I had been exposed to, I knew that likewise my fellow counterparts would have not known much about the information I had acquired. What surprised me the most was the statistics, the numbers that only amplified the change that needed to be made within our society. Although movements for more inclusion of the LGBTQ community have picked up attention and support, learning statistically how far we are from equality for all sexualities was eyeopening. Most certainly, I wanted to share these statistics with as many people as possible in a way that would capture the audience as much as it did for myself. I really focused on my rhetoric when pursuing this project/unit, really creating a piece that would strike a wide audience of people and not just target one demographic. I tried to implement some of the teachings from “They Say I Say” as I pulled for strong information that would impact someone whether or not they were part of the LGBTQ community.

From this work I learned a vast amount about the discrimination towards the LGBTQ community. Furthermore, I took away from this project the strength and value of writing structure. The suggestions made on the rough draft of my infographic allowed me to challenge myself to compile a project that had more power. My sentences were very wordy and too much for an audience to read and want to learn more about. I was then challenged to fixate on what fragments made the biggest impact and supported the overall premise of what I was trying to promote within the infographic. Before, I was prioritizing the amount of information on the infographic, and that later changed to prioritize the strength of the information I had. There is no debating that a statistic is a statistic, but for one to be strong it needs to sucker-punch the audience with a hit at the current reality to have them reconsider their stance and understanding of a topic. When addressing the audience I wanted this infographic to hit home in a way that was not blaming something or another, but instead was focused on a conversation about education. Sharing statistics that counter the common belief that the LGBTQ movement is on a way to equality, which is true it is just the road ahead is long and not as short as perceived by those who are not identifiers of the community.

I really took away from this assignment how to manage and prioritize what is going to push my point across. Instead of honing into what an educator or professor may want to see, I had to reconsider my audience and who I was writing for. This audience was not someone who overlooked the progression of the project or had any idea about the assignment, it would be people stumbling upon this on social media and feel inclined to share with others the staggering information on it. Looking forward into the future I definitely want to continue practicing the projection of my purpose to the audience and focusing on the goal of the project, and less on the progression and grade. Improving this mindset will only make my writing stronger as I pretend to write to my intended audience instead of writing for the approval of a professor.

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Final Project

While researching more about the discrimination faced by the LGBTQ community, it struck me how invisible this all was, especially for someone like myself who does not identify with the community directly. My audience is everyone, I think that this “invisible” discrimination is huge and needs to be spoken about more because sexuality has no color or ethnicity since anyone can identify as anything. My purpose is to educate others like myself, who were blind to how much discrimination the community faces, and to reach people of all ages I believe an infographic is the most direct way to reach such a wide variety of people.

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Rough Draft

This social media infographic would ultimately catch the attention of those who are not educated on the discrimination faced within the workplace for those who are part of the LGBTQ community. I would want the post to primarily be showing the statistics in a visual format that would captivate an audience of people. These posts could be shared around, spread through social media, as more become aware of the predicament our society is in. The primary purpose is to educate those who are not too familiar with this said discrimination, either they do not see it or do not fall victim to it.
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Discussion Week 7/27

From this increased use in social media to connect with others during these unprecedented times, it has come to my attention the sudden increase in social media infographics. One example that has really caught my attention is rather recent, I saw many of my female friends posting on their Instagram and Facebook pages a black and white picture of themselves with the hashtag or saying “challenge accepted”. I stumbled upon this infographic linked below, from the Instagram account @beelzeboobz who throughly explained the origin and meaning behind the black and white picture. The challenge was a way for women to raise their voice and stand in solidarity with the lives of women lost in Turkey due to femicides and murder. With this infographic, and plenty of others floating through social media, I appreciate the directness and call to action that all these posts seem to follow. The posts are not too lengthy, addressing the issue and further providing ways that others can relay the message. One flaw to this would be that there is only so much information that can be presented on these posts. This helped within my own development of a genre to write in as I want to create something similar, but I have come to find that it is the most impactful and striking information that are going to catch an audience’s eye therefore leading them to be curious about wanting to know more.
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Project Proposal

After intensely researching the hardships and discrimination that those in the LGBTQ community face, I want to further focus my research on the issue at hand. This kind of gender discrimination is not experienced by the masses, it is something that can be seen in plain sight, and to learn how this underlying discrimination continues was heartbreaking. Gender identity is not necessarily a physical aspect of an individual, there is no “dress-code” or “look” to someone who identifies as LGBTQ, although there are plenty of stereotypes embellished by the media. For the purpose of my research, I want to start a conversation educating others on the daily situations LGBTQ members find themselves in time and time again. This would be a conversational piece, something casual but that is also direct and brings different questions and thoughts to mind to further continue this long awaited discussion. With this text I want to share stories from LGBTQ members, as it is through experience where us humans learn best, from our mistakes we can re-evaluate what occurred and only grow from there. I hope with this text to not only accomplishing kickstarting this chat but also sharing some intimate stories of those just screaming to be heard. Social media is huge nowadays, and I think stories from advocates for or with the LGBTQ community is who I want the information to come from, so then from this post those who strongly connect to a story can go and follow that author and become an ally with the LGBTQ community.

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Discussion Week 7/20

  1. I decided to focus on “How to create a culture manifesto for your organization” article by Mollie West for the prompt. It was easy to identify how author Mollie West turned what she had learned about creating culture manifesto and turning it into something the reader can learn as well. Throughout the article she values and product breakdown of notable companies Etsy and Warby Parker as they were prime examples to display this culture manifesto she had learned. The audience, from my own understanding, is most likely individuals who are involved with business promotion or working to promote other non-profit organizations. The author is able to subsection each business and then target her understanding of how the said business was able to create their own culture manifesto. Providing evidence and bullet pointing key values and principles makes it easy for the audience to identify what draws consumers and the public in. I think the author made the article as organized as she did so the audience can then go back and easily be drawn to reread the values and reasons why the businesses Etsy and Warby Parker were able to develop and use these said values to bring in a consumer base. The organization of the article is extremely helpful, in my opinion, to guide the audience through each of the tactics the companies use to target and build their consumer base, without this organization of the process it takes to create this culture manifesto, it would be much harder to pull away from the reading the key factors as to what brought each company success.
  2. After focusing primarily on the LGBTQ community, I think it would be best to focus my research writing on the topic as well in regards to organizational culture. My target audience would be those who associate with the LGBTQ community and others who are advocates for them as well. This would involve educating not only the LGBTQ community members on the research I have learned, but also turning the research to implicate what others who do not identify as such should learn. The purpose of my research would be to advocate for lessening the heterosexual norm within the office, as it is stereotypically thought of as a straight male working in these environments. Promoting gender diversity would encompass not only women but others who identify as transgender, non-binary, etc. I think there are plenty of options when it comes to how I would encourage gender diversity in the workplace and this can range from individual work to group work, and even so with whole organization work. Most of the texts I want to look for are those who feel targeted or vulnerable in the workplace and what they have experienced. I am a strong believer of learning from past mistakes and taking those moments of ignorance and turning them into a learning lesson, this is primarily what I would try to do with these stories I find. I think what would be interesting is looking into social media outlets, and seeing what influencers or the public have shared with their own experience being a minority in the workplace. I want to get into a good amount of detail, really trying to elaborate and paint a picture for the reader so they can place themselves within these stories. I would prefer the texts not to be too long, but powerful enough that the reader remembers the detailed account read. My writing style I would aim for a casual conversation, because through so many articles authors demand a change but I think that this instead should be an ongoing conversation that implements the reader as well. My purpose is to educate the reader, inform them of what others experiences in a day to day setting in the workplace, it wouldn’t be a “blame game” per say where the reader or anyone who is heterosexual is at fault because this gender discrimination is not experienced by everyone. My citations would be quoted such as “ – John Doe, 20, non-binary” so then the reader can better understand who is telling this story and where do they fall in terms of in the LGBTQ community.
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Discussion Week 7/6

1. One of the most fascinating sources I stumbled upon when researching was the article “Action need on LGBTQ Diversity” by Dexter Morse, focusing primarily on improving diversity amongst genders within the airline industry. Morse’s call to action is creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace for those who are discriminated against for their sexuality, this pertaining to many who identify as anything other than heterosexual. The article begins with showing the United States’s delay on bringing this inclusion to airlines, as other countries have implemented federal laws to protect discriminated employees. Other countries have taken immediate action to introduce laws and regulations that make it illegal to sexuality as a reason to discriminate between employees, and therefore allow all to be hired no matter what they identify with in terms of their sexuality. Morse reports from his own findings, that sadly “… more than 53% of LGBTQ workers hide their identity at the workplace”; proving that there is still plenty of action to be taken to bring this number down drastically. Although all members of the LGBTQ community are affected, those who identify as transgender face the most discrimination as “…27% of the transgender population said they were not hired, were fired or were not promoted as a result of their gender identity or expression”. Moving into tying LGBTQ inclusivity with the airline industry, Morse mentions the steps airlines such as American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, and Emirates have taken to improve upon their gender diversity within the companies. In addition, Morse connects the dots together to conclude the article with ways to raise awareness for this discrimination and how companies should utilize their business ventures to improve upon this issue at hand. 
 
Overall this article is beyond beneficial, providing evidence and statistics that are easy to visualize to better understand the exclusivity in terms of gender within big time companies. Focusing on the improvements airlines have made to incorporate a more gender-diverse workforce was also interesting, as these findings were specific to Dexter Morse’s article and not found in other articles I read. I think this source is extremely beneficial in terms of providing statistics that are worthwhile, each statistical number having enough weight to hit readers and those educating themselves on the issue how drastic this needs to be changed. Morse also provided some examples of policies and laws that have been made in response to improving on gender-diversity, and also improving the benefits that those who identify with the LGBTQ community. 

 

2. One of the responses that really hit home for me was subtitled “A Lack of Privacy makes Anxiety Worse”. As someone who suffers from anxiety from time to time, I found it especially personal to read the response as it corresponded with how I would also feel if placed within an open layout office. Immediately as the start of the response, the writer opens with an illustration of what this office is like. I believe that this is crucial in understanding the rest of her response as you can visualize what working in the environment must have like. Visualizing these hiding spots the girls within the company, only of which there were three, was heartbreaking as they had to leave the office to find some sort of calm and peace. I think that from this I was able to illustrate a point I would want to make, that being the importance of mental health within the workplace and how it corresponds to the quality of the work performed. I was intrigued to find out that the writer did explain to the company through her exiting letter the toll that the office space took on her, but I was also appalled that she did not have a response or anything to say on whether or not the company improved upon this response to the environment they had created for their employees.

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Research Proposal

I believe the guiding question to my own research will stem from the overarching question of “How can society improve the feelings of inclusion to LGBTQ community employees and overall gender diversity within the workplace?”. I myself am not a member of the LGBTQ community, as I am a heterosexual female, but I feel as though this is an area of inclusion that needs to be improved on as soon as possible. Gender identity is not always a visible distinguishing characteristic of an individual, many do not feel as though they are in workplaces that would accept their gender identity so they feel as though they should repress it. Unlike race and ethnicity, gender identity does not have a color or specific physical characteristics, it instead is an identifier that an individual chooses for themselves as they best see fit. Through extensive research with providing inclusive working environments for those who identify with the LGTBQ community, I hope to find a few things. For one, I would definitely want to better understand the discrimination those face when pressed with judgements of gender. I think it is essential as a heterosexual female, who does not face discreet discrimination when it comes to my gender, to understand what hardships those who experience backlash for their identity face and how it intervenes within their daily lives. I am also curious to see what action has started to take place in businesses to help improve this inclusion for those of all gender identifications. As a society, we have taken big leaps to provide such inclusion for the LGBTQ community such as legalizing marriage for those of any gender and being able to enlist any gender into the military, but we are still years away from providing the LGBTQ community with the inclusion and respect they deserve. Out of all subfields, I think it is the most beneficial to focus on the business aspect and how LGBTQ community members are treated as employees. Money makes the world go round, and to earn money you need a job; but if the job entails facing explicit discrimination, who would feel comfortable going into a working environment feeling belittled and threatened constantly? I hope to find some evidence of businesses working on improving their gender diversity within their respected companies/organizations, and I also hope to stumble upon some accounts of experiences from members of LGBTQ community have gone through when it comes to inclusion at work. It is hard to grasp something that you may not experience personally, from this I want to gain a better understanding of the LGBTQ community as an ally.

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Discussion Week 6/29

1. I think one of the most significant contributions Wong made to our ongoing conversation of diversity is found in her section about “Equity vs Equality” (page 27 to 28). The paragraph was very eyeopening for myself when considering the conversation currently focusing on inclusion. A key point Wong made, that I never really considered, is that treating everyone the same would result in more inequality as everyone has different needs. It is to recognize those different needs employees have to ensure everyone is supported, helping to increase feelings of inclusivity because no everyone is the same. Her metaphor of running shoes and runners in a race was a great way to represent visually what she is saying: not everyone is the same shoe size, but all the runners should have a tailored shoe to help them run the best. This can be used when treating employees too, as every employee would have different needs butt if they are all met with the same urgency and respect then all the employees would be able to perform their best. I think highlighting this need for different levels of treatment is crucial, because no one is a carbon copy of the other. Some employees may need more support than others, but making that need for support a priority is what will change the work environment, providing more resources and care. Connecting this further with our ongoing conversation of inclusion while also promoting diversity, this comes to show that giving those what they specifically need will only improve a company. 
2. Wong utilizes the use of “connecting the parts” throughout the entire article, as she seamlessly flows from one topic of conversation to another through her subtitles and subheadings. One instance of this is is her transition into the subheading of “Starting with Better Questions” as Wong  transitions from providing the context of the situation, this being shifting the workplace environment, to starting the conversation about how to challenge the initiative to shift the workplace. Using the word “approaching” to begin the paragraph is a transition word as she elaborates more on how to shift these misunderstood issues with inclusion. Following in her next sentence, Wong uses the pointer word “it” claiming that understanding the backdrop of these inequities in the workplace can shift the questions used to “guide and inform” those who have trouble understanding means of inclusion. Repeated use of the word inequities highlights that it is the main issue at hand, that there are discrepancies when it comes to how different demographics of employees are treated. She continues to use the idea of repeating the phrase yourself but with a difference, as she further contends to changing the wording and meaning behind questions that challenge the issues of inequity in the workplace.