1)
In the reading, Cori Wong brought up several proposals that would promote inclusivity,equity and diversity in the a workplace. One contribution that she has made which stood out to me in particular can be found on page 2 under the section “Starting With Better Questions”. Wong states ” Asking ‘Who else could we bring on board?’ risks tokenizing different identities by treating diversity as merely a numbers issue”. As Wong further expanded on this statement it became more apparent the message that she was trying to convey was. Wong explains that this question essentially makes it seem as though an organization can increase their diversity if they bring in more people from marginalized groups. Wong then further explains that what these organizations should be doing is focusing on making the environment more inclusive so that these people can have a better chance at being successful. To rectify this, Wong suggests that organizations focus on the question of “Who is not represented at the proverbial table?” as a way to uncover and examine any aspects of the organization’s culture which may be excluding some people, and focus on fixing this. I think this stood out to me because it relates to what I’ve been researching for the past week , I think this has given me some better insight into the difference between diversity and inclusion as well as the effect when one is present without the other.
2) In Wongs writing, I noticed that she connected her paragraphs by using “while”,”for example”, or referencing something that was brought up in the previous paragraph to show that they are connected. This is seen on the first page under “Context:Social Inequities and Organizational Culture” when she begins the first paragraph by mentioning that workplaces reflect inequities that are found at larger scale in the culture. Wong connects the next paragraph by stating ” for example, gaps in pay equity among men a women are the result of gender bias…”. She provided an example of what she mentioned in paragraph 1. this is also seen on page 2 when Wong writes in the previous paragraph about the meaning of diversity and then in to connect the next paragraph she states ” While diversity often refers to representation of culture, inclusion refers to …”. I think her transitions matter greatly in her piece because it shows that her writing is very put together and organized.
My highlight last week was that I finished my calculus course after six stressful weeks, another highlight was yesterday when I went to New Jersey and hung out with some of my family to celebrate Eid.
Hi Oumou,
I also appreciated Ms. Wong pointing out that companies must resist the urge to tokenize people by hiring diverse people only for diversity’s sake. In my experience, employing a certain number of a certain group of people does not lead to those people feeling included in workplace culture. One of the best ways to be inclusive of marginalized people is to promote them into leadership positions where they can be both a role model and be empowered to make cultural changes.
On another note, I’m glad you made it through calculus!
Hi Oumou,
The more articles I read about diversity and inclusion like Cori Wong’s, the more I see the complexity of the issue and realize that there is no easy way to fix the problems. As you point out, companies can have the right intentions by eagerly looking for diverse people to bring on board, but that might come at a cost of “tokenizing” people. I don’t think anyone feels good about being the token employee. Even when Wong says that organizations should focus on making the environment more inclusive, the word “environment” is too broad in my opinion. The environment is made up of other people and people’s behaviors and pre-existing beliefs are hard to change. Nice job pointing out Wong’s use of transition phrases and moves. She definitely uses a lot of them. And congrats on finishing your calculus course!
You raise a valuable point here, Oumou–a key part of Wong’s contribution is that she suggests new questions to ask. Sometimes that’s what effective analysis is all about, asking questions (not just answering them).
Glad you were able to celebrate with family–Eid Mubarak! And to make it through calculus calls for extra celebration. Good for you!