Austin and Pisano’s book on the importance of the employment and potentials of neurodiverse individuals opened another door to the diversity issue that goes beyond gender and race. In the very beginning of the book, the authors used the example of a man who is part of the autism spectrum, with extraordinary skills in the IT department, yet he suffers from lack of employment for a long time due to his behavior not accepted in the communication-normative environment of large corporations. Austin and Pisano also showed how larger tech companies such as Microsoft have already begun neurodiversity hires with great success, and that what they bring to the workplace includes sets of skills that the “neuro-normal” person do not have.
Tag: weekof6/21
Discussion Questions Week 3
Response #1
I will definitely want to look into the lack of diversity in the history department as well as history curriculum. History classes in general are very Eurocentric and while the US is a global player, the historical content on African and Asian history is significantly lacking. The sources that I will pick are journal articles, mainly dealing with education and previous examples of diversity in history. Since the topic is so specific, I will mainly search for articles written by historians. For the tools that I will use, I think that I will try to go for the SU student library.
Response #2
Kaplan and Donovan’s views are that the intention of diversity hire matters, while Austin and Pisano’s writings emphasizes the action itself. Personally, I find that one cannot escape from the other. I believe that the act itself does not come into fruition until the will to act upon it is there. If your intention is to merely look better in terms of equality hire due to pressure or you only hire a very specific minority group because of your assumptions, then the whole idea of diversity hire is not in the right place.
History lessons: inequality, diversity and the national curriculum
The sense of belonging of an individual coming from an ethnic minority background is usually quite complex in their newly adopted country, and Claire Alexander and Debbie Weekes-Bernard present the obstacles that Britain faces with their introduction of their new curriculum. In 2014, the revised history curriculum became a controversial issue due to what many perceived as a nationalistic and ethnocentric take on the long history of Britain. This was mainly reflected by the receivers of this curriculum, the student population, being increasingly diverse. Statistics have shown that in the UK, students from Indian and Chinese backgrounds consistently outperform native White British students academically, and that demographically speaking, around 20% of England and Wales’s population are of non-White British minority backgrounds. When the British government is trying to create a sense of belonging for the younger population, is it the right choice to solely focus on the past of the native population? Over the course of Britain’s history, it went from a Celtic island conquered by continental Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons, went through a Latinization process with the Norman Invasion of 1066, and created the largest empire in history encompassing most of North America, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. This means that when students learn about the legacy of the British Empire, instead of just the minority the native British became in this commonwealth, the students should learn about the contributions and affects the colonized African and Asian populations created for the empire.
Alexander, C., & Weekes-Bernard, D. (2017). History lessons: Inequality, diversity and the national curriculum. Race Ethnicity and Education, 20(4), 478–494. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2017.1294571
The Association Between Unemployment Status and Physical Health Among Veterans and Civilians in the United States
“The association between unemployment status and physical health among veterans and civilians in the United States” by Than V. Tran, Julie Canfield, & Keith Chan reflects on the high rate of unemployment amongst veterans and proposes positive change through public health policies and programs. This article focuses mainly on the health effects of long-term unemployment and their impact on the veteran community. Tran, Cainfield, and Keith use the connection between unemployment and poor physical health as justification for an increase in programs geared towards easing the transition from the military to the workforce. The authors present the creation of said programs as favorable to “not only the veterans themselves but for their families, communities, and the greater society at large” Although the authors seem to push the idea of creating programs for veterans, there is also a strong importance placed on furthering research behind the trend in order to “raise public awareness of these health issues, and provide insights into critical questions on how best to develop effective reintegration programs for veterans”. I believe that this article draws parallels between the ideas of both “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” and “The impact of organizational diversity policies on minority employees’ leadership self-perceptions and goals” by taking the motivation for change that the Gundemir et al article has and connecting it with the philosophy behind the Austin & Pisano text.
Reference:
Tran, T. V., Canfield, J., & Chan, K. (2016). The association between unemployment status and physical health among veterans and civilians in the United States. Social Work in Health Care, 55(9), 720–731. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2016.1191582
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00981389.2016.1191582
Algorithm-Driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination?
Algorithm-Driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination? By Lydia X. Z. Brown, Ridhi Shetty and Michelle Richardson, presents us with a compelling report on the consequences AI based assessments have on employment of the disabled. Many of us revel in all the latest advancements in technology. We think the more tech, the better. Brown, et al., however, immediately set about clearing up any misconceptions we may have had about the neutrality and fairness of artificial intelligence-based hiring tests. We are treated to an informative and eye-opening breakdown of all the different types of tools and tests currently being used for hiring. Although it is not expressly noted by Brown, who is autistic and an expert on disability rights and algorithmic fairness, it is clear neurodivergent employment candidates have a high potential for being discriminated against via these tests. The authors also make certain to share with us that many employers do not realize how biased these tests can be. Hence, Brown, et al., spend a great deal of time pointing out the numerous ways an employer could be held liable for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As such, this report proves to be a valuable resource for self-advocates and employers alike.
Source:
Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm
Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm written by Hanna Bertilsdotter an associate professor in sociology ,Nick Chown a book indexer who researches and documents his findings on Autism , and Anna Stenning a welcome trust research fellow in humanities and social sciences at the University of Leeds, explores the world of Neurodiverse people and the challenges they face in the workplace. Through their extensive research the authors have been able to maintain their stance of supporting the “Neurodiverse movement”. They reiterate throughout their writing that neurodiverse people, no matter how qualified they may be, face many obstacles when searching for employment. There has been evidence from the PARC, an organization which collects research on autistic people that has shown that even when a person with autism holds a doctorates, they are rarely able progress to further research and lecturing contracts. The writers attribute this to the invalidation of “impaired bodies” making neurodiverse people constantly struggle to establish credibility due to the ableist view point prevalent in society today. It was also mentioned that when a study was conducted, many neurodiverse employees have admitted that they have been in situations in the workplace where in order for them to fit in they felt that it was necessary that they mask any characteristics that might indicate to others that there were different. The writers contend that in order for this to be rectified, there must be an emphasis on inclusion in these spaces so these employees can feel safe and work their best.
source:
Strategic Diversity Leadership: The Role of Senior Leaders in Delivering the Diversity Dividend
In “Strategic Diversity Leadership: The Role of Senior Leaders in Delivering the Diversity Dividend,” Luis Martins proposes a new way of linking diversity and inclusion efforts to an organization’s performance through a framework he calls “strategic diversity leadership.” As a professor and chair of the management department at The University of Texas at Austin, Martins is an expert on innovation, change, and performance. He defines strategic diversity leadership as “the shaping of the meaning of diversity within an organization by the organization’s senior leaders” (Martins 1194). What sets his framework apart from prior studies in this area is the idea that supervisory managers can only do so much if the organization’s top executives do not lead the way. Because of they hold positions of authority, top executives have both the platform and the responsibility for unleashing the benefits of a diverse workforce. He argues that these senior leaders must use the power of communication to establish a vision for diversity and inclusion and articulate that the “current state is unacceptable” (Martins 1198). They must also participate in public activities that promote diversity and inclusion, including rituals and ceremonies. In other words, top executives must symbolize the value of diversity and inclusion through their words and actions. By doing so, their internal and external stakeholders will follow their lead and the organization will realize the diversity dividend.
Martins, Luis L. “Strategic Diversity Leadership: The Role of Senior Leaders in Delivering the Diversity Dividend.” Journal of Management, 1 September 2020, pp. 1191-1204, https://doi-org.libezproxy2.syr.edu/10.1177/0149206320939641.
Reproducing inequity: the role of race in the business school faculty search
In Reproducing inequity: the role of race in the business school faculty search, Grier, a professor of marketing at American University, and Poole, a professor at the University of San Francisco examines diversity in business schools, why groups are underrepresented, and presents a qualitative study using the Critical Race Theory to examine components of race. The scholarly article dives deeper into five components of CRT analyzing why there is not a proportionate number of diverse faculty members to students. This includes: unchanged race and lasting racism, the interconnected nature of race with forms of subordination, the idea of one dominant ideology, experiential knowledge, and commitment to social justice. Grier also speaks about how many business schools only care about the ‘best athlete’ construct, where only outputs matter. Schools often do not take into account extra duties (inputs) of underrepresented minorities including mentoring diverse students and serving as token members in hiring committees. The article also illustrates that in order to be successful in promoting diversity, enthusiasm and promotion of diversity needs to come from everyone. Grier and Poole hope that the conversation on diversity in business schools continues through other scholars evaluating and promoting diversity within their own business schools.
Sonya A. Grier & Sonja Martin Poole (2020) Reproducing inequity: the role of race in the business school faculty search, Journal of Marketing Management, 36:13-14, 1190-1222, DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2020.1800796
Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2020.1800796
Alternate link to article (PDF): https://www-tandfonline-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/doi/pdf/10.1080/0267257X.2020.1800796?needAccess=true
Discussion Questions Week of 6/21
Question 1
In anticipation of “expanding the canon” I started my research at the SU library with the intent of using some of the filters to narrow my search. This resources has been advantages in its ability to gather relevant texts that can I pull from in order to form a well rounded claim. The phrase that provided the best search results in support of my topic was “veterans and unemployment”. Many veterans find it difficult if not impossible to find employment after joining the military as a result of the trauma they faced while serving. Being that the readings we have covered thus far have taken the ideas of organizational culture/ diversity and presented them with respect to a wide variety of people, I believe the topic of unemployment amongst veterans will highlight the intersectionality between these concepts. Moving forward, I plan on pulling articles that express the ideas of not only the veterans but of those who have influence in the hiring process and members of human resources departments at companies who strive to make an impact on the veteran unemployment rate.
Question 2
In “The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Off” by Kaplan and Donovan, they express the difference between intention and action surrounding the topic of diversity. They make claims on how the vision of diversity in the mind can come to fruition in a way that does not reflect the true intent of the person who made those actions. Whereas in “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” by Austin and Pisano they reflect more on the change that needs to be made regarding diversity and organizational leadership rather than the though process behind it.
In this week’s they say/ I say I was more comfortable with comparing the ideas of the two texts. This is due to the amount of practice I had with understanding the stances of each author separately and then comparing them throughout last week’s assignments. These templates have helped me understand my own beliefs through the analysis and comparison of the author’s own points of view.
A quick(ish) note on this week’s work and what we’re trying to do here
As you’ve probably noticed, you’re submitting all of your work this week through the blog, including the summaries, rather than through Blackboard. That’s by design. Summary is a crucial skill for research writing, so we’re spending a fair bit of time practicing and reflecting on it. You’ve had a chance to receive some private feedback, and now it’s time to open up your audience a bit–this way you’ll have the opportunity to give and to receive feedback from one another.
You can learn a lot by seeing how others summarize the same text as you–what they prioritize, how they define the source, what works well in their approach that might be different from your own.
Moving forward in the course, much of your writing work will be public in this way–on the blog, with your classmates reading and responding. That will provide valuable experience with writing for an authentic audience, which in turn will help you to improve your rhetorical agility. That’s a key aim of this course–to think about the ways in which writing and research are situational, flexing and adapting our work to our distinct purpose, audience, and context.
Now, obviously, this requires a degree of trust, and in a fully online setting where we don’t see one another’s faces and don’t have those same kinds of human interactions that we’re accustomed to in a classroom setting, we will need to work intentionally to build that trust. Trust will make it easier to put our writing out there, to accept constructive feedback, and to offer up our own valuable insights.
Here, I think that our growing knowledge of organizational culture can be a real asset. We know that cultures are built–they don’t just happen–and that they are manifestations of our shared values. I propose that we take a little time this week to reflect on what values we want to be sure we enact in our class community, in this organization that we’re making.
I’ll go first–one of the features of this section that I really value and that I’d like to build on is your openness about the diversity of your backgrounds and experiences. As a group, we represent different generations, different professional fields, different geographical areas, different ethnic and racial groups, and I really appreciate how you’ve been willing to sharing those differences and the unique perspectives you’ve developed as a result. I hope you’ll continue to do so. I think that communicating from where we are–honoring and acknowledging how we are situated–is really important.
Would you please chime in and comment on this post with your thoughts about the culture you’d like to see us build in this online community? What value do you propose we share? What practices do you propose we try to enact? What would you like to see us do/not do/prioritize/avoid?