What Is Diversity?

 

Diversity means more than just acknowledging or tolerating people's differences. According to authors Marilyn Loden and Judy Rosener, diversity is the "otherness or those human qualities that are different from our own and outside the groups to which we belong yet are present in other individuals and groups."

Recognizing diversity not only involves how you perceive yourself, but also how you perceive others. Those perceptions affect your interactions. Embracing diversity means:

• Understanding and accepting that each individual is unique
• Recognizing that these differences may include race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, education, or geographical location
• Practicing mutual respect for qualities and experiences that are different from our own
• Understanding that diversity includes not only ways of being but also ways of knowing
• Recognizing that personal, cultural, and institutionalized discrimination creates and sustains privileges for some while creating and sustaining disadvantages for others
• Building alliances across differences so that we can work together to eradicate all forms of discrimination.

In its broadest context, diversity means valuing each person who brings a unique perspective or outlook to our agency. 

(Workforce America: Managing Employee Diversity as Vital Resource, 1991: 18-19)