While 71 percent of organizations attempt to foster an environment of diversity and inclusion, only 11 percent have such an environment today. Research shows that inclusive teams outperform their peers by a staggering 80 percent. (Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/human-capital/deloitte-au-hc-diversity-inclusion-soup-0513.pdf)
Isn’t Viewing People as Individuals Good Enough?
No. If we go into interactions assuming culture doesn’t matter, we default to viewing others through our own cultural lens and judge or misjudge accordingly.
It is possible to work with diverse people and travel extensively without ever considering how culture, generation, or gender impacts us. It’s easy to assume that misunderstandings are a result of personality differences alone.
We don’t want to make assumptions. We do want to appreciate cultural differences and individual differences.
How we Stereotype
There are 60,065 species of trees. Yet, if we’re asked to draw a picture of a tree, it would likely look something like this:
We negate differences and oversimplify. This is how stereotypes work.
Stereotypes are exaggerated beliefs, images, or distorted truths. These generalizations are usually based on images in mass media, reputations passed on by parents, peers and other members of society. The can be positive or negative.
I’m Not Biased!
The majority of white people who take the implicit association test (IAT) for racial bias demonstrate bias against dark-skinned people. In a 2007 study of over 2.5 million IAT responses, University of Virginia psychology professor Brian Nosek and colleagues reported that 68% of participants demonstrated negative implicit attitudes toward black people, dark skin, and black children. (Source: http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~dchugh/articles/2007_ERSP.pdf)
Know your Comfort Zone
Your comfort zone is determined largely by the groups/cultures you belong to. Dr. Maura Cullen reminds us that we’re “multi-clumpable.” We often fit in many groups at once. No one group defines us, neither do multiple groups. But outside of these groups is where we will see the most growth.
Benefits of Leaving your Comfort Zone
Outside of your comfort zone you will come to have insight into your own group and others. You’ll appreciate and value differences, grow in depth, and become a more flexible communicator. You’ll be more empathetic.
Get out of your Comfort Zone
Acknowledge your bias, become aware of inner thoughts. Take a global perspective. Educate yourself on your own biases and look for ways to disprove them with fact. The journal Cortex found that people’s brains begin to show more empathetic responses as they gain more experience with individuals of other races. (Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945215000672)
Resource/Citation
https://qz.com/502019/if-youre-white-science-says-youre-probably-a-racist-now-what/
