Recently, when facilitating a conversation with students about “our changing community,” a student asked “what can she do to learn more about different social and cultural identities.” I answered her question and thought that I would share my answer with others who might be interested.
First of all, when I’m facilitating conversations like this with students, I explain that cultural/social diversity happens when different identity groups are represented in the population you are examining. For instance, there is an appropriate representation of people from different ages, abilities, races, ethnicities, genders, orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, etc. I explain that when we are exposed to diverse populations, chances are that we will be more open minded and more likely to thrive in diverse work environments. Continue reading