- SOC FPX 2000 Assessment 1 Cultural Diversity and You
Cultural Diversity and You
The fact that culture plays a role in practically every aspect of human life particularly societal relations might make it easier to discuss the issue using a sociological perspective on cultural differences. Because sociologists wish to be able to compare how cultural practices influence inequality and inequality in society and vice versa, they research cultural variation.
Here in this evaluation, I will be discussing racism that I have established in my neighborhood and how it fits the power relations of society. Subsequently, I will critically evaluate it so that I can come up with sound sociological conclusions. I will also discuss strategies that might be employed to address different diversity issues and the need for policies and laws to address general diversity issues. Last of all, I will discuss several strategies in which individual differences and backgrounds may shape the view toward the concept of diversity policy.
Personal Experience and Concepts of Power
One morning as I was taking my coffee in front of my house a lot of commotion seemed to be going on in the neighborhood. Carter my neighbor was returning from the store with a bag of groceries when I got up and saw him walking past my window. The white lady who was living in the house adjacent to mine came out and started provoking him when he was passing.
She was just accusing Carter that he had taken some things from her porch to eat and I first misunderstood her but as I drew nearer she was more elaborate. Regardless, the woman did not believe Carter when he said he had not stolen anything from the store. As the hearing proceeded, she referred to him as a thug again and proceeded to shout at him.
The woman eventually went back into the house and all the time she was murmuring with anger and disgust. At the same time, Carter remained on the sidewalk, where his face was expressed to the fullest measure of shame and horror. Seeing the feelings of despair that he had was heartbreaking to me; this meant that he was in so much pain.
This made me furious and annoyed when I saw it. From what I saw he could feel that the woman was a racist against him because he is black like Carter. Again, I had the feeling that probably, if the man in question was of another complexion, she would have never accused him of stealing.
None of it was logical to me anymore There was a voice in my head that wanted me to confront the woman and explain to her that she was being wrong and prejudiced. However, a small part of me was scared that I was going to aggravate the situation and Carter would feel even more withdrawn. When I thought it through, I ceased moving and took a moment to observe the situation.
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Connecting Experience to Social Concepts of Power
Regarding the theories of inequality provided by Marx, and Weber as well as sociological paradigms such as power and inequality, I argue that the racism I observed concerning Carter – my Black neighbor – can be explained as follows.
From the Marxist perspective, the society contains the powerful and the working class and Marx P. 108 argued that the powerful, or the ruling class are in a position to exploit the working class due to the existing economic disparity. One can notice the prejudice, which Carter faces, as the reflection of the fact that White Americans have more advantages than Black Americans like herself.
In the category of authority, Weber identified cultural and social power as two of the forms of power, which have a bearing on society and its practices. There is white American culture and society which might be the cause of bigotry that Carter encounters.
Analyzing Data to Make Valid Sociological Inferences
African Americans have gone through racial discrimination systematically in the history of Americans. Health, income, and incarceration are among the consequences of prejudice that result from its continuous practice. The issue of Blacks as subjects of racism in the United States has been of tremendous research interest in scholars making social inferences.
Jaeger and Sleegers (2022) look at the aspect of race in the sharing economy, which comprises companies like Airbnb and Uber. Scholars identified that Blacks were discriminated against when using Uber and that Airbnb discriminated against Blacks because they were less welcome. From these findings is possible to infer that these websites’ algorithms could be reinforcing racism.
Cogburn (2019) explored how prejudice and discrimination affect equality and health disparity among blacks. The author claims that the highest percentages of African Americans suffer from chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes resulting from raised stress and limited access to remedies stemming from racism.
In the same way, Wright and Headley (2020) studied the factors that affect the Policing Force including racial factors. Further, the study established that police were more likely to use force when they encountered Black people particularly when the circumstances were not well understood.
Application of Laws or Policies
Only with the help of laws and regulations that prescribe equality and fighting prejudice, can diversity-related problems be solved. It builds up a structure of law-making to safeguard the civil liberties of certain sections of the population that have been suppressed in the past. After this, we will discuss how one can address diversity challenges through waging policies and legislation. Miller (2019) looked at the impact of affirmative action on diversity in the workforce. In light of empirical analysis, the study finds that affirmative action can increase the representation of competent candidates from the disadvantaged categories by increasing the proportion or the competence level of the candidates as seen at the executive level.
The authors for the affirmative assert that affirmative action can help create a more favorable climate in the workplace using diversity as an organizational value. Concerning health inequalities, Baumgartner et al. (2020) considered the case of the ACA concerning things. Low-income and minority groups in particular will benefit from the stated objectives of the Affordable Care Act to the extent that it aims at increasing access to medical treatments and reducing health disparities.
Preventative care and insurance coverage are two specific ways that the ACA improved upon health equality and are result stated in the report. The authors admit that health equality has been worsened by the ACA legislation; however, they also note that the legislation has been a subject of constant activism, including legal cases, and repeal. In another study, Lum et al (2019) also stated that it was found that police officers who wore body cameras used force in very few incidences, and such incidents were rarely carried out when arresting suspected non-dangerous individuals. Despite the differences in the rates of police brutality against different races, the authors opine that integrated body-worn cameras would enhance the righteousness of the police.
Strategies for Addressing a Cultural Diversity Issue
This means that in dealing with issues to do with diversity, individual as well as institutional-level intervention should be utilized to maximize the effectiveness of the interventions to be offered.
One such method is cross-cultural education as a way of assisting people to appreciate, or at least, come to terms with cultural diversity, at the individual level. It is with this understanding that Van Puffelen & van Oppen (2020) alluded to the fact that cross-cultural education may enhance the way persons conceive and interact with other persons originating from other cultural backgrounds.
Organizing and monitoring policies in the area of inclusion and diversity could play a role in addressing the systematic problems resulting from cultural differences. The criteria for these aspects include recruitment and inclusion of members from marginalized groups and the training and development programs that are diversity and culture-sensitive. Nyseth (2021) found that policies related to diversity and inclusion provide a chance to amplify the representation of minorities in the workforce.
Intergroup dialogue is another approach to the problem of cultural diversity, which implies the gathering of people from various cultural backgrounds to discuss their impressions and views on the surrounding world openly. Tropp et al. (2022) said that intergroup interaction may reduce prejudice among persons from different cultural backgrounds and promote a culture of understanding and empathy.
Factors Influencing Feelings and Reactions to Diversity Issues
From the perspective of people’s emotions or, more accurately, their orientation to the issues reflected in diversity concerns, individual differences are highly significant. How people perceive diversity can be shaped by factors such as culture, financial position, literacy levels, religious affiliations, and interaction with other people groups ( Brown et al., 2018).
For instance, what they have perceived to refer to diversity may stem from being raised in a diverse or heterogeneous environment. One might be lucky to grow up in a diverse neighborhood or be lucky to attend school or travel to diverse cultures, making one more understanding of others. On the other hand, prejudice against certain groups might grow due to very little diversification in the groups we grow up around due to limited interaction with the diversity of groups in society.
In the same way, the financial situation plays a great part in influencing how a person perceives diversity. Since they may regard variety as a threat to their standard of living and social status people with low SES have more tendency to have a negative attitude toward diversity. Those from better off financially will approach issues of diversity in a more positive light because they have been able to learn from other cultures.
In addition, the religious affiliation and the level of education that one has may also influence one’s attitude to diversity. Education influences the tolerance of variety as people who have been exposed to different cultures and opinions due to their learning will be more lenient to variety. Similarly, those who are more liberally inclined towards religion may understand variability and hence accommodate more variability while those who are more conservatively inclined towards relation may have a negative attitude to variability.
Conclusion
It stands to reason that an evaluation of this nature addressed the need for DM and the challenges faced by minorities. It discussed how actions and personality, as well as the experiences and interactions, such as my encounter with Carter, influence the perception and behaviour toward diversity issues; The role of policy and legislation in this fight against prejudice and in support of diversity.
It was demonstrated that such things as religious affiliation, educational status, social standing, and manner of rearing played a role. Various Diversity and inclusion strategies that were investigated in the evaluation included assertion of awareness, increase in accessibility to learning and training, and establishment of policies as well as practices. Read more about our sample PSYC FPX 1000 Assessment 2 Human Development-Application of Theory for complete information about this class.
References
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https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13406
Brown, J., Jiménez, A. L., Sabanathan, D., Sekamanya, S., Hough, M., Sutton, J., Rodríguez, J., & García Coll, C. (2018). Factors related to attitudes toward diversity in Australia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 28(4), 475–493.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2018.1428137
Cogburn, C. D. (2019). Culture, race, and health: implications for racial inequities and population health. The Milbank Quarterly, 97(3), 736–761.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12411
Jaeger, B., & Sleegers, W. W. A. (2022). Racial disparities in the sharing economy: Evidence from more than 100,000 Airbnb hosts across 14 countries. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.
https://doi.org/10.1086/722700
Lum, C., Stoltz, M., Koper, C. S., & Scherer, J. A. (2019). Research on body‐worn cameras. Criminology & Public Policy, 18(1), 93–118.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12412
Miller, C. (2019). Affirmative action and its persistent effects: A new perspective. California Management Review, 61(3), 19–33.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125619849443
Nyseth, T. (2021). Diversity policies as tools to increase participation and encounters. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 11(4), 430–443.
https://doi.org/10.33134/njmr.379
Smart Richman, L., & Leary, M. R. (2009). Reactions to discrimination, stigmatization, ostracism, and other forms of interpersonal rejection: A multimotive model. Psychological Review, 116(2), 365–383.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015250
Tropp, L. R., White, F., Rucinski, C. L., & Tredoux, C. (2022). Intergroup contact and prejudice reduction: Prospects and challenges in changing youth attitudes. Review of General Psychology, 108926802110465.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680211046517
van Puffelen, E., & van Oppen, M. A. A. U. (2020). Supporting cross-cultural university education. The 16th International CDIO Conference Proceedings.
https://doi.org/10.18174/531990
Wright, J. E., & Headley, A. M. (2020). Police use of force interactions: Is race relevant or gender germane? The American Review of Public Administration, 50(8), 851–864.