Diversity as a Reflection of Your Identity

Dimensions of Identity at Work
There are numerous dimensions that reflect one's identity, and which reflect the identity of the author of this document. These dimensions encompass both the primary and the secondary realms of factors that pertain to diversity. These two realms are unequivocally "important to distinguish" (Loden and Rosener, 1991, p. 18) One can actually argue that many of the primary factors supersede the secondary ones in numerous cases -- or perhaps augment them so much that they render the latter almost subservient to the former. As such, the author believes that the five dimensions that are best reflective of herself are the primary ones. These dimensions greatly affect my perceptions and my performance at work, principally by providing the foundation through which I view most facets of life.

Of the multiple dimensions that encompass the primary dimensions of diversity, it seems as though age is certainly the most salient. Age is certainly the most eminent factor to affect the perceptions and work performers of this author. Specifically, I am in my mid-20's. Therefore, I am relatively young, although not as youthful as some of my adolescent or even pre-adolescent counterparts. However, there are several germane facets of my age involving particular socio-cultural nuances that affect my perception of both work and life in general. This factor is one of the increasingly many that have produced situations in which diversity is becoming more popular, even "favorite" in the workplace (Loden and Rosener, 1991, p. 17). My generation is one of the ones that has grown up with an integral relationship with -- and possible dependency upon -- technology. Granted, technology's influence on my generation is not as profound as children who were born, say, from the last decade on up through the current one. Still, technology is widely employed by my generation and one of the primary means of communicating with people through avenues such as social media, mobile devices, and the internet.

I believe that the greatest way that my generation's relationship with technology affects my perceptions is in our beliefs about what can be done and when. The temporal element of this statement is particular truthful. There is a feeling of instant gratification that technology produces upon its users. Unfortunately, I realize that I have a short attention span, particularly compared to those of my parents who are significantly older than me. Patience is not one of my better qualities. Although I try to utilize this facet of my identity in a positive way (to look for more rapid solutions, for instance), I do not like waiting. Nonetheless, I have learned that the quickest way is not always necessarily the best way, and am trying to work on this facet of my identity.

Gender is another fairly prominent part of my identity that has a definite influence on what I perceive and on how I perform at work. I am a woman. Actually, it has always struck me that this part of my identity has mattered more to others than it has mattered to me. For instance, when I am traveling men frequently try to carry my luggage, or put it in the overhead bin of the airplane. The general perception that fuels such actions is that women are the proverbial weaker sex. I truly do not mind when men attempt to assert themselves for me because of my gender (and because of theirs, frankly). On the other hand, I realize I am quite capable of doing most things almost any other person is able to do, male or female.

Nevertheless, my gender definitely influences my behavior at work. I am privileged to be able to work around a number of strong, competent, and in some instances, brilliant women. However, society is still male dominated and this perception naturally extends itself to the workplace. There are certain instances at work where I do not speak up as quickly as I could, or even probably would, if I was a man. In this respect I do feel some degree of pressure to perform, and to perform well, since I am a woman. I sometimes have the perception that I need to prove myself, especially when I am in situations in which there are few woman and mostly men. Quite possibly this perception is one that is only in my mind, but I want male employees to value my contributions and to view me as an equal. What is particularly interesting about this subject is the fact that some of my female friends have actually shared a similar sentiment with me. This includes women who I have worked with and friends who are telling me about their experiences in their respective jobs. I have seen some women in situations where they have attempted to contribute to a group discussion, only to have their input marginalized. I have never wanted such a thing to happen to me. Fortunately, at this point it has not. But it is because I do not want such an experience to happen to me that I am probably more reserved at work than other -- mostly male -- employees are. It seems to me that there are both positives and negatives associated with this stance of mine.

Race is another primary dimension of diversity that I believe affects my perceptions and my performance at work. Again, I tend to posit the fact that my race -- I am White -- more affects other people's opinions about me and my identity than it does my own. However, I have taken additional classes related to notion of socio-economic status and privilege. I realize that as a part of the dominant race in this country, I have received a certain degree of privilege that others who are not part of my race may not have experienced. I tend to consider this form of privilege I terms of what John Keats referred to as negative capability. For instance, I have never been followed around in a retail store. When most people look at me, they assume that I am harmless. They do not think that I am a thief or that I am looking to start trouble. Some people have told me that I give the appearance of being trustworthy. I think part of that has to do with my race, to a certain extent at least.

It is more difficult to ascertain how the part of my identity that is encompassed by y race affects my performance at work. In my humble esteem it does not. I do not think that I am able to work any harder (or any less, for that matter) than anyone else simply because of my race. Still, I think that there are certain subtleties in the workplace environment that my race may very well factor into. There was one job I had where I started at the same time with another woman who was of Latina descent. We actually had the same job with similar responsibilities -- in the beginning. Gradually, however, I noticed that I was given more responsibilities than she was, and even got an increase in salary as a result. It is quite possible that my race played an indirect role in this reality. For instance, I felt immediately comfortable with the other members of our team. I socialized with them, and had significant involvement with most of them both inside and outside of the workplace. I cannot say the same for my Latina counterpart. She would mostly keep to herself, working quietly all the time. She never engaged in very much "water cooler" conversation, and I never saw her at any of our happy hours. It could be that she was just naturally reclusive. However, I tend to think that my social activities helped me to meet and impress people at my job, which is why I was able to advance much more rapidly than she did. Part of the reason that I was able to do so could pertain to race in that I felt immediately comfortable interacting with others -- who looked like me and came from similar backgrounds as me. Perhaps it was more daunting of her to do the things that I did because she would not have been interacting with people with which she was familiar.

I certainly believe my sexual orientation plays a fairly substantial part of my identity. In fact, this is one part of my identity that I tend to think is as important to me as it is to other people. I am heterosexual, and am actually currently in a position now in which I happily single. I am convinced that this fact plays a large part in how people view me. I write this humbly and respectfully, but men flirt with me all the time. Moreover, they do so both within and outside of the workplace environment. Perhaps they can tell that I am heterosexual. Still, it never has been difficult for me to attract men's attention. Just like there are some situations in which men do things based on gender (such as open doors, pumping your gas, etc.), there are others in which gender perceptions are heightened by sexual orientation.

In fact, there are some situations in which the confluence of gender and sexual orientation greatly affect the individual situations that people go through daily. The workplace is one such environment that is not bereft of such an influence. Although I have not labored extensively at any particular place of employment enough to facilitate a long-term career, I have certainly encountered situations in which the fact that I am a heterosexual women who is attractive has not been detrimental. There are certain situations in which there are forms of social hegemony. The workplace is one such environment, simply due to the fact that there are myriad conventions (both normative and otherwise) that influence the daily dynamics. There is a definite amount of social power that an attractive woman has, particularly in settings in which she is surrounded by, what has for me, been a superfluous amount of men.

Exercise of that sort of social power can lead to a multitude of results, especially at the workplace. Women can use conventions of dress, etiquette, and social dynamics to create the sort of attention that provides value in business settings. For instance, I have known some women who dress in distinctly feminine ways which accentuates their looks. In fields in which most of one's contemporaries and clients are men, that sort of attention can prove beneficial in terms of marketing and advertising purposes. Actually, I have been in situations in which the fact that men have viewed me as attractive have helped me to learn a lot about different fields of interest, which is invaluable to anyone's career path.

The final dimension of diversity that plays a fairly significant part of my life is actually one of the secondary dimensions. The secondary dimensions are less palpable than some of the primary dimensions. However, there is a certain degree of salience that these dimensions can produce when they are paired with specific primary dimensions. The confluence of sexual orientation and gender naturally lend themselves to other factors pertaining to them, such as marital status. Granted, there are a number of women who are married who can wield some of the same amounts of social hegemony that unmarried women can. Personally, I believe that there are some women who get hit on more than others because of their marital status. As previously denoted, I am happily single; I have never been married. In some ways, I think this facet of my identity is attractive to men. This sentiment certainly applies to younger women, perhaps more so than it does to older women.

After some women reach a certain age, people do not necessarily find it attractive that they are single or, even more, that they have never been married. I have some friends who are much older than me who are in this position, and they have shared with me how it has affected people's perceptions of their identities. In my own life, I believe that being a young, reasonably attractive women is helpful, particularly in terms of the previously mentioned applications pertaining to business settings. The implication, of course, is that I am still an eligible candidate for marriage. Many men utilize the social hegemony that is produced from the workplace into power in other social realms, such as dating. I believe the fact that men find me an eligible candidate for marriage has affected their perception of me in the workplace. What is important to remember about this observation is that it almost exclusively pertains to connotation. No one has ever decided to hire me or fire me because of any of the identity dimensions elucidated within this document.

References

Mor Barak, M. (2015). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage

Norman-Major, K.A., & Gooden, S.T. (2012). Cultural competency for public administrators. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe

Rice, M.F. (2010). Diversity and public administration (2nd Ed). Armonk: M.E. Sharpe Loden, M. Rosener, J. (1991). Dimensions of diversity. Workforce America. 1(1), 17-35.