Diversity Leadership: Strategies for Embracing Difference and

Avoiding A. C.R.A.S.H.

Presented by: Ivan B. Turnipseed, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Hospitality & Tourism Management Studies

(HTMS), School of BusinessThe Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Day of Leadership Saturday, November 19, 2011

Who am I?

Born / Reared: Midwest / Deep South Education: B.A. – M.S. – C.A.S. – Ph.D. College Teaching Experience: Monroe College,

University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Central Connecticut State University, Stockton!

Industry/Other Experience: Travel Planners, Quikbook, NBGSA, NSMH, CAARP

Research Interests: Black issues in hospitality and tourism, community-based sustainable tourism, hospitality and tourism marketing, internal marketing, job and compensation discrimination, social stratification in organizations, strategic human resource management, workplace and socio-political diversity

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Overview of Presentation

Opening Activity What is leadership? What is diversity? What is inclusion? What is A. C.R.A.S.H.? What is America’s demographic profile? Why should leaders care? How can YOU exercise diversity leadership? Closing Activity

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Opening Activity

Safe SpaceArrange yourselves alphabetically by

first name.Difference Meet & Greet

1. Three people who are primarily different.

2. Tell them why you approached.

3. Discuss differences and commonalities.

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What is leadership?

What do you think? Leadership is about:

authority, behavior, charisma, coordination, example, followership, goals, influence, intelligence, interaction, management, position, responsibility, values, vision

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What is diversity?

What do you think? Diversity is primarily about the existence and

representation of difference. Primary, secondary, and tertiary dimensions

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What is inclusion?

What do you think? The degree to which the diverse members of

a group are genuinely and consistently engaged with each other.

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What is A CRASH?

The acronymAbleism

Classism

Racism

Ageism

Sexism

Heterosexism

What is A CRASH?

The analogy

A vehicle crash is injurious (physically and emotionally), inconvenient, costly, often avoidable (when attention is paid and certain rules/laws are followed), and may lead to legal proceedings and redress.

Just as each of us wishes to avoid a vehicular accident, we should avoid A. C.R.A.S.H.

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Ableism Defined

Ableism – The cultural, institutional, and individual set of discriminatory and prejudicial practices and beliefs that assigns inferior value (worth) to people who have developmental, emotional, physical or psychiatric disabilities (Ableism, 2002).

In the U.S., roughly 65% of disabled persons are unemployed.

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Classism Defined

Class – A ‘relative social ranking based on income, wealth, status, and / or power (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 1997, p. 233).

Classism – The institutional, cultural, and individual set of practices and beliefs that assign differential value to people according to their socio-economic class; and an economic system which creates excessive inequality and causes basic human need to go unmet (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 1997, p. 238).

Family income, for example, has been directly linked to SAT score attainment.

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Racism Defined

Racism – A ‘system of advantage based on race.’ It is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals.

Racism – Prejudice plus social power—access to social, cultural, and economic resources and decision-making (Tatum, 2004).

There are real and persistent differences in the economic attainment of various racial/ethnic groups, even after accounting for education and years of work experience.

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Ageism Defined

Ageism – ‘Any attitude, action, or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group because of age or any assignment of roles in society purely on the basis of age’ (Woolf, n.d.).

Two Ways Ageism Differs From Other Isms

1. Age classification is not static; it changes as an individual progresses through the life cycle.

2. (Barring an early death) no one is exempt from eventually becoming old and experiencing ageism.

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Sexism Defined

Sexism – A system by which women are kept subordinate to men (Pharr, 2004).

Sexism – The cultural, institutional, and individual set of beliefs and practices that privilege men, subordinate women, and denigrate values and practices associated with women (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 1997).

Sexism is a symptom of a patriarchal society. A patriarchy is a male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered society that involves the oppression of women as one of its key aspects. The positions of authority—political, economic, legal, religious, educational, military, domestic—are generally reserved for men (Johnson, 2004).

Wage gap – Women earn approx. 80 cents for every dollar that men earn.

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Heterosexism Defined

Heterosexism – The systemic display of homophobia in the institutions of society. [It creates the climate for homophobia with its assumption that the world is and must be heterosexual and its display of power and privilege as the norm] (Pharr, 2004).

Heterosexism – The individual, institutional, and societal / cultural beliefs and practices based on the belief that heterosexuality is the only normal and acceptable sexual orientation (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 1997).

As of 2011, it remains legal in 29 states to fire people based on sexual orientation.

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What is America’s demographic profile?

Women now constitute more than 47% of the nation’s workforce. (~51% of population)

The 65 and older population in 2030 will comprise 88.5 million people vs. 38.7 million in 2008.

Minorities constituted 1/3 of the population in 2008 and are projected to be 54% of the total in 2050.

Hispanic population will double from 15 to 30%. Blacks will grow from 14 to 15%. Asians will increase from 5.1 to 9.2%. American Indians & Alaska Natives will grow 1.6 to 2%. Non-Hispanic Whites will fall from 66% to 46%. Which ethnic/racial group will be the largest in 2050?

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Why should leaders care?

What do you think? To avoid A CRASH. Genuine celebration and positive

engagement of difference empowers people, enriches interpersonal exchange, and generates productive outcomes.

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How can YOU exercise diversity leadership?

What do you think? Deliberately avoid A CRASH in everyday

interactions.1. Avoid “blindness”.

2. Continually consider ways to promote diversity and inclusion.

3. Perpetual proportionate affirmative action

4. Progressive syntax (p. 20)

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Closing Activity

Alphabetical order by first name. State your name, and share one takeaway.

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Thank You!

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