Throughout the semester in Career Explorations 131, we have been building a Pinterest board about diversity in the workplace. One of the most important things that I have learned from working on these Pinterest boards is that diversity is not just differences in culture; it also encompases other things, such as whether or not someone has a mental illness, if they are handicapped in any way, if they are male or female, their sexual identity, and many other things. The important thing about diversity is that people in all places, not just in the workplace, learn to accept people for their differences. One quote that I found on Pinterest that exemplifies the importance of accepting people for their differences is “Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness.”
I find workplace diversity very important to me because I am a female. In past years, many career fields excluded women from the workplace. Women were expected to be homemakers and stay at home with the kids. When women did enter the workplace only certain jobs were open to them, such as being a teacher or a nurse. Since I am considering being a dentist, which is on about the same level as a doctor, I find it important that the field, which used to exclude women for the most part, be diverse. For me, this means that I would like there to be a balance of women and men in the field. According to DentistryIQ, dentistry is behind medicine in the fact that medicine has more women workers in the workforce. However, DentistryIQ does predict that the percentage of women in the dentistry workforce will rise to 28 percent by 2020. In 1970 only 1 percent of dental students were female, DentistryIQ states that currently 44 percent of dental students are female. I find it exciting that the dental field is becoming more diverse and is starting to include females in greater numbers. I think that it is important to be culturally competent in the workforce so that you do not offend your co workers. If a workforce is made up of culturally competent people, it creates a more welcoming work environment in which people feel comfortable being themselves. I think that it is important that people feel comfortable at work because then they will be more productive at work. In order to feel comfortable at work, it is important for co workers to acknowledge that the people they work with are different from them and struggle with different problems than they do. I feel that I would feel more comfortable in a workplace where people accept that I am different from them and try to embrace these differences. In embracing differences, you can create an inclusive environment that will make all workers involved feel happier while at work. Overall, cultural competency will allow me to make my coworkers feel comfortable around me at work. All in all, I think the quote “Share our similarities, celebrate our differences” by M. Scott Peck is important value for all people to have. However, this is a value that I believe should be expected in the workplace so that all workers feel included and comfortable at work. http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/wdj/print/volume-3/issue-3/focus-on-career-choices/women-in-dentistry.html
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