By Nadeya Hussain –
Global Diversity Awareness Month occurs every year in October to remind people the impact a culturally diverse population can have.
It’s a reminder that we must respect every individual, regardless of religion, caste, gender, race, ethnicity or sexuality.
The concept for a celebratory month began in 2004 to honour diversity and inclusion, and it’s purpose is to celebrate and increase awareness of the many cultures and ethnicities within society.
As each year passes, we as a community are working together to make our society as diverse as possible.
Like many other organisations, we observe and celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month by recognising, honouring, and learning from diverse customs, cultures, and experiences.
Milton Brown, CEO of Kirklees Local Television, said: “We value different languages, genders, ethnicities, and we ensure that if they want to progress, they can certainly do that with us.”
Workplace environments are a good example of the effect of diversity awareness.
Not only have we gone from having diverse work environments to having interconnected cultures and backgrounds, but we have also had an increase in gender diversity within the workplace.
The educational system has also seen a rise in ethnically diverse students achieving.
However, despite all the positive factors, there are many areas for Improvement, below are some statistics:
According to the guardian, among some 21,000 academic staff at professional level, only 140 of them identify as black, equating to 0.7%.
– Female representation stands at 20 per cent, up from 15 per cent in 2014. However, more than a third of companies don’t have a single woman on their executive team.
– Despite female representation in the workforce quadrupling over the past 25 years, it remains at 22% overall.
So, from these few statistics, we can see we have a while to achieve ultimate goals for inclusion.
How can you celebrate global diversity awareness month?
Start by connecting with the people around you. Through this, you can gain a better understanding of another person’s culture and traditions.
In the age of pandemic, you can also communicate online if needed, which has the added benefit of a global reach.
We have the world of technology at our disposal to make interaction possible. A variety of social media platforms are available, such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Finally, I’d like to give a reminder that October should not be the only moment where you celebrate diversity.
Instead, we should always strive keep pushing and working towards goals where organisations and the wider society is one that is diverse, equal, and inclusive.
Remember to pay tribute to and recognise your diverse community, educational institutions, and workplace. Where progress needs to be made, take action so we can make further progress.