Profile: Diversity in Education
It is early morning in Coolidge, Arizona. At the Hohokam Irrigation District office, Arizona
Cooperative Extension faculty are setting up for a workshop. The coffee is brewing, doughnuts
are laid out, a projector is put into position, props are set up, and the video monitor put in place.
While everything may seem like a regular Extension workshop, this one is different.
As growers and irrigators enter the room, some are given headsets. But, both are ready to
participate in a workshop designed to reach a Spanish- and English-speaking audience. Three
bilingual irrigation workshops, in all, were given this past Winter and Spring, to as little as four
and as many 30 participants, according to Ed Martin, Extension irrigation specialist at the UA
Maricopa Agricultural Center.
"Much of the one million acres of crop land that are irrigated in Arizona are done by people
whose first language is Spanish," Ed stated. "Extension faculty were looking for some way to
reach this clientele to help them better understand what is happening in the fields they are
irrigating. We also wanted to reach beyond the growers to the people who actually control each
irrigation. But our main obstacle to overcome was to figure out how to communicate with
clientele who spoke Spanish."
The workshops were developed from a grant from the Arizona Department of Water
Resources, Pinal Active Management Area. With the grant, Ed says, specialists and county agents
were able to purchase the equipment and obtain a translator for the translation process. Ed says
that the Bilingual workshop team is going to formalize the class material and handouts so that the
workshop can be offered throughout the state.
Crystal Renfrow, Assistant Information Specialist, Ag Communication Systems
Women and Nontraditional Fields
In 1945, six women were hired by the U.S. Army to undertake the exacting processes necessary
to program the giant Eniac computer at the University of Pennsylvania. Despite its complexity,
programming was then considered clerical work and assigned to women. Even today, it is little
known that women, as the first computer programers, helped launch the computer era.
Education Is Key
Experts point out that a gender gap can begin in childhood. According to the American
Association of University Women, girls are not encouraged to pursue math and science in school,
resulting in fewer women qualified for positions that require this background.
Action Steps
To succeed in nontraditional fields:
- Take on a position that has not been handled well in the past. It is harder to shine in a position
in which someone has already done an outstanding job.
- Develop a cross-functional background. Combine solid technical credentials with management
experience to build credibility, gain exposure, and obtain essential skills.
- Develop a critical mass of women. The dearth of role models for women remains a major
obstacle to attracting and retaining women in nontraditional careers. Implement mentoring that
pairs low- and mid-level women with senior professionals to speed their advancement.
- Invest in the development of promising women. Organizations can reap maximum potential
from talented women by sponsoring those with scientific backgrounds for advanced degrees.
- Broaden the pool of talented women. Post job openings at women's colleges (which have a
disproportionately high number of women receiving advanced degrees) and World Wide Web
sites (e.g., Society of Women Engineers, International Network F.O. Women in Technology,
Association for Women in computing, Women's Wire, and Systers.).
In "Managing Diversity," 5/97
Diversity Questions & Answers
Q Why do some people avoid dealing with diversity efforts?
A Some people have bailed out of diversity work because it's not doing what it promised, which
was to help create a new social order that would mix and match the energies of a wider range of
people. Some people are afraid of diversity. They fear it leads to disorder. Some people prefer
things not to change, period; and if they are content with the way things are, a change would be a
threat to their well-being.
Some people feel that diversity leads to chaos or at least to discomfort adjusting to a new
situation. Other people have a much greater appetite (not just tolerance) for living with
differences and they enjoy the process that it requires.
This becomes an issue when people who are promoting diversity programs try to keep the
program from bothering anyone, when they say they want to make people aware but don't want
to rock the boat. They forget that awareness by its very existence alters the status quo. To do
diversity work, you've got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Many people look for a diversity program that is canned, packaged, cookie cutter, and
guaranteed to fall short of accomplishing is mission. Make diversity work, put awareness into
action, or don't waste time by pretending.
Q What does the demographic future look like?
A The Census Bureau's new report on the U.S. in 2050 says what readers already know. Big
increase in people over 65 (will be 1/5 of the country) and over 85 (from 4 million now to 18
million). Hispanics will outnumber all other "minorities" combined and will be 1/4 of the U.S.
Whites will drop from 73% now to 52.8%. Blacks stay about the same 12% now, 13.6% in the
2050 projection. Asians more than double, from 3.5% to 8.2%
Q What's wrong with using the word diversity?
A Unfortunately, in many diversity programs, the word diversity does not refer to everybody. It
refers to everybody except white men. First, how can you leave them out? (Many people don't
know how to talk about them-or to them.) Second, white men are as diverse as any other group
you could name. (Some people use the word "homogeneous" inaccurately to refer to any people
with the same skin color or ethnic classification.) Third, many programs refer to white men as the
dominant or normative group, which confuses numbers, power, and human qualities (and which
makes everyone else abnormal or a deviant). Fourth, diversity is used as a substitute for
"minority," and one had better clarify what is meant by minority. Fifth, some programs operate
as if white men should learn to manage everyone else's diversity. Then you're in trouble.
Dr. Harris Sussman in "Managing Diversity," 5/97
Resources
Counseling Across Cultures is a comprehensive examination of the increasing priority given to
culture in the counseling process. The contributors examine the cultural dimensions of assessment
and appropriate interventions in counseling, highlighting work with such groups as African
American, Asian American, Native American, Hispanics, and refugees. To round out this new
edition, new chapters have been added, devoted to gender, cultural empathy, behavioral
approaches, the effectiveness of intercultural counseling, and the future of cultural counseling.
The cost is $25.00. Contact Intercultural Press, 1-800-370-2665.