Profile: Pat Peshlakai

Pat Peshlakai started working with Cooperative Extension 20 years ago in San Carlos (Gila County) because she likes "working with people." She still does, and it didn't make any difference when she moved from rural Arizona to the Maricopa County Extension office in Phoenix 18 years ago.

Pat, now the administrative secretary for EFNEP, has many and varied duties—taking care of people who walk in, working with publications, giving resource information, registering people for workshops and classes, working with volunteers, and answering consumer questions occasionally when agents are unavailable or working away from the office. She's fielded some weird ones. She remembers being asked, "How can I make waterbed water drinkable in case of an emergency?" and "How do I make buffalo wings? Today the majority of the questions involve foods and nutrition, such as reading the new nutritional labels, family life and just plain basic survival skills. A native Arizonan, Pat was born on the San Carlos Apache reservation.

After graduating from Globe High School, she went to the Waxahatchie, Texas, junior college for two years. She's also taken courses at the Maricopa Tech Community College. "Classes have made a difference for me," Pat says. "They've given me a chance to take a closer look at people from all sides." She believes opportunities have opened up for Native Americans who, she says "are more knowledgeable and educated than before." Her oldest son, who "likes computers," has just graduated from high school and plans to attend Northern Arizona University. A single mother, she also is raising two younger sons and a daughter.

It's Progress

Linda Mack Ross, a consultant specializing in diversity work, has struggled with high burn-out in her career. "It can be draining, hard to see results, and disheartening." Recently, she viewed videos for a workshop, including one produced in 1976 about stereotypes. "I chuckled at the hair do's, leisure suits and the cars. But my heart was heavy. We still have the same issues. "Just a few days later, I met with an executive I coached, who calls himself the stereotypical white male who has climbed the corporate ladder. The executive talked about going to a printshop, and noticing one black salesperson among several whites. The executive thought about it and went directly to the black (who, by the way, was excellent). A small step, but something he would never have considered before diversity issues were stressed where he worked. "One man was made aware and challenged his own thinking. It gives me hope," says Linda Mack Ross.

"Managing Diversity," June 1995

Making It Work—At Work

A communication gap exists between management and minorities, both sides agree. It's the difference between perception and reality. Bill Cantor, from Cantor Concern, an executive search firm, has tips for making multicultural workplaces succeed. · Managers should maintain close contact with minority groups and encourage them to apply for jobs. · Minorities should get as much education as possible to prepare for a special job requiring particular skills and then develop a resume highlighting those skills and experience. · Managers should not concentrate minorities in a single job area. Don't "showcase" minorities or treat them as a special interest group. · Managers should provide equal pay, equal opportunities and develop grievance and training procedures for all employees, including minorities. · Once hired, minorities should try to become assimilated into the workplace culture. They should not communicate only with their own ethnic group, isolating themselves. Cantor also says that equal employment opportunity is not something employers should do for minorities. It is something employers must do for their organization to attract talent.

IABC, "Work-force Diversity"

Meeting Without Bias

All too often, people who sincerely believe in equal opportunity and diversity plan, publicize, and conduct meetings that ignore these principles. To prevent:

  • Develop an organizational meeting code.
  • Select hosts, moderators, and assistants based on ability, not on role stereotypes (women-only hosts or male-only moderators or presenters).
  • Select leaders and speakers who represent a cross-section of your organization.
  • Plan facilities and schedules so people with disabilities can fully participate.
  • In publicity, depict people in ways that are not stereotyping or demeaning.
  • Introduce speakers without alluding to sex, physical attributes, or other irrelevant qualities. (Not, "A pretty young lady is going to speak today.")
  • Design entertainment and visuals so they are stereotyping or demeaning.
  • Consider the audience's composition when preparing speeches and supporting materials.

IABC, "Work-force Diversity"

The Issue of Age

The issue of age is often a heated diversity issue. Stereotypes abound, both negative and positive. Younger workers are labeled irresponsible, ill-mannered, undependable, not willing to pay their dues, with an inferior work ethic. Conversely, older employees are described as rigid, stodgy, uncreative, and resistant to change. The differences among generations center around questioning authority, lifetime job security, loyalty to the organization, and achievement. For example, older workers tend to subscribe to the "work hard and you'll get ahead" school of thought. Younger workers subscribe to the "work smarter, not harder" theme. As a result, older workers see younger staff members as conniving or lazy, while younger employees may see their older colleagues as plodding and unwilling to try new approaches. Once seen in a more even light from a more neutral perspective, these value variations look less right and wrong and more just plain different. Tangibles need to be negotiated, not the values themselves.

Lee Gardenswartz & Anita Rowe,"Managing Diversity" October 1994

Women's Statistics

"Managing Diversity," December 1994

Quote of the Month

"Success comes down to YOU. Acceptance is tentative at first until people overcome their initial discomfort. Then you are judged just like everybody else. If you expect things to come to you, it won't happen."

Dean Gregersen

Resources

"Every Kind of Person, A Workforce Diversity Simulation," a game including board, video, manual, and other supplies. People Tech Consulting, Ontario, Canada. Phone: (416) 596-8008

"Conference Diversophy," a game for up to 72 players that includes game pads, planner's guide and instructions. Game is "thought-provoking, informative and stimulating." $139 + S&H from HR Press, Box 28, Fredonia, NY 14063.

"Disability Etiquette: Interacting with People with Disabilities." Send SASE to Access Resources, 340 W. 28th St., Ste. 6J, New York, NY 10001

"How to Develop a Diversity Commitment," Free. Contact AARP, Workforce Programs Department, 601 E St., NW, Washington, DC 20049.

Vision:  To affect positive change in the CALS community by valuing differences and building respect.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.


Content Questions/Comments: Billye Foster (billye@cals.arizona.edu) or Steven Crofts (scrofts@cals.arizona.edu)
Last Updated: 05/16/2005