culture

Last week I asserted that diversity is difficult to define because of the multipliers.  None of us is uni-dimensional. We each possess a number of different diversity dimensions, gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, etc. etc.  I believe that a GenY woman who is a single mom has a different set of needs than a married Baby Boomer woman who is a grandmother for the first time. While they are both women, I suspect their different generational perspectives and marital statuses lead to somewhat different worldviews.  One’s worldview is inextricably tied to culture, a point that I missed last week.  Dr. Janet Bennett, iconic interculturalist, pointed out my omission.  Dr. Bennett runs the Intercultural Communication Institute.

Her reminder that culture is an integral part of one’s identity made me think more about the intersection of diversity and culture.  Interculturalist Geert Hofstede calls culture the collective programming of the mind.  Other definitions include a group’s shared values and beliefs or the one I really like is the behavioral interpretation of how a group lives out it values in order to survive and thrive.

What is Diversity?  - Part 6: It’s All About CultureI believe that culture actually sits on top of or encircles all other diversity dimensions. Diversity dimensions such as race or gender are insufficient to define culture and therefore insufficient to define one’s identity.  As a Black person, I share the same race as other Blacks. However the mere fact that I am a U.S. Black may mean that I share little from a cultural perspective with a Black Kenyan, for example. Therefore a multinational company that forms an affinity group for its Black employees around the world may find that cultural differences from country to country are more important considerations than race. Affinity groups designed for Latino employees may need to consider the many cultural differences that exist.  Employees influenced by Mexican cultural norms would not necessarily share worldviews with those of Puerto Rican heritage for example.

Culture is complex and often nuanced.  We really don’t understand diversity if we do not understand cultural differences.