Diversity

Introduction

Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian Muslim advocate and comedian and has cerebral palsy, from a birth injury. Her view about disability and diversity are very persuasive because of her differences. Diversity is the multitude of individual differences and the similarities that exist among people. Diversity means to understand that each person is unique and recognition our individual difference. The difference can be along the dimensions of ethnicity, gender, physical abilities, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. 

Diversity is about understanding each other and moving beyond tolerance to celebrating and embracing the rich dimension of diversity within each person. Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian Muslim advocate and comedian and has cerebral palsy from the result of the birth injury. Her view about disability and diversity are very persuasive because of her differences. In this paper, I evaluate her talk on “I got 99 problems…palsy is just one” and determine her point regarding diversity. The paper will also highlight how her view relates to diversity in the workplace, the assigned reading, and discussion on diversity.

Diversity

Zayid provides an excellent talk on diversity and focuses her attention on the issue of disability. According to Zayid, although people may help the disabled people in the society, the problem is that they do not treat them as equals. The Muslim-American comic states that people should have the same opportunity irrespective of the difference. Whether disabled, Asian, female, or black every person should have the same opportunity. In her talk, Zayid says that only those people with disability should play the disabled characters on TVs and in movies. She says that people with disability should not have different treatment including attending different schools. It is important that people receive the chance of exploring their abilities and show how they can contribute to the community. According to Zayid, disability is almost like ethnicity. Some people do not value people from different ethnic backgrounds as their, which is almost the same with a disability. Because of disability, disabled people are missing in a lot of action because they do not get the chance of proving their ability. Zayid states that it is important that people should start encouraging and harnessing the differences in people.

Diversity in the workplace

In the workplace, diversity is usually a lens of looking at, developing, identifying, and also advancing talent. It is important to create a diverse and inclusive work environment. Zayid tends to have a very strong view about diversity and her view also applies in the workplace. According to Zayid, if a wheelchair user cannot play Beyonce, then Beyonce cannot be able to play a wheelchair user. The statement by Zayid tends to raise an interesting issue regarding the perception of disability, the importance of diversity and inclusion. Diversity is essential in the workplace, and if the company is working with a customer base which is diverse, then the company needs diversity in the workforce so as to learn from the diversity and be more effective in meeting the needs of clients (Nicholas, 2009).

It is important to be in a workplace where people feel like they are who they are and in a way that integrates them and not feels like trapped in a box. In most cases, those people with disability may just have the skills and competencies needed in the organization, yet they are usually under-employed. It is essential that organizations should consider ways that they can tap the potential of these employees. Organizations should focus on building an inclusive environment that is welcoming to people with disability and provide them with the chance of showing their abilities.

A diverse organization is one that tends to value the differences in people. Diversity is good because it tend to give people the opportunity of experiencing different things outside what they are accustomed to (Nicholas, 2009). The lack of understanding between races, gender, and cultures is because of stereotyping, mistrust, language problems, and also within-culture conversation. When people do not pay attention to these problems, it can lead to the inability of endorsing ideas, gaining agreement on a decision, and also the inability of taking united action. Equality in the place of work is essential for the productivity and effectiveness of the organization.  Diversity is about difference and responding to the social change so as to benefit people through embracing differences and also creating a culture of inclusion. When people value diversity, they tend to gain from a different point of view, fresh perspective, and new approaches.

Conclusion

It is important that people should start appreciating the abilities of others irrespective of their difference. It is important to value diversity and enable other people to reach their full potential. Even in the workplaces, it is necessary to encourage people to bring their best to work, celebrate and recognize the difference, and be respectful of diversity. In her talk, Zayid states that equality is very important it is the highest time that people should start treating others equally and not reduced to their ability, skin color, or ethnicity.

Reference

Nicholas, L (2009). Introduction to psychology. Juta and Company Ltd. 

Zayid, M (2014). I got 99 problems…palsy is just one.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in cheap essay writing service if you need a similar paper you can place your order for legitimate essay writing service.