Understanding Diversity:

Discrimination, Prejudice,
Insensitivity and How to Bring
Awareness

BY: ACACIA, CAMERON, TAMISIA & KRISTINA

Diversity
What Is Diversity?

 To be diverse means to have a variety

 It is the uniqueness that makes someone who they are
 Different characteristics that pertain to that specific individual or group of individuals
which can include:
 Religion
 Sexual orientation
 Disability
 Race etc.…

“ STRENGTH LIES IN DIFFERENCES, NOT IN SIMILARITIES ” – STEPHEN R. COVEY ”

 Importance of Diversity In College

 College is one of the best places to understand diversity.

 It is somewhere you have plenty of opportunities to better your understanding with
different groups of people...
 Diversity is important in the schools because it decreases chances of ignorance,
unintended discrimination and prejudice.
 Diversity in school can help promote multiculturalism in the outside world, not just on
campus.

Multiculturalism: The act of

understanding, promoting and being
inclusive of different ethnicities, cultures, Diversity Matters In
and their cultural practices Education
Importance of Diversity In the Society

 By understanding the importance of diversity, not only in our schools but society itself, it
allows for new ideas and progress.
 Diversity can allow for society to have a higher chance to be internally and externally
peaceful due to the lack of ignorance about other people.
 Allowing diversity into our lives could help us find out all the brilliant ideas out there in
the world, exploring other ideas, beliefs, and lifestyles with an open mind, as a result we
are opening ourselves to exercise creativity and problem solving by looking at things in
different ways.

“ DIVERSITY IS THE ART OF THINKING INDEPENDENTLY TOGETHER” ~ MALCOLM

FORBES
Discrimination
 What is Discrimination?

 Discrimination is the negative or prejudice treatment of an individual based on a category

or class they either claim or are perceived to be.
 Prejudice is an opinion of another person based on assumptions, no evidence and no
experience on the subject at hand

” NO MATTER YOUR SOCIAL STATUS OR HOW POWERFUL YOU FEEL YOU ARE, WE
ARE ALL EQUA L. WE CA ME HERE BY BI RTH AND WI LL LEA VE I N DEA TH.”
Why Does Discrimination Occur?

 Usually occurs because of ignorance or the fear of

something different (Baldwin, 2017)
 Lack of empathy and respect
 Some are looking for a way to seem superior to others
(Baldwin, 2017)
  Age
 Race
 Religion

Types of
 Disability
 Sexual orientation
Discrimination  Gender identification
 Appearance (lookism)
 Socioeconomic classification
Ways We Discriminate in Colleges

 Stereotyping and assumptions (profiling)

 Racial slurs, sexist comments, insensitive and offensive jokes (intentional or not)
 Harassment both physically and mentally
 Unequal treatment of:
 Peers to Peers
 Peers to Staff
 Staff to Peers
 Staff to Staff

Discrimination in
College
Equality and Fairness
Equality and Fairness

 One the most predominant form of discrimination is inequality (1 slide).

 Inequality is the different treatment of an individual because of who they are or what they
believe in:
 Some jobs pay men more than women
 There is favouritism between students and professors for reasons like lookism, sexism,
intellect, socioeconomic status, etc.
 Inequality usually arises from the bias about a quality of another individual

“UNTI L WE HA VE EQUA LI TY I N EDUCA TI ON, WE WO N’ T HA VE AN EQUA L

SOCIETY.” – SONIA SOTOMAYOR
 Examples of Inequality In Colleges

 Some students being enrolled into post-secondary school based on their background
 Students and faculty being denied the right to practice their religion
 Individuals being excluded from events or activities based off of their sexual orientation,
language, disability, age, etc.

To have equality means to treat an individual the same as everybody else regardless of what they do
and/or do not classify themselves as.
Empathy
Empathy

 Empathy is the ability to understand what another individual is feeling or how they are
thinking.
 A huge part in how and why some people treat others the way they do (Han, 2018)
 Lack of empathy shows that one cannot begin to step into another individuals shoes to
see what it is they see or feel
 It can cause insensitivity towards others
 Form biased opinions
 Cause a lack of respect
Awareness
Awareness

 It is very important to bring up how diversity in college is beneficial to everyone

 Bring to people’s attention how discrimination can occur both intentionally and
unintentionally ; this way harming someone can be avoided
 Open your mind to everyone else’s differences
 Create spaces where everyone’s values and different perspectives are taken into
consideration
 “ The best way to promote diversity is by embracing it and working to build an
understanding.”

GOLDEN RULE: TREAT OTHERS THE WAY YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED
 Statistics
 1 in 5 people in Canada are born in another country; highest ratio it has been for 75 years
 60% of foreign-born Canadians come from Asia and the Middle East
 The three largest visible minority groups in Canada are Chinese, South Asian and Black
 32% of Canadians speak a language other than English at home, with the largest
language groups being Chinese, Italian, Punjabi and Spanish
 The foreign-born population grew four times faster than the Canadian-born population
between 2001-2006 (13.6% compared to 3.3%)
 In Ontario, 28% of the population are immigrants, the highest percentage in the country
 Half of Toronto’s residents were born outside Canada, a higher percentage than New
York City or London (National Post, December 28, 2007)
 Statistics Cont’d
 In Canada, the Aboriginal population increased to 3.8% of total (from 3.3% in 2001)**
 1.2 million people in Canada identify themselves as Aboriginal** • More than 60
different Aboriginal languages are spoken in Canada**
 Almost half of Aboriginal people in Canada are ages 24 and under**
 Almost half of First Nations people in Canada live in urban areas: the number living
on reserves continues to drop**

 With that being said, there are far too many different types of people living in our
country that may not be the same ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age etc… to
have a closed mind
Summary

 To have diversity is to have individuals with different abilities, capabilities and identities
come together
 Diversity is important in order for people to grow and become innovative together
 Discrimination is the result of lack of empathy and respect, as well as the desire to seem
superior to another
 Equality and fairness are the result of great diversity
 There are many resources on campus that run to increase the understanding of diversity
as well as many groups that work to shine light on who and what they are and represent.

“ DIVERSITY IS THE ENGINE OF INVENTION. IT GENERATES CREATIVITY THAT

ENRICHES THE WORLD.” – JUSTIN TRUDEAU
References

 Han, S. 2018. Neurocognitive Basis of Racial Ingroup Bias in Empathy. Trends in

Neurocognitive 22(5): 400-421; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.02.013
 Hyman J.S., and Jacobs, L.F. 2009. Why Does Diversity in Colleges Matter Anyway? US
News and World Report. Retrieved from
https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2009/08/12/why-does-
diversity-matter-at-college-anyway
 Baldwin, J. 2017. Culture, Prejudice, Racism, and Discrimination. Oxford Research
Encyclopedia of Communication. Ed. Retrieved 28 Nov. 2018, from
http://oxfordre.com/communication/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acr
efore-9780190228613-e-164