Workplace Diversity

Value of Diversity in the workplace

Intercultural communication issues in the workplace can be common. While most people do their best to avoid such issues, the conflict is sometimes unavoidable. In my occupation, cross-cultural issues involving gender occur more often than issues involving race or religion. This effect is attributed to the ratio of men to women within the maintenance community. There is probably one woman for every ten men. Diagnosing such an issue seems quite simple, but understanding the effects of cultural diversity within the group is essential to truly understanding the problem. Resolving such issues can be difficult, but the benefits of proper resolution are paramount to organizational success.

During a period of about six months, I had a female coworker transfer into my duty section and attempt to assimilate herself into our team. She lacked experience but seemed to be putting forth a great deal of effort into learning. The almost all male crew of aircraft mechanics also seemed to be attempting to fold her into the maintenance environment. After a few months, it became apparent that there was a major communication issue. She would purposely use sexually suggestive body language to make her counterparts do her work, and her coworkers assumed her behavior meant they could use inappropriate and suggestive language towards her. She would often respond as if the behavior was ok and would encourage the conversation at times. In most cases the content of the conversation was regularly elevated to upper level management. The unit divided it self against each other based on a series of unacceptable behaviors, and our boss had to direct us not to associate with her or speak to her without at least one witness present. She stopped communicating to coworkers unless she was reporting personal issues to the chief of the maintenance unit. The gravity of the situation warranted her eventual removal from our duty section, and we...