Personal experience with discrimination
Social and cultural diversity across the world affects how individuals are perceived and handled in different social settings. It is the quality of different cultures as opposed to monoculture across the global world. Even though the United States has made an outstanding effort to curb discrimination, traces of these acts still exist specially in the New York City (Belmont, 2011). This paper reflects my own personal experience both at my home town in New York City and abroad, regarding personal biasness and discrimination that I have experienced in different social settings upon factors such as race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, and my culture in general.
During my stay in New York, I have witnessed different forms of discrimination some of which are done in very silent ways. Some of these forms of discrimination include discrimination against immigrants, discrimination basing on sexual orientation, gender discrimination, and some traces of racial discrimination (Belmont, 2011).
My first form of discrimination I have had in most of the places is the gender form of discrimination. I have been a victim of glass ceiling, a situation where women are held back at work places and can never advance to a certain level because they are thought to be incompetent as compared to men (Simpson & Yinger, 1965). There is a situation in the United States where women are seen as an expense to their employers because they are thought not to deliver good services. They take days off frequently for maternity purposes and taking care of children. I have been a victim of such kinds of discrimination. The stereotypic thought of New York City that women are more emotional at work places has also contributed much to most of my discrimination experiences.
Discrimination in the United States has been rampant in most private institutions. Sexual discrimination to the groups of people who are either gay or lesbian has also been a major factor in such institutions. There are private institutions which are owned by people who believe in specific religious beliefs. When it comes to hiring of workers at such work places some form of sexual discrimination is displayed where a specific group of sexual behavior is denied a chance due to religious beliefs. Such forms of discrimination are inacceptable because such individuals have the right to choose their sexual partner and their decision respected as well. Few spots of racial discrimination are also evident in New York City even though it is against the law.
I have cases where my socio-economic status has been compromised to the interest of other people. In school level, especially the high school level, I have faced lot discrimination from students and other inconsiderate teachers. Due the financial status of my family who run small scale businesses in New York to cater for my needs, I was isolated by other students who thought they were supposed to mix with people of their own social class. Some teachers also contributed to this kind of discrimination when it came to administrative matters (Jenks, 1993). Students who were in a good social status were favored because their parents had a great influence on the school administration. In cases where you were both found in mistakes and you were to be expelled from school as a group of students, some parents would come in and influence the favor of their children due to their social status. The factor of social stratification was really disturbing to me and had a negative impact on my overall academic concentration in school.
I have heard a chance to interact with people both from New York and outside my home city. I had a situation where we were in a group of people both attending an interview from different parts of the world. There was a form of racial discrimination in the activity of interviewing the possible candidates because all the Arabs and Asians who attended the interview in New York could not qualify for the positions. Another form of discrimination that was evident was the social stratification form of business which captured me as a victim (Belmont, 2011). Only those individuals who had a high social class were successful due to their influence on the overall process.
My personal experience has taught me a lot of things and changed the way I look at different cultures. I believe that each community or social setting has a reason to why they do what they do. I therefore, believe that there is the need of people respecting what they do, as well as respect others and what they do as well (Jenks, 1993). Due to discrimination because of my ethnicity and gender, I have ended up with a stronger self esteem, and my driving force is to show all those people who discriminated me both in New York and outside the city that I can achieve my goals irrespective of my gender, ethnicity, and social class.
Subtle Racism is a kind of racism that is practiced in an indirect way of displaying beliefs, divisions, and actions to an individual negatively. The signs of this kind of racism are seen through confusing a specific type of race with a given culture, a belief that a certain race is more adept in a specific kind of job, and when someone fails to address you just because you are dressed in a certain way (Jenks, 1993). There is a possibility of having differences in the perceptions and values of members within the same ethnic group. This arises especially when individuals change their religion either from Christianity to Muslim practice.
The ACA and NAADAC codes of ethics are groups in America whose ethical codes have the same goals and a lot of things in common. They initials stand for the American Counseling Association and National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Councilors respectively. The ACA plays the role of clarifying the nature and type of counselors and their respective ethical responsibilities (Tierney, 2007). They support the mission of this establishment by ensuring that all the forms of discrimination are handled fairly. They serve clients who have ethical related issues by processing their inquiries and complaints made against people who practice discrimination.
The NAADAC organization is well positioned by nine provisions that address issues of nondiscrimination, client relationships, compliance with the required law, client welfare, non exploitation of individuals, and ensuring a safe and conducive work environment to the people. These two organizations will inform my practice by ensuring that people learn to respect other people’s practices so long as they do not tamper with their rights as outlined by the law that governs all the individuals (Tierney, 2007). It will allow individuals to avoid discriminating others basing on their cultural values. People will learn that in as much as they have to respect their culture, it is not the law that every person should operate on.
The NAADAC and NAC face common challenges when it comes to professional counselors imposing their own values on clients and eventually compromise their integrity and objectivity to. The common source of this problem between the two organizations is corruption. People who have a great social standing sometimes influence the final decisions made by the councilors, therefore, living out the complainants who might not be in a better position to alter the decisions made unsatisfied (Tierney, 2007).
Cultural sensitivity in treatment planning is an important virtue that should be exercised by everyone in any social setting. It entails the act of tolerance, and respect for other cultures as well as diversity (Spector, 2004). This is an important factor because it minimizes the levels of cultural discrimination of an individual or a group of people.
Communication styles vary across deferent cultural settings depending on the level of development of the given community and their location. They also vary because of the languages used. Different cultures across the world use different languages to communicate, therefore, they understand themselves effectively. Most advanced communities used advanced technological ways of communicating and in most cases; they have a common language that can be understood by people from different cultural settings (Spector, 2004). Different treatment methods should be aimed at ensuring that in a group of different cultures, people are treated in ways that ensures the comfort of each individual.
During the process of writing this paper, my research has allowed me to learn the most important part of cultural diversity, which is the factor of cultural sensitivity in treatment. This is something that when cultivated by all people in this, there wouldn’t be the issues of war and confrontations between countries and communities in the world. To the people of New York City, cultural sensitivity would minimize the level of discrimination at work place especially by bosses. In order to become more informed regarding cultural diversity, there are a lot of resources that can boost my knowledge. The search engine, books from the library, and institutions that deal with cultural factors would equip me adequately with such information.
In order to reduce personal biasness, the first step I have taken is to ensure that I personally practice the act of appreciating each individual with their culture both in New York and the outside world. I have written several articles on the topic of cultural diversity and approached the institution that deals with intellectual properties in my college, to ensure that they are published to students in school, and the general public outside school. This is an effort to advocate for respect and appreciation of other peoples culture (Spector, 2004). I would apply my learning in future as councilor who does not compromise her integrity in future and serves clients fairly.
In conclusion, this paper has had a great influence on me. Through several forms of discrimination, I have grown to develop a stronger self-esteem. My motivation is to be successful in life, and prove to the New York residents that a person of my ethnicity can make it in life (Belmont, 2011).
References
Belmont .C.A. (2011). Cultural Diversity: A Primer for the Human Services. Diller, J. V.
Spector, R. E. (2004). Cultural diversity in health & illness. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Tierney, S. (2007). Accommodating cultural diversity. Aldershot, England: Ashgate.
Trompenaars, A., & Hampden-Turner, C. (2000). Riding the waves culture: Understanding cultural diversity in business. London: Nicholas Brealey Pub.
Babina, L., Bell, M. D., Doual'art, & IStrike (2007). Douala in translation: A view of the city and its creative transformative potentials. Rotterdam: Episode.
Kupiainen, J., Sevänen, E., & Stotesbury, J. A. (2004). Cultural identity in transition: Contemporary conditions, practises and politics of a global phenomenon. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors.
Slate, G. L., & Rankin, W. H. (1933). Raspberry growing in New York State: Cultural practises and disease control. Geneva, N.Y: New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.
Arnold, M., Lipman, S., & Cowling, M. (1994). Culture and anarchy. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Jenks, C. (1993). Culture. London: Routledge.
Simpson, G. E., & Yinger, J. M. (1965). Racial and cultural minorities: An analysis of prejudice and discrimination. New York: Harper & Row.
