{"id":15950,"date":"2021-03-06T22:48:01","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T21:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/?p=15950"},"modified":"2021-03-06T22:49:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T21:49:26","slug":"what-is-cultural-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Cultural Diversity?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Culture shapes the world, but what is culture? It\u2019s the art, traditions, achievements, languages, and values of social groups. Culture is passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately, many cultures, mostly indigenous ones, are in danger. The state of language is a good example. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unesco.org\/new\/fileadmin\/MULTIMEDIA\/HQ\/CLT\/pdf\/aboutEndangeredLanguages-WV-EN-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to UNESCO<\/a>, almost half of the world\u2019s languages are at risk of disappearing. When languages are lost, a group\u2019s history, stories, medical knowledge, and more are lost, as well. Culture is also threatened by things like climate change, war, religious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/magazine\/5-free-courses-on-equality-and-non-discrimination\/\">discrimination<\/a>, and development. When cultures vanish, the world\u2019s cultural diversity suffers. Why does this matter?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is cultural diversity? <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cCultural diversity\u201d is the presence of various cultural and ethnic groups within a society. It\u2019s also called \u201cmulticulturalism.\u201d Due to drivers like immigration and economic globalization, cultural diversity is a hot-button topic. How does it manifest in society? There are two main theories: the melting pot and the salad bowl. Both these theories are simplified versions of reality. It\u2019s not as if societies wholeheartedly embrace one or the other. They\u2019re still worth knowing about.<\/p>\n<h3>The melting pot: unity or assimilation?<\/h3>\n<p>The melting pot theory of cultural diversity states that when different cultures meet, they melt together. The \u201cmelting pot\u201d metaphor is often used to describe the immigrant experience in the United States. Just like different metals melt together to create something new and strong, different cultures unify into something better. Is this true, though? The positive view of a cultural melting pot says that there\u2019s an equal blend of each culture\u2019s strengths. In reality, however, what tends to happen is that <a href=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/against-the-melting-pot-metaphor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">certain cultures are forced to assimilate to the dominant culture<\/a> and let go of their unique traditions. This is often enforced through government and work policies, as well as fear and shame-based discrimination.<\/p>\n<h3>The salad bowl theory: individuality or isolation?<\/h3>\n<p>In the 1960s, the salad bowl metaphor of cultural diversity gained traction. Instead of a pot where cultures meld together, cultures remain separate in a salad bowl. They retain their individuality while living side by side. We can see examples of salad-bowl communities in places like New York City, which has areas like Chinatown and Little Italy. A salad bowl preserves individual cultures, but it\u2019s not without issues. There\u2019s concern that society becomes fractured without a shared identity that connects the different cultures. This can lead to increased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/magazine\/5-free-courses-on-equality-and-non-discrimination\/\">discrimination<\/a> and prejudice when cultures do interact with each other. While the melting pot represents one side of the spectrum &#8211; assimilation &#8211; the salad bowl can represent isolation. There must be a balance between the two where cultures are respected and valued for their differences, but united in pursuit of the true common good. This isn\u2019t an easy undertaking for societies. Is it worth it?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why cultural diversity matters<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cultural diversity can lead to problems like discrimination, but it has many benefits. It can actually help reduce discrimination as opposed to fueling it. Empathy and a commitment to respect must be present. Mere proximity to a different culture may improve discrimination based on unfamiliarity, but as is clear from the United States and its long history of cultural diversity, closeness alone isn\u2019t enough to significantly reduce discrimination. When proximity is matched with respect and celebration, different cultures benefit greatly from one another\u2019s perspectives, skills, and values. There\u2019s unity in this shared commitment to learning and connecting.<\/p>\n<p>Cultural diversity is also important for the economy. According to research done on cultural diversity in the workplace, it\u2019s shown to <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2013\/12\/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">improve innovation and productivity<\/a>. The more diverse a workplace is, the more ideas and perspectives there are. Tasks like problem-solving and brainstorming in particular benefit from diversity. Today, more and more businesses are investing in diversity and inclusion (D&amp;I) practices and seeing results like better recruitment, higher employee satisfaction, and better performance.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Supporting cultural diversity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For the benefits of cultural diversity to become a reality, members of society need to come together to support it. Everyone, including but not limited to politicians, business leaders, and teachers, all play an important role in acknowledging and respecting cultural similarities and differences. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Recognize and respect other cultures\u2019 celebrations, traditions, beliefs, etc<\/li>\n<li>Work to preserve disappearing languages<\/li>\n<li>Consume media (books, movies, music, etc) from other cultures<\/li>\n<li>Stand against cultural discrimination<\/li>\n<li>Be aware of how societies often force people to assimilate<\/li>\n<li>Encourage learning about other cultures<\/li>\n<li>Let people from other cultures speak for themselves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As globalization continues, increased interaction between different cultures is inevitable for many societies. How those societies choose to respond to that interaction and the impacts are not set in stone. If fear of the unfamiliar, disrespect, and a lack of curiosity drive decision-making, discrimination and the degradation of culture will follow. When there\u2019s acknowledgment, respect, and celebration, cultural diversity has the power to strengthen economies and communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":14918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8805],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issues","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is Cultural Diversity? | Human Rights Careers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Cultural Diversity?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Human Rights Careers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HumanRightsCareers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-06T21:48:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-06T21:49:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/girl-2696947_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Emmaline Soken-Huberty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HuRiCareers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HuRiCareers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emmaline Soken-Huberty\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Emmaline Soken-Huberty\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6f1a5aa6d77a682162b2d76bcf1628e4\"},\"headline\":\"What is Cultural Diversity?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-06T21:48:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-06T21:49:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/\"},\"wordCount\":824,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/girl-2696947_1280.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Issues\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/what-is-cultural-diversity\/\",\"name\":\"What is Cultural Diversity? 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