Considerations on diversity

A very stimulating point of view by Veronica Gioviale on Sole 24 Ore around the consideration of diversity like a add value point even in companies. Below the summary.

We can choose to preserve the apparently reassuring homogeneity and conformism, or we can try to walk the path of difference and uniqueness, where uncertainty becomes our faithful and honest life partner. Change and ability to read diversity are the first words that spring to my mind when I read the facts just reported. Going beyond the definitions they taught us becomes necessary. This involves learning to ask questions about our surroundings and to be ready to review our ideas and beliefs. if we have the courage to rip off the veil of Maya - it is not a dissertation on the phenomenon and on the "Noumeno" of Kant and Schopenhauer . We will also have the opportunity to read and perceive the "self" in a more functional way than the relationships that we will understand and the environment in which we will move.

Even companies are trying "to rip off the veil of Maya". Sometimes the tear is awkward, improper, calculated, remedial, other times it is aimed at pursuing innovation, excellence and change.

In this space, stereotypes and prejudices are formed. Some of these dimensions are religion, hobbies, education, marital status, work experience, one's appearance, where one lives, etc. Even the dimensions mentioned have an influence on individual behaviors, perceptions and attitudes.

The positive effects on the enhancement and management of diversity are confirmed by research and managerial experiences. It is equally true that there is a literature that highlights the negative effects of diversity by promoting the In-group. The two dichotomic perspectives are the social information theory and the social categorization theory . In a nutshell, the first states that diversity leads to better decision-making processes because heterogeneous groups offer a wider range of skills, competences, experiences, visions of the world and therefore can more easily intercept the most pertinent solution to the problem to be solved. The second theory states instead that, precisely the affinity between people determines attraction, sympathy and this constitutes the group to which one belongs. This union becomes the strength of the group because it produces cohesion, compactness, minor conflicts and therefore a multiplicity of positive results.

Since the barriers of diversity are visible and invisible, anyone who decides to undertake this journey will need to study the new human and organizational evolution and will have to accept the infinite limitations and contradictions of the human being.

Source : The entire Article on Il Sole 24 ore