Reflecting on diversity

Submitted by estelle.zivano… on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 13:28

Personal reflection is a great way of thinking about your own views and values around diversity. Personal reflection helps you to understand your own point of view and think more deeply about how your views and values might shape your responses to various situations that arise in a workplace.

The process of reflection is an important one in a community services workplace. It is a chance to think about what you value and what is important to you. Reflection needs to involve action and follow up so that the lessons which have been learnt are able to be applied.

People’s responses in situations are based on their own views, values and ideas. These stem from their own thinking processes, as well as their prior experiences and the views and values of the wider community.

Personal perspective

There are many factors which influence the way a person thinks and responds. These include culture, community, friends and family.

Sub Topics

There are many different models which can be used to help with the process of identifying and reflecting upon your own thinking. Reflecting means thinking about experiences and points of view, learning from them and applying them to new experiences and actions.. Reflection means using a growth mindset and thinking about what and how to change for the future.

  • Able to change and grow over time
  • Internal control possible
  • Can alter the prevailing situation
  • Looking to the future with optimism
  • Unchanging and unchangable
  • Internal control not possible
  • Cannot alter the prevailing situation
  • Looking to the future with pessimism

The reflective model we will use for this unit is the Gibbs Model. This model includes six steps which can be used for situations that you might experience in a community services workplace. It is ideal for using in complex or challenging situations and where there is time available to reflect, consider and record thinking and ideas.

Gibbs Reflection Model

The Gibbs model encourages reflective practice by first describing an event or situation, then recording the feelings and emotions that are associated with the event. The next step is to evaluate the situation or experience itself. Think about what happened and which aspects were positive and negative. This stage is more effective if you remember to use a growth mindset approach and remind yourself that things can change over time,. Write down the positives and the negatives. The next stage is to analyse the experience and think about what could happen now. The next step is the conclusion, where you think about what you could do differently. Lastly, there is an action plan stage to help plan actions for next time.

Gibb's reflection model

Reflection diaries

Reflection diaries help you consider your own point of view and responses in situations at work. Reflection diaries you are great for recording your own thinking and make sense of your feelings, particularly at times where there is a significant challenge or problem that occurs. Reflection diaries are used in many different professions and are considered an effective way of learning from previous experiences, and becoming a more effective practitioner in the future.

Some useful approaches to using a reflection diary include:

  • Set aside time once or twice a week to write in your diary
  • Include words related to feelings and emotions
  • Use the Gibbs Model to help you think through all the stages of reflection
  • Read your own writing after you have written it
  • Spend time thinking about what you have learnt as a result

Remember to respect the privacy and confidentiality of clients and families if you use a reflection diary. Do not include real names or other details. Keep your reflection diary in a secure place.

Sharing your perspectives

Some organisations run guided reflection sessions in their workplace. During these sessions, participants are encouraged to bring their reflections to share with others. This process is guided by a facilitator who ensures there is a clear set of rules and community agreement about what is to be shared and how. Confidentiality must be respected and there should be clear understandings about the use of identifying features such as names, addresses or situations which might breach client or worker rights.

A guided reflection session might happen if there has been a significant problem or crisis at your work. It can help people to talk about what has happened and work out how to move forwards.

Perspective means the way we view situations and how we develop our point of view. Social and cultural perspectives are the point of view that people hold which is based on their social and cultural background. Think about your own current social and cultural perspectives. What do you know about the factors that have led to you holding the views and ideals that you do? Have you been strongly influenced by a particular perspective or way of thinking? How might your perspective affect the way you speak to a client or family member? Thinking about your perspective helps you respond more effectively when you work with clients and families.

Family and cultural background can affect how we perceive situations, and the way we respond to them. They can also influence the way we interact with other people. Remember that others, too, will be influenced by their own family and cultural background. Here are some things that are affected by culture and family:

There are many aspects of interaction with others that can be affected by our own cultural and familial experiences. Over time, these influences can affect not only the way we interact with others, but also the ways of working that occur in our workplace.

Verbal and non verbal communication as well as receptive and expressive modes of communication can be affected
How to interact with others based on their relationship to us, and what we consider to be appropriate or inappropriate
What we believe is expected from people in various levels of responsibility or positions of seniority
How conflict is identified and resolved
How we provide assistance and advice to others, and what information we feel can or should be shared
Whether particular days, activities or events should be celebrated or acknowledged
Example
Son kisses his mother on forehead

Ravi grew up in a household where he was raised by his mother and there was no male role model in his life. His own cultural background is a very traditional, patriarchal one, where there is usually strong leadership within the family by the eldest male, who is generally seen to be the main decision maker. In Ravi’s case, he has been influenced by the decision making and leadership role being taken primarily by his mother. His views and values on the role of men and women in households and workplaces has been influenced by the effect of his dual experiences.

The influence of family

Consider your own family. How strongly do they influence your own way of thinking? Many people like to describe themselves as independent thinkers, but when they really think it through, they realise how strongly influenced they can be by their family. Sometimes family can have a significant effect on your own relationships, as well as on the perception you have of other people and the ways you interact across society. The influence of family and culture can have a profound effect on what you consider to be important in life, as well as what you think and how you respond to situations.

Your own family can affect the way you interact with clients too. You might value particular ways of thinking and interacting and assume that every family is similar to your own.

Activity

Think about your own family members. Write some dot points about the sorts of things that may have influenced their thinking, and, how members of your family influence your own thinking.

The influence of culture

Your own cultural background can influence the way you think, feel and respond to situations. There will be a variety of community attitudes, language, policies and structures related to your own culture which can make a difference to your perceptions and responses.

Culture includes:

  • Attitudes
  • Language
  • Policies and structures

Community attitudes include acceptance or rejection of particular ideas or activities, and the things which are considered as important.

Language refers to the usual spoken or written language of the majority of people who share your cultural background; there may be more than one language which is commonly used. For example, people who are from a Lebanese background may speak both Arabic and French in addition to speaking English.

Policies and structures refer to the formal and informal arrangements which are widely accepted within your own culture, and the ways that they determine how individuals behave and respond. For example, in some cultures the concept of an arranged marriage is still considered usual, while in other cultures it may be seen as completely unacceptable.

Think

Think about your own culture. How strongly do you think you are influenced by concepts and ideas that you have inherited as part of your culture?How might your cultural attitudes, language and structures affect your work with clients?

Some people already know a great deal about their own culture, as well as the culture of other people in their community. Other people have very limited knowledge of culture. Just because someone has a particular cultural background does not always mean they hold extensive knowledge about their own culture. Many people in Australia have grown up not knowing a lot about their own culture and background.

Activity

Consider your own cultural background. How well do you know the rituals, customs, activities and expectations of your own culture? Can you think of a time when culture has played an important part in your life? Draw a cartoon or sketch that shows a key moment in time that depicts how culture has influenced your thinking and emotions.

Reflection can help us in the workplace and in situations where we are interacting with people who may have very different familial and cultural backgrounds to our own. Reflection can help you with:

  • Identifying limitations of self and social awareness
  • Working with limitations
  • Working inclusively
  • Working effectively with others
  • Identifying ways to improve social and self awareness
  • Taking action to improve social and self awareness

Identifying limitations

No one is perfect and it is important to remember that everyone has limits.

Research

Go online and locate a summary of the concept of emotional intelligence and write your own dot point summary that includes the four aspects of emotional intelligence. Consider how emotional intelligence might relate to your own ability to build your own social- and self-awareness.

What can limitations affect?

The first step is to understand that factors which limit our self- and social-awareness can be damaging to our effectiveness at work. Limitations can make it more difficult to:

  • Work well with a range of clients and families
  • Resolve misunderstandings
  • Address communication barriers
  • Provide effective training and support
  • Work within Australian diversity laws
  • Respond appropriately to situations of discrimination and bias
  • Avoid inappropriate or derogatory language
  • Build an effective, diverse and inclusive workplace
  • Take action if you see or hear discrimination at work

As a community services worker, you can think about your own limits and how they affect your daily work activities. Recognise when there is something you don’t know about and take steps to learn more. Find out what you can do to be pro-active in dealing with discrimination and addressing disadvantage in the community.

Diverse people packing food

Share your checklist answers with another person in your class and compare your ideas and points of view. Where were you similar and where were you different? How might your limitations affect your daily work activities in community services?

Working with own limitations

If you can identify areas where you have limits, you are better able to address them. Look back at the checklist you have just completed. Were there any areas where you struggle or have limits based on your own skills and knowledge? Highlight two of these areas then write some clear goals to help you work more effectively in a community services area that interests you. For example, you might think how your own lack of knowledge of Torres Strait Islander cultural practices might affect your ability to work with a community organisation or local government agency in the Torres Strait.

Remember

Make sure your goals use the SMART approach – they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time limited. SMART goals are used in lots of community services workplaces and they are a great way of making sure you are able to achieve your goals.

Example

Marjorie highlighted this statement from the checklist as being an area where she ticked ‘Not true at all’:

‘I know where to look to find accurate information about culture and diversity’

Marjorie knows that she has very limited knowledge of cultures other than her own and she wants to improve in this area so she can apply for a wider range of community services jobs in the future. She writes this SMART goal:

I will be able to identify three different sources of cultural diversity information that will be useful for working with clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds by the end of June, 2021.

Working inclusively

It is easy to agree that working in an inclusive way is important and that we should always do this in a workplace. It is far harder to put deliberate, planned strategies in place to ensure that inclusive work practices happen each day, in all aspects of workplace operations.

There are many direct and indirect forms of discrimination and bias which occur in a workplace and taking steps to identify and address these on a personal level is a great first step to take. Think about your own biases, preferences and tendencies when it comes to working with people who are from diverse backgrounds. Consider your own knowledge and skills and how comfortable and experienced you are in working effectively across a range of groups of people.

Plan some specific ways that you can ensure you are working inclusively in your day to day activities, whether you are in a leadership position or reporting to more senior staff.

Diverse teams are strong teams. They often achieve more and are able to outperform teams which are less diverse.
Begin each day with the assumption that working with people from diverse backgrounds is simply a regular part of what will happen in your workplace each day.
Know the laws around diversity and inclusion in relation to race, gender and disabililty and make sure you follow them carefully.
Make sure you follow the diversity and inclusion policies at your work and apply them to all situations with clients and their families and carers
Take steps to improve your performance in relation to diversity and inclusion practices and think about how to reflect on your performance.

Here are some ideas to make sure you are working inclusively:

Working effectively with others

Most workplaces include teams that exist across the organisation and many people are members of more than one team. Some teams are very large while others are much smaller. Good communication is vital to the success of all teams.

It is important that all team members feel they have a voice. In a diverse work team, people communicate with each other and share the workload. They talk to each other about:

  • The daily tasks
  • The goals of the team
  • Problems that occur
  • Solutions to problems

Good teams work well together and understand that everyone brings something different and important to the team as a whole.

Strategies that help teams work together effectively include:

  • Asking for and offering help to others
  • Understanding that people use verbal and non verbal communication differently
  • Respecting differences in body language, position, tone and style of communication
  • Utilising the strengths that come along with a diverse team
  • Using professional interpreting and translating services
  • Using communication technology
  • Asking other team members what helps them achieve their best
Think

How many teams exist in your workplace? Who are the members of the teams and how are they structured? What happens at work to make sure everyone is able to join in and feel well supported in the team?

Case Study
Isolated young girl from peers

Jonti is attending a youth support worker team meeting for the first time. She is a quietly spoken young woman who has just finished her training and has begun working full time in recent weeks. During the meeting, she shares an opinion about a new program flyer and social media campaign about youth mental health. She suggests that they change the background colour so the text can be read more easily by a reader who has a vision impairment or dyslexia. Another worker, Jim, loudly dismisses her suggestion and tells her there is little enough time in their meetings without catering to the needs of people who can’t even read. Jonti turns red and looks down at her hands and does not speak again for the rest of the meeting. The meeting continues and no one says anything about Jim’s attitude or Jonti’s suggestion.

Activity

Consider the following questions as part of a discussion about the case study above:

  • If you were at this meeting, what would you do?
  • What is the possible role that culture may have in this situation?
  • What are your thoughts about other people who are present in this meeting?

Imagine you are Jonti. Complete a reflection journal page about this meeting.

Identify and take action to improve personal and social-awareness

Everyone at work has a role to play in taking action to improve their workplace.

The table below shows some of the aspects of diversity which occur in a community services workplace. Think about how you would rate your own awareness and what you could do to improve:

Aspect of diversity What it means How I rate my awareness What I could do to improve
Gender roles Respecting the identities of transgender, nonbinary and intersex individuals.    
Family structure and roles Families can be very different and the roles that are played by different family members can vary greatly.    
Older people Older people can experience discrimination when they cannot access or participate in community events or facilities or use websites and social media to find information.    
Physical disability Right of access to community facilities is protected by law. Some venues may not provide full accessibility or may not understand their responsibilities.    
Mental illness Mental illness affects many people in the workplace and wider community, and can range from episodic, mild conditions to significant and long-lasting conditions. Conditions are often not well understood by others.    
Language Many Australians can speak, read or write in more than one language and may be better able to access information if it is translated into a different language.    
Religion Religion can influence many aspects of daily activities, including dress, meals, celebrations, customs and traditions and can influence the way people choose to receive services and supports.    
Sexuality People who identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual or queer can experience discrimination in the community.    
Case Study
Woman attending training session

Rowena works for a disability support program in Queensland and knows that many people in her community are new arrivals in Australia and speak a language other than English as their preferred language.,. Rowena feels poorly equipped to work with people with disability who are from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and knows that her knowledge and experience is very limited. Rowena asks her team leader if she can attend a training event to learn more about working with people who have a disability and are from a culturally and linguistically diverse background. Rowena attends the training and learns a great deal about her unconscious bias and strategies she can use to better support her clients and their families.

Now it's your turn

  1. Why do you think reflecting on your work performance is important?
  2. What does unconscious bias mean to you?
  3. Spend some time reading through Gibbs Reflective Model and start your own reflection journal!

 

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In summary, this topic on reflecting on diversity has emphasized the importance of personal reflection in understanding our own views, values, and perspectives regarding diversity. By engaging in reflective practices, we gain insight into how our beliefs and experiences shape our responses in workplace situations.

Reflection is a valuable tool in the community services workplace, allowing us to examine what we value and consider important. It is not merely a passive process but rather an opportunity for action and follow-up, enabling us to apply the lessons learned.

We have explored how individuals' responses are influenced by their own thinking processes, prior experiences, and the broader views and values of the community. Factors such as culture, community, friends, and family play a significant role in shaping our thoughts and reactions.

Throughout the unit, we have examined reflection models and their effective utilization. By employing these models, we can delve deeper into our own perspectives, challenge assumptions, and foster a more inclusive mindset. This unit has empowered us to recognize the impact of our personal perspectives and strive for greater awareness and understanding of diversity in the workplace.

Engaging in personal reflection and employing effective reflection models can enhance our ability to navigate diverse situations with sensitivity and respect. Let us carry forward the lessons learned in this topic and continue to engage in reflective practices that promote inclusivity and cultural competence in our community services work.

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