Diversity in Society

by wiggy2012 (student)

Diversity in today’s society

In today’s society diversity is all about treating all individuals equally and not discriminating or stereotyping someone based on gender, age, race, sexuality, culture, disability etc. Emmett Till a 14 year old black American was murdered by a white man in 1955 because he may have flirted with his wife and found that a black young man doing this should have consequences. So they tortured him and killed him. Three days later some men fishing discovered the body. Emmett’s mother held a funeral for her son with an open casket. She wanted everyone to see what these horrible men had done to her son, the press published pictures and because of this mother’s actions she helped many people realise that this treatment to black people needed to be ended and this also helped move the civil rights movement forward.

In 1955 many black people were subjected to racial segregation in America and were only allowed to sit in particular places and couldn’t participate in activities or have the same chances as white people had. Rosa Parks a young black woman refused to give up her sit to a white person. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted for 385 days and was led by Martin Luther King Jr. When the campaign and boycott was over, racial segregation on buses didn’t exist anymore and this transformed Martin Luther King Jr into a public figure. Martin Luther King Jr had a dream and wanted to change people's perceptions of black people. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr gave a 17 minute speech which is now known as “I have a dream”. This speech helped make the path clearly for the civil rights movement and made the civil rights movement a more serious issue that needed to be dealt with first by the government.

In the economy many children and families may be less fortunate than others and may not be able to offer their children the same chances as other children. For example at Christmas many wealthy families or ‘middle class families’ may be able to get their children lots of presents and this may make their children aspect more and may become selfish when they get older. The less fortunate children that see the children with lots of presents many possible feel devalued even though this isn’t the case and this therefore can create people to stereotype based on what someone may or may not have. Jobs can also affect diversity and valuing each other equally, people can stereotype very easily, sometimes you may have a job that people may call as sleazy yet it may be the only way you can get yourself through university or raise your child etc.

In this current economy when it’s hard to find a job many employers may discriminate someone based on their age and this is known as ageism. If you had people applying for a job in a school and you had someone who was 50 years old apply and had greater qualifications than a 19 year old, who would you hire?

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In this day and age you’d believe that same sex marriage would have been legal in England for a long time yet it was only recently that same sex marriage became legal In this article wrote before the vote the headline said “David Cameron will make 'no attempt' to persuade Tory MPs to vote for gay marriage.”

David Cameron will make 'no attempt' to persuade Tory MPs to vote for gay marriage - Telegraph. 2013. David Cameron will make 'no attempt' to persuade Tory MPs to vote for gay marriage - Telegraph. [ONLINE] Available at:. [Accessed 05 February 2013].

YouGov done a poll in which they asked the question “Will you be more likely to vote for a party that supports same sex marriage” or “Be less likely to vote for a party that supports same sex marriage” or “Don’t know”. In total 54% answered they would vote for a party which supports same sex marriage and 44% answered that they would be less likely to vote for a party that supports same sex marriage and only 2% answered they don’t know. Overall the difference isn’t very great and this represents how will as a country feel about same sex marriage.

. 2013. . [ONLINE] Available at:. [Accessed 05 February 2013].

As same sex marriage is legal now everyone no matter on sexuality can be married in the Uk and this therefore give everyone an equal chance.

Most of us want equality and diversity in today's society yet many of us would disagree about wanting equality in the economy. Inequality in the economy is mainly differences in money such as the rich and poor. Inequality is caused by debt, addictions and job loss among many other ways to get into poverty. Many of us struggle to keep our heads above water in this current economic situation. By looking at End child poverty we can see that most areas have poverty yet some much more than others such as Manchester Central with 47% of child poverty. By looking at the massive differences between Manchester Central and Richmond which only has 7% of child poverty we can see that the places that don’t have much poverty are the stereotypical places, in which we believe that middle aged people with business suits live. End Child Poverty - Poverty In Your Area. 2013. End Child Poverty - Poverty In Your Area. [ONLINE] Available at:. [Accessed 04 March 2013].

We can all go through hardship. Hardship is when people are living in difficult circumstances and it can be hard to make ends meet. Personally I know the struggle that being in debt and living day to day can have on families and people. It can cause a lot of stress and sometimes the stress of living with debt above your head can even lead some of those worst of to contemplate suicide. In the great crash of 1929 suicide rates were 18:1 only a decade before the suicide rate was 12:1 this shows how hard some people can find living in debt and poverty.

The Great Depression Statistics. 2013. The Great Depression Statistics. [ONLINE] Available at:. [Accessed 04 March 2013].

Yet with all things in this world with being diverse you also come across many implications that can make it harder to be diverse. When you look around nursery’s to find the best place for your child things such as is it accessible for my child and would/ could they provide for my child is a big step in why you may chose the nursery. Certain steps in becoming a diverse setting can be hard to achieve because of the implications that follow it. Some recent news articles such as

Bakery Denies Same-Sex Couple Wedding Cake - ABC News. 2013. Bakery Denies Same-Sex Couple Wedding Cake - ABC News. [ONLINE] Available at:. [Accessed 04 February 2013].

This bakery that said that they would provide “cakes for any occasion” yet when a same sex couple asked for a wedding cake with two brides of the top they refused not because there was any implications but because they weren’t diverse, even though they said they’d provide for all events. Yet they had strong religious beliefs and is being diverse accepting their beliefs and also accepting the couple’s sexuality however to accept differences some people can’t do both and therefore to accept the couple’s sexuality they’ll be giving up their beliefs. Meritocracy is when a society looks at peoples skills, talents and intelligence and therefore by looking at these skills the society offers these people opportunities, yet within all aspects of live we are judged based on what we can and can’t do. I believe this however is a good thing. You wouldn’t want someone under qualified teaching you or someone under qualified being a doctor. On the other hand sometimes jobs don’t accept people that may seem over qualified. Overall you wouldn’t want someone working in a job that they can’t handle.

In the end we all have dreams and if these dreams were easy to get then we would have nothing to aspire for.

By being diverse we are becoming a more interesting country and society, were also becoming more knowledgeable, allowing everyone to have equal chances and opening ourselves up to different foods, experiences etc.

However many people in this country and in all countries stereotype. Some political parties such as the BNP disagree with England becoming a more diverse country and many people believe only British people should have jobs over here and many crimes have happened because of people’s diverse views on how this country is. Yet in a childcare setting diversity should be embraced and celebrated this is important because it teaches children to respect all individuals and teaches the children to be well rounded people who don’t judge someone based on sexuality, gender, race, disability etc. We can celebrate differences and children’s skills by showing their work around the school, making display’s based on differences/traditions etc, put posters up such as hello in different languages.

Overall as a future child care professional you should value diversity and be a good role model to children.

I feel that promoting diversity in a nursery setting and any childcare setting is essential to a child’s learning and development. In this day and age you should be able to be who you want to be and not be judged. In this world you should value all individuals and we can help children learn to be open minded by encouraging and supporting different ways of thinking. Posters, displays, activities and food we have at a nursery can promote diversity. The music we listen to can be from different cultures. Children need to learn that everyone they come across is different and that it’s these differences that make us special and make England a great country.

By Melissa Pope