Masters in HRER 836 – Diversity in the Workplace
Masters in HRER 836 – Diversity in the Workplace
Essay Assignment – The American economic, social, and political cultures all promote equality of opportunity as a core value. In other words, outcomes will not always be equal, but no one should unfairly be denied the opportunity to succeed.
Consider the following circumstances:
1. John Smith is an 18 year-old high school student. He has been a solid student with a B+ average and participates in a variety of extracurricular activities. He lives in Boston. He plans on attending college. His parents are divorced and he seldom sees his father. He has three siblings, all younger. His mother works two jobs; as a clerk at the local supermarket, and as a part-time employee for a human service organization. As a consequence, John is frequently responsible for his siblings’ dinner and occasionally helping them with their homework. No one in John’s family has ever attended college. He is Caucasian.
2. Brianna Jefferson is an 18 year-old high school student. She lives in Denver. She has been a solid student with an A average and participates in a variety of extracurricular activities. She plans on attending college. She lives with her parents and has three brothers, all of whom are athletes at their local school. Her father is a partner in a local law firm and her mother is a full-time housekeeper although she has a B.S. degree in chemistry. Her mother left her position as a high school teacher to help raise the children. The family is African-American and they belong to the Southern Baptist Church.
3. Gabby Liu is an 18 year old Asian woman. She is Catholic. Her parents are immigrants from China. Her mother works at the hospital cleaning rooms, and her father works as an electrician at the same hospital. They do not have a lot of money. She has been a solid student with a C+ average and participates in a variety of extracurricular activities. She lives in Maryland and has three sisters. Her counselor has encouraged her to apply to prestigious universities, even though her grades were low. She plans to attend the local community college and study information technology.
4. Amira Mitri is an 18 year old Muslim woman. She has been a solid student with an A average and a variety of extracurricular activities. She lives in South Carolina with her parents. Her parents, who are both engineers, were born in the U.S. She plans to attend college and become a doctor. She has three sisters and one brother. Unlike her sisters, she has decided to cover her head and practice her faith fully.
5. Benjamin Davis is an 18 year old Jewish high school student. He has been a solid student with a B+ average and participates in a variety of extracurricular activities. He is queer, transperson on the male-to-female spectrum. He recently came out to his family and friends as a gay man. They live in Alabama. He attends a prestigious private high school. He plans to attend college. His parents are married and he is an only child. His father is a Vice President at the local bank; his mom is a stay-at-home mother.
6. Charles Robertson is an 18 year-old high school student. Charles is black. He has been a solid student with a B+ average and a variety of extracurricular activities. His father is a movie star and his mother is a lawyer. He lives in New York and sometimes in California. He attends private high school. He drives an SUV. He has one sister. He plans to attend college. Their house is cleaned by a maid, their food is often catered, and their pool and yard are cared for by contractors.
Based on the readings in Lesson 2, compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages that John, Brianna, Gabby, Amira, Benjamin, and Charles are likely to experience as they begin their journey to, through, and after college.
List the privileges and disadvantages they each have . Include this list in your submission. Once you have completed your list,
provide your answers to the following questions (in one paragraph per question) or approximately 2 pages in total).
1. Which privileges and disadvantages, if any, do you believe are unfair?
2. How do their privileges (or lack of) affect their lives and their ability to achieve their goals?
Please see attached Lesson 2 Overview & Commentary & Reading Material/Articles needed to complete this essay assignment.
Please use APA Style for references.
Please include page nos. from the text for all references.
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