Diversity

Age, gender, ethnic/racial diversity, and personality traits are all types of diversity that companies are utilizing to maximize the effectiveness of their companies, and become more productive. Each element of diversity affects the behavior of the employees in that company. In this paper, I will discuss these four types of diversity and characteristics and how each impact individual behavior.

Age

Of course, there is a noticeable difference in the appearance of a 50-year-old individual versus that of a 20-year-old individual; however, both of their ages have an impact on their respective individual behaviors.

Being in my 20’s myself; I strongly believe that this affects my behavior. When compared with co-worker my senior, our work ethics differ substantially. I am required to be present at work at 7:55 a.m., and that is when I step into the door. On the other hand, older employees who work at the company are required to be at work at 8:00 a.m. but always seem to be there at about fifteen before the hour. Not only is this that case with me, but also with others my age that work for the United States Air Force.

There is a common assumption that the older the employee is, the more stable, dedicated, and hardworking they are, and that the younger an employee is the less responsible, diligent, and grounded they are.This may hold to be true in some cases, but is bordering on stereotyping.

Companies who value older employess value their knowledge, skills, experience, and feel as though they can aid in the development of an effective workplace and teach the younger generation of workers a thing or two. Younger employees can bring fresh innovative ideas, and breath life in to a company that may be used to a traditional way of accomplishing tasks. Age diversity can greatly affect the success of a company when all ages of employees work together. Older employees can also act as mentors for the younger employees during the New Hire and induction periods. Mature workers have patience and a reassuring manner, which helps new starters settle into the workplace quickly and efficiently.

Gender

In the United States Air Force, while it is common to work with both men and women in your everyday profession, what is not so common is the presence of a female in a high-ranking position, especially in the officer corps. In my four years in the Air Force, I have shaken the hand of countless male Generals, Lieutenant Colonels, and Chief Master Sergeants. Nevertheless, in my whole time serving, I have only encountered one female Commander.

In my experience, I have found that females in positions of authority tend to feel like they have to be that much more intolerant of unprofessionalism and conduct unbecoming of the Air Force. One Chief Master Sergeant told me that because she was a woman she had to be much tougher when it came to handing out non-judicial punishment than her male counterparts, so that she would not be looked at as “soft.”

When I was stationed at Yokota AB, in Tachikawa Japan, I was amazed to learn how the soldiers spoke of their Squadron Commander. There were an assortment of gender slurs thrown out when describing her management ability and the ways in which she dealt with the troops. Never in my military career had I heard such disrespect expressed openly about a Commander. It left me wondering if the complaints would have been different or even nonexistent had our Commander been a male.

Another impact that gender has on behavior is noticeable when dealing with sexual harassment in the military. Speaking from personal experience, as a woman it is already hard enough being faced with joining a force that is predominantly male. With the Air Force cracking down on sexual harassment within the force, and no longer tolerating the telling of sexual jokes, and topics of explicit nature, women were treated differently, and began behaving differently. Women who were experiencing forms of sexual harassment did not come forward for fear of being called a “whistleblower or whiner.”

Based on my personal observations I believe that the integration of both men and women into a workplace environment perform much better than teams that are predominately composed of males or females alone. The tendency for all female organizations is to focus primarily on how the team works together, where as the primary focus of an all male organization comprised of all males is on achieving the task. If both are present within an organization the best results can be achieved. A balance of how the organization performs