This a historic election for America. For African Americans the significance of this election has been summarized as:
Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama is running so our children can fly. -Unknown as heard on NPR
From The Week:
“Culture shapes our perceptions so fundamentally that it could even determine how we look at each other’s faces, says Wired.com. Researchers at the University of Glasgow in the UK studied how Europeans and Asians moved their eyes when they looked at portraits, and they discovered stark differences. Asians focused their gaze at the center of faces, while Westerners looked first to the eyes, then to the mouth. Researchers say the differences reflect different attitudes toward individualism and society. Western culture is more individualistic; the approach to facial recognition is piece by piece and more intimate. Eastern societies tend to be more collectivist, and facial recognition proceeds in a more holistic manner. It’s a matter of debate whether the different styles of facial recognition are a product of the different culture or a factor in shaping them. “It’s the chicken-and-egg problem” says Roberto Caldara. “We’re testing children to see whether these effects arise early.”
About to embark on a series of Diversity training sessions recently, I invited the HR representative of the organization I was conducting the training for to feel free to join in. Much to my surprise, the representative responded with a point blank refusal. She much preferred conducting sessions herself and certainly had no intention of participating in any of the sessions. They were far too personal for her liking she said, and not something she would feel comfortable engaging in. If there is one thing I have noticed that seperates HR personnel from the non-management level employees, it is the lack of person-to-person contact. Again and again the participants to training sessions remark that the Human Resources staff seem removed from that which concerns the rest of the workforce and that they would like to see their HR being more in touch with their ‘clients’. By participating in the training this HR representative could have a) built a personal connection with some of the other employees (her ‘clients’) of the institution and b) been able to relate to the issues that concern them and thereby address those issues more effectively as and when they arise.
I had an interesting encounter at a Pakistani-owned ‘Indian Store’. The ‘Indian Store’ is called such by those of us who frequent it because it sells the spices, lentils, vegetables, grains etc. that are used in Indian cooking. There aren’t that many Indian stores in and around Boston. And as the opening sentence reveals, they are often owned either by Pakistani, Indian, Nepali or Bangladeshi immigrants. My family tends to go to whatever is closest to home, however we have our favorite in the Greater Boston area, and it is one owned by our subcontinental neighbour Fahad-Bhai who is Pakistani (name has been changed for reasons of privacy). ‘Bhai’ by the way, means ‘brother’ in Hindi (and other Indian languages). Persons who are considered close or friends are addressed in a respectful manner by using Bhai for brother and Didi or Behn for sister. Walking into an Indian store is like going home. You smell the aroma of your mother’s kitchen, you see the produce you are familiar with, and the bustle of homesick people like yourself is comforting to say the least. We went looking for unripe, green mangoes. We use these to make mango pickle, something that is eaten as a relish along with the meal. We found the mangoes and a lot more besides. We use these out-of-our-way trips to stock up on all the needs an Indian kitchen might possibly have. As I am a vegetarian, my purchases are directed in that direction. My non-vegetarian husband uses our visit to Fahad-Bhai’s store to satisfy his kabab-cravings. We were all set with our shopping when I remembered the Glucose tea-biscuits. These are tea-biscuits made only in India and I have always loved having them with my tea. Tea, as you might know, is not a simple affair of hot water, tea and a mug. Tea in India consists of much more than that. It involves tea-biscuits, savory snacks if possible, and dried fruit and nuts when available. I rushed to pick-up a big packet of Glucose biscuits and handed it to my husband, already in the process of paying for our groceries. Fahad-Bhai took the packet and turning to my husband told him that these tea-biscuits were not ‘halal’. Halal in Urdu (a language spoken both in Pakistan and India) is the equivalent of Kosher for Jewish people. We both looked puzzled back at Fahad-Bhai who explained to my husband that these biscuits are made with animal fat. This would not have been an issue for either him or my husband, both non-vegetarians. However, Fahad-Bhai, recognizing that I was a vegetarian, advised my husband that the store-saver packet of biscuits I was buying was not ‘halal’ or kosher for a vegetarian to have. Here happened a curious confluence of cultural occurrences. 1-Fahad-Bhai addressed my husband, not me. Being a Muslim, it was appropriate for him to speak to my husband rather than directly to me. 2- He used the Muslim word ‘Halal’, close in meaning to the English ‘permissable’, to indicate something that a Hindu vegetarian can (or cannot) eat. 3- Being a Pakistani- Muslimi, he advised an Indian-Hindu on what was permissable for the Hindu to eat. I was of course hugely thankful for Fahad-Bhai for this information. The biscuits were returned to the shelf and our household is still conducting investigations on what exactly they are made of. However, I was thrilled to bits with what I had experienced and happy to know that borders and religions can be very porous indeed.
Every now and then I am given the chance to see exactly how international the US is. I attended a global conference in Boston recently and on the last evening met a man named Isaac who had come from Ghana to attend the conference. He solicited my assistance as he wanted to buy a car and have it shipped home to Ghana. The next day found me in the local car dealership with a Russian salesman who offered up a car, but it wasn’t exactly what Isaac wanted. Then we were off to test drive a car at a used car dealership owned by a man from China and staffed with a Mexican crew. My local Lebanese mechanics checked out the car to see if it was a good buy.
Over the course of that weekend Isaac met a pastor from Uganda in the lobby of his hotel. He offered to help and introduced Isaac to a pastor from Ghana who lives in a city about 60 miles west of Boston. Isaac did eventually get his car and at the moment it is on a ship headed to Africa. Every morning Isaac would call to give me an update and I would advise as best I could on topics as diverse as foods to bring back home and house-hold appliances that would fit in the trunk of his car. Eventually he purchased a washer and drier set which were squeezed into the car for the trip back home.
It was a fascinating few days as we tested cars, shared cultures and swapped stories about the world driving around Boston. And, I was reminded again of what makes this country so great. People come from all over the world and end up helping a man from Africa purchase a Japanese car and send it back home. Can you get more global than that?
I recently spoke at a conference for professional women. It was a small affair but the topics were timely and pertinent to women wishing to further develop their careers. I am always interested in learning new ideas and I enjoy speaking at conferences, sharing my thoughts and learning what is on other people’s minds.
I was struck however by the luncheon program which was a women’s wellness seminar. While I applaud the idea of promoting better wellness for women, I do not think that a professional seminar for women is the place for us to buy jewelry, examine breast molds and learn how to do a self exam or to purchase intimate toys. A men-only professional skills conference for example, wouldn’t have tables set up to sell DIY-tools or information on cancer screenings. I would have liked to see tables that sold professional development books instead, or coaches who provided tips on improving communication or a company that helps people to become better organized.
I don’t feel that women need to behave just like men to get ahead. But I do feel that a line needs to be drawn between professional seminars and a health expo. If we are to help each other be successful in the business world, then we need to keep in mind what we are expecting from ourselves and leave the personal toys for a different location.
Greetings
Welcome to The Global Voice, a blog for those with an interest in diversity, cross cultural issues and training. Culture Coach International is pleased to offer this blog as a space for us to share our experiences with you and to engage you in a conversation about these topics.
The blog has three threads of conversation:
Diversity – at CCI we use a broad and inclusive definition of diversity which could be summarized as ‘ All the ways we are similar and different from one another’. This space explores our work in promoting bridges of understanding across differences.
Cross Cultural – as the world becomes smaller, we interact more and more across cultures – even if we never leave our office. Here we explore cultural differences, share insights and stories from working in a multicultural setting or from our team’s experiences across national borders.
Training – As a consulting and training company, we provide training programs for our clients. Often these programs bring up fascinating questions and scenarios that as trainers working in the areas of diversity and cross cultural issues we find it worthwhile musing and sharing with eachother.
We hope you enjoy the blog and that you add your global voice to the conversation.
Sincerely,
Kari Heistad
CEO
The fashion industry is lagging behind in the endeavor to diversify the workplace. The Wall Street Journal reports on Feb. 1 2008 (B1) of the rising public criticism of the lack of ‘ethnic diversity’ on the fashion runway.