Diversity paradox
The diversity paradox is a theoretical concept in the field of organizational communication – a subfield within the larger discipline of communication studies. The diversity paradox is summarized as “an organizational emphasis placed upon one potential understanding of diversity which, in turn, deemphasizes alternative expressions of difference for certain minority members” (p. 3).[1][2] An organizational focus on representations of gender, for instance, synchronously moves the focus away from sexual orientation, an organizational focus on representations of sexual orientation synchronously moves the focus away from age, and so on.[3]
History[edit]
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The diversity paradox was developed by J. Jacob Jenkins, a Professor of Communication at California State University, Channel Islands within a series of journal articles, conference presentations, and a peer reviewed book by the same name. Jenkins spent four years studying the way community was cultivated and sustained within a racially/ethnically diverse congregation in Tampa Bay’s inner city. The resulting four-year ethnography revealed that this organization’s focus on visual representations of race/ethnicity synchronously moved the focus away from an endless number of other possible understandings (e.g., age, gender, nationality, sexual-orientation, and so on); thus, the organization’s approach to creating a diverse community actually served to narrow its conception.[4]
Core concepts[edit]
The diversity paradox has six core tenants: (1) fractionated understanding, (2) visible hierarchy, (3) false attainment, (4) neglected representation, (5) diminished alternatives, and (6) potential tokenism.
Understood in yet another way, the diversity paradox also reveals the possibility for a phenomenon called attributional tokenism. That is, a garish emphasis placed upon one particular trait of an organization’s culture, norms, or practices that promotes a desired image or appearance, while overlooking cultural norms and practices to the contrary. As a theoretical extension of tokenism, attributional tokenism does not grant any particular person or persons that of token status, but rather a particular organizational feature or characteristic.[5]
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Jenkins, J. J. (2013). The diversity paradox: Seeking community in an intercultural church. New York: Lexington Books.[1]
- ↑ Jenkins, J. J. (2014). A “community” of discipline: The paradox of diversity within an intercultural congregation. Western Journal of Communication, 78(2), 134-154.[2]
- ↑ Jenkins, J. J., & Dillon, P. J. (2012). “This is what we’re all about:” The (re)construction of an oppressive organizational structure. Southern Communication Journal, 77, 287-306.[3]
- ↑ Jenkins, J. J. (2013). Managing the in-between: Dialectical tensions of researching an intercultural congregation. Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 69(1), 10-34.[4]
- ↑ Jenkins, J. J. (2013). The diversity paradox: Seeking community in an intercultural church. New York: Lexington Books.[5]
Further reading[edit]
- Allen, B. J. (2007). Theorizing communication and race. Communication Monographs, 74, 259-264.
- Allen, B. J. (2011). Difference matters: Communicating social identity (2nd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland.
- Brown, J., & Isaacs, D. (2005). The world café: Shaping our futures through conversations that matter. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
- Dillon, P. J., Roscoe, L. A., & Jenkins, J. J. (2012). African Americans and decisions about hospice care: Implications for health message design. The Howard Journal of Communications, 23(2), 175-193.
- Jenkins, J. J. (in press). Common “Voices:” An organizational case study for media relations. In B. St. John (Ed.), Public relations strategies in action: A casebook. Independence, KY: Cengage.
- Jenkins, J. J. (2013). The diversity paradox: Seeking community in an intercultural church. New York: Lexington Books.
- Jenkins, J. J. (2013). Organizational leadership in a postmodern world: Practical implications for contemporary religious leaders. Journalism and Mass Communication, 2(12), 1139-1149.
- Jenkins, J. J. (2012). Engaging the internet generation: An experiential analysis of the world’s wealthiest nonprofit organizations. Florida Communication Journal, 40(1), 17-28.
- Purnell, D., & Jenkins, J. J. (2013). Breaking bread, creating community: Food’s ability to increase communal ties and relationship. Florida Communication Journal, 41(1), 73-84.
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