How Are People Affected by Cultural Diversity Training?
By Albertine Smit “I was one of those guys who thought I had no biases, I was really convinced of that”, says Wayne Betz, Manufacturing Manager at Rohm and Haas in Philadelphia. He participated in a 2-day Managing Diversity Training. He says the training made him aware that he treated his black female engineer differently. “I realized that I didn’t give her any technical challenges, I gave her all kinds of other jobs. After the training she and I talked about it and I gave her a technical challenge. She did a super job. I continue to appreciate black female engineers.” Betz says now he keeps his mind open to other biases he may have. He was impressed with the trainer who led participants back to past experiences that may represent the roots of their baises. He discovered old feelings about black females. Betz exclaims “The training had a tremendous impact on me.” Word count: 858 From: Cultural Diversity: Leverage for Change Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Published: September 1990 This issue is ava
