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The study highlights external challenges like culture and language barriers with international students, while also describing rewards such as consultants’ growth. It further explores internal dynamics such as shift cultures, trust, tact, inclusion of junior consultants, and training methods that support a positive workplace.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/workplace-diversity-challenges-and-rewards-of-internal-and-external-diversity/599142/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/workplace-diversity-challenges-and-rewards-of-internal-and-external-diversity/599142.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"kopisore","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"How does the article define diversity in the workplace?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It defines diversity as more than race, gender, or sexual orientation, emphasizing differences in personalities, experiences, and backgrounds that shape interactions and collaboration.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What methods were used to investigate diversity at the USC?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The research used two focus groups and a brief survey sent to fifty-three USC staff members to create an open dialogue and gather self-identified diversity information.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What are key challenges and rewards of external diversity?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Challenges include culture and language barriers with international students, requiring consultants to be aware of speech rate, vocabulary, and gestures. Rewards include strengthened communication skills, growth, and feeling accomplished when meeting speakers’ expectations.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},599142,1793090519,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":111},962090880963,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Workplace Diversity  \nRebecca Ray The University of North Carolina at  \nGreensboro  \nAs a graduate assistant at my University Speaking Center (USC), I investigated the ways our diverse staff works together cohesively to be both fascinating and effective. I conducted two different focus groups at the USC during downtime to create an open dialogue for learning about what makes us diverse. I found that diversity is more than just race, gender, or sexual orientation, and that the word diversity is frequently associated with only demographic characteristics. This definition, though, excludes differences in personalities, experiences, and backgrounds. These dynamics actually play a unique role in how consultants interact with one another and how they work with speakers. My research led to a distinction between internal and external diversity. Internal diversity is the interaction between co-workers and the leadership team. External diversity refers to communication between speakers and consultants. These concepts are interwoven throughout my research on diversity within the USC. Internal and external diversity both have their unique challenges and rewards. They can unpack those layers of identity to help consultants and speakers know the best ways to interact with one another. This article will explore the challenges and rewards of internal and external diversity, identify important characteristics such as trust and tact that promote diversity, and discuss how to best implement a positive, diverse workplace.  \nFirst, it is important to define what diversity looks like at the center. Although diversity spans beyond demographic descriptors, knowing how a person identifies  \nthemselves can help in the process of creating a space of mutual respect in the center. A brief survey was sent to fifty-three members of the USC staff. 39 out of 53 staff members responded to self-identify what makes them diverse. The results showed that the USC has five different types of races and sexual identities. The staff also comes from various fields of study; not everyone has a Communication Studies background. The center also has nine science majors, which is helpful when serving students from scientific backgrounds. One way the USC is accommodating of diversity can be seen in the large percentage of staff with a disability. 79.5 % of staff identified that he/ she has a disability. Also, 82.1% of the staff are female and 17.9 % are male. This could be due to campus demographics because UNC-Greensboro has 66.6% females and 33.4% males enrolled as offall 2018  \n(Campus Profile and Comparisons, 2018) . Data on demographics helps to lay a foundation for identifying who a person is. However, there are important layers of aperson's identity that are more complex than checking a box on a survey based merely on race, ethnicity, and gender. A focus on internal and external diversity can help emphasize those other elements of diversity that are vital to the Speaking Center.  \nOne of the biggest challenges at the USC in terms of external diversity is culture and language barriers with international students who come in to practice conversational English. Consultants express an interest in working with international students. A consultant working with Interlink students must be cognizant of  \nspeech rate, vocabulary usage, and gestures. During the focus group, respondents expressed that they have to be consciously aware of how they are communicating to meet these students where they are. While opening a dialogue about external diversity, those included in the conversation said they loved working with different types of appointments and speakers because it challenged them. External diversity helped many consultants discover their own strengths and weaknesses. Many respondents felt accomplished at the end of a session in which they were able to meet the speaker’s expectations even though they originally may not have been confident going into the consultation. Situatio","cbCaiqeQEpw4QjAE","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqeQEpw4QjAE","pdf",47999,"English","# Workplace Diversity\n## Defining Diversity Beyond Demographics\n## Survey Findings and Staff Demographics\n## External Diversity: Culture and Language Barriers\n## Internal Diversity: Shift Cultures and Inclusion","[{\"question\":\"How does the article define diversity in the workplace?\",\"answer\":\"It defines diversity as more than race, gender, or sexual orientation, emphasizing differences in personalities, experiences, and backgrounds that shape interactions and collaboration.\"},{\"question\":\"What methods were used to investigate diversity at the USC?\",\"answer\":\"The research used two focus groups and a brief survey sent to fifty-three USC staff members to create an open dialogue and gather self-identified diversity information.\"},{\"question\":\"What are key challenges and rewards of external diversity?\",\"answer\":\"Challenges include culture and language barriers with international students, requiring consultants to be aware of speech rate, vocabulary, and gestures. Rewards include strengthened communication skills, growth, and feeling accomplished when meeting speakers’ expectations.\"}]","Workplace Diversity - Challenges and Rewards of Internal and External Diversity | PDF",1792088239]