The Diversity Builder Team
Wishes You a Charmed Month

WELCOME to the March Edition of Diversity News!

This month's articles include:
  • Circle Center: Where Vision, Wisdom and Community Meet
  • Your Health Rights
  • "Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire" Book Review
  • Irish Luck!
  • Diversity Spotlight: Weight Discrimination in the Workplace
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    The Circle Center: Where Vision, Wisdom and Community Meet

    Since ancient times, people have sat in Circle to discuss difficult and important issues. Knowing the value of collective wisdom, these cultures utilized the Circle communication process to involve its members and their authentic perspectives in these important discussions. These ancient leaders also used the Circle to reflect and celebrate the successes and transitions of its members. The Circle Process, though different from culture to culture, had the common theme of developing trust and community in a way that is focused and surpassingly effective. Today, many organizations, companies and leaders have begun utilizing this group facilitation process to impact and transform their organization and community.

    Circles are used in various settings and organizations, enabling facilitators to create a safe environment where individuals can comfortably express their perspectives and contribute their deepest talents and ideas. In Circle, everyone’s voice and life experience bring wisdom to the process. These contributions are often passively discouraged in our everyday workplaces and interactions based on dynamics of job title, education or age differences or other cultural classifications.

    The Circle Center works to provide Circle facilitation and training for organization leaders seeking these group facilitation skills. Circle participants contribute to their organization in new and powerful ways while also supporting and listening to their fellow participants. These conversations help organizations reduce turn-over and attrition; and, inspire and motivate individuals and teams by connecting them with their community and individual purpose.

    These Circles can reduce conflict and workplace stressors and will decrease the need for organization leaders to look outside its own members for resources needed to reach success. Organizations have used Circles for strategic planning, conflict resolution, organization retreats, conflict resolution, team and trust building and for transitioning changes in management or organizational direction.

    The Circle Center's facilitators were trained in the Circle process by ROCA, a youth development organization located in Chelsea, Massachusetts, who were mentored in the Circle process by the Tagish Tlingit people in the Yukon Territories.

    For more information on The Circle Center's facilitation and training opportunities, click here.

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    "Irish Luck!"

    "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."(Seneca, Roman philosopher)

    "Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck." (Dalai Lama)

    "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find that the harder I work, the more I have of it." (Thomas Jefferson)

    "Luck is believing your lucky." (Tennessee Williams, playwright)

    "Being deeply skilled and learned, being well-trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck." (Buddha)

    "The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment, it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone." (Orison Swett Marden)

    "What luck for the rulers that men do not think." (Adolf Hitler)
    Image Deepak Chopra's"Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Power of Coincidence"

    Fans of the bestselling author, Deepak Chopra, who founded the Chopra Center for Well-Being, will welcome his latest ideas on how to live a more fulfilling life. He uses his familiar combination of scientific theory and mysticism to present this guide to harnessing what he calls synchro-destiny. According to Chopra, an important level of human existence consists of the nonlocal or spiritual domain. Drawing on the example of physics's unpredictable quantum leap, when an electron unpredictably jumps from one orbit to another, he maintains that our own lives too are unpredictable. However, such randomness in the universe is actually interconnected and unpredictable coincidences are, the author maintains, important messages that can be used to achieve one's true destiny. This process of synchro-destiny consists of connecting the individual soul to the universal soul through a number of mental exercises. Although Chopra's theories are expressed in a repetitive manner, the techniques he advocates may prove interesting to those who enjoy his humanistic approach to self-help. Among the seven principles for achieving synchro-destiny are the daily practice of meditation, a continued focus on one's deepest desires and the acknowledgment of emotional pain.

    Click here to buy this book - and search Spontaneous Fulfillment


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    Diversity Spotlight: Weight Discrimination in the Workplace

    Experts say weight discrimination phenomenon is most prevalent in employment practices. "In interview situations, employers bring their biases along with them," says Maryanne Bodolay of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). According to Bodolay, one particular scenario of weight-based discrimination in employment is very typical: An overweight person participates in a phone interview or sends in an impressive résumé. The prospective employer considers the applicant highly qualified and wants to meet in person -- that's when the tone starts to change. "Once that face-to-face interview takes place, all of a sudden the person is no longer qualified," Bodolay said. "We've seen it time and time again. Employers don't want the look of a fat person in the office -- especially a fat woman." Bodolay thinks stereotypes are to blame for employers' reluctance to hire obese employees. "They see us as lazy, not motivated, self-indulgent and weak-willed. And they assume we're not good workers when really, we have to work harder and try harder than everybody else because of our appearance."
    Mark Roehling, a Western Michigan University professor, conducted a research review of 29 weight discrimination studies and found:
    · Obese people were subject to discrimination in all areas of employment decisions based on weight.
    · Obese individuals were often stereotyped as emotionally impaired and having negative social and personality traits.
    · Mildly obese white women earned six percent less than women of average weight. Morbidly obese white women earned 24 percent less than their counterparts of standard weight.
    · Weight seems to matter less for men, both white and black. Mildly obese men actually earned more than their standard-weight counterparts. Men experienced wage discrimination only at the highest weight levels.
    · One investigation of the social stigma associated with weight in decisions regarding employee discharge found that participants displayed more negative attitudes toward obese employees than toward ex-felons or ex-mental patients!
    The Law
    Discrimination based on weight alone is legal in almost all jurisdictions in the United States. In fact, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specifically state that "except in rare circumstances, obesity is not considered a disability impairment."
    And why is this? Well, most of us can take measures to control our weight and bring it down within more normal ranges. That means it isn't an "immutable" condition; rather, it's something we can change, or a "mutable" condition. When you think of most other discrimination laws, they're designed to protect immutable conditions, such as race, sex, national origin, and most disabilities.
    When a person's obesity is caused by an underlying physiological or mental impairment or results in a substantially limiting impairment, such as hypertension, arthritis, or a heart condition, the combined effect may qualify as a disability under the ADA. The legal issue that remains is whether the individual is substantially limited in one or more major life activities, including activities of central importance to most people's daily lives.
    Under state and federal law, an obese person with a disability may not be subject to discrimination in employment based on weight and must be provided reasonable accommodation. If no disability is present, however, all protection is lost except in the following areas:
    · State of Michigan bans discrimination based on height and weight.
    · San Francisco, California bans discrimination based on weight, except for police officers, firefighters, and the San Francisco 49ers football team.
    · Santa Cruz, California bans discrimination based on height, weight, or physical characteristics.
    · District of Columbia outlaws discrimination in employment based on personal appearance.
    Practical Pointers
    For most employers, dealing with weight issues in the workplace is unfamiliar territory. Because few cases of weight discrimination in employment have been raised, there's little to guide you when dealing with obese applicants and employees. So, here are a few suggestions that might be useful to you:
    Be aware of the issue. The most important thing is to have your radar up and running for this issue. When dealing with obese applicants or employees, particularly women, ask yourself whether your company's employment decisions might subconsciously or consciously be affected by weight. Objectively compare candidates. Make sure discipline is being applied equitably among all employees. Be fair.
    Don't assume obese people have no rights. Although obesity alone isn't protected under federal law, remember that a big exception exists if a related physical disability exists or you regard the person as disabled! Your own bias may create a claim if you wrongly believe that the person is unable to do the job because of an impairment related to obesity.
    Don't hide obese people in the back room. Segregating obese employees and shunting them off to the backroom, where they will have no customer contact, is a form of discrimination. Don't make assumptions based on stereotypes about the ability of any employee to function in a customer contact position. Seriously consider each employee's positive and negative attributes based on facts, not weight, before making any decision on job placement.


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    Your Health Rights

    ImageYou have the right to eat a large pepperoni pizza by yourself. You have the right to snack on jelly beans at your desk. You have the right to a third glass of wine with Friday night’s dinner. Of course, with rights come responsibilities, such as your responsibility for a 40-inch waist, an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and a feeling of lethargy no amount of coffee can overcome.
    You also have the right to join the 19 percent of us who regularly engage in “high levels of physical activity,” according to the National Center of Health Statistics. (That’s defined as three intense 20-minute workouts per week.) If you, pardon the pun, exercise this right you have the right to enjoy all the benefits, which include reducing your risk for the aforementioned problems. You can also expect to make it up the stairs at home without being out of breath, work in the yard without feeling sore the next day and invest in a new (smaller) wardrobe.
    So, why do 63 percent of us, according to the NCHS, never exercise?
    The problem may be a lack of motivation. You may feel you don’t have enough time, or enough energy, or you may feel selfish for taking an hour away from work and family for yourself. Whatever your reason, here are strategies to break through the excuses and discover a healthier you.

    Bet on yourself. Make a friendly bet with your best friend, your ultracompetitive brother or your husband about who can lose the most weight or break an eight-minute mile or workout for the most days in a row. Make the bet, set a definite time frame and let your competitiveness do the rest.
    Play the numbers. Check your cholesterol, your blood pressure and your body fat. Set a goal date to lower your LDL cholesterol and raise you HDL cholesterol through an improved diet and regular exercise. Then, watch your blood pressure and body fat drop.
    Make a deal. Make a deal with your significant other (or with yourself) to have one hour a day to yourself, provided you use the time to exercise. There should be no pressure to be a chauffeur, to clean the bathroom or to play with the kids, unless you are running around with them. Of course, you can return the favor.
    Turn it up! Numerous studies have shown working out with fast-paced music helps you work harder and exercise longer. So, make a workout playlist on your ipod filled with your favorite songs. No one has to know about the Barry Manilow.
    Plan on it. At the beginning of each week or month, schedule all of your workouts and cross them off as you complete each one. If you miss any, tack the workouts onto the next schedule. After all, exercise is as much a part of your life as any breakfast meeting, isn’t it?
    Do pushups first. If you’re having trouble finishing your workouts, do the thing you like the least, first. Once you finish the pushups or squats or planks, you will know the hardest part is over and the workout may seem easier to finish.
    Follow your passion. The prior tip notwithstanding, long-term exercisers do what they enjoy. If you hate the treadmill, ride a bike instead. If you dread the weight room, swim or take a sculpt class. The point is, you are more likely to reach your fitness goals if you consistently workout, and you will consistently workout if you are engaged in an activity you enjoy.
    Just show up. What did Woody Allen say? Success is 90% showing up. No matter how fit you are, some days the hardest part is showing up for your workout. When you are having a bad day or you are sore from yesterday’s workout, get started on today’s workout and you will find you are able to cross another day off your schedule.
    Ask a critic. Ask someone you know will be honest, which part of your body is the least attractive. Use their negative criticism to focus your workouts for the month. Then, ask again.
    Find a mentor. Whether this person is a trainer or a ripped guy at the gym, don’t be afraid to ask for advice about how he or she got to the point they are now. Most people are flattered to be asked and are glad to share their secrets of success.

    Now turn off the computer and go workout!


    (submitted by John Holley, ACE CPT; call 615-260-0459 for personal training/consultation)

    Click here for information on how to join Nashville's West Side Athletic Club

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