Cultural Diversity and Modern Society
Cultural diversity is perhaps the most undeniable element of modern society, which underscores the idea that each person, culture, history, and background is unique yet simultaneously similar and fascinating. The importance of this aspect is especially relevant in the 21st century. While the borders between countries and nations are blurring, and more people have the opportunity to travel, work, and study in different cultural environments, there are still those who cannot achieve this. Recent events highlight the importance of conceptualizing and overcoming differences in various aspects of human life.
A striking example of this concept is the COVID-19 pandemic, which remains relevant today. The fact is that after the outbreak of the virus, many Asians of American origin became targets for some of the media and the public. They blamed representatives of various Asian cultures for the emergence of the virus, sometimes causing quite a violent reaction, which served as an example for the creation of the Stop Asian Hate movement. Movements like these allow people to look at issues of difference from a broad perspective, repeatedly demonstrating that the problems of chauvinism, racism, and sexism are still relevant.
Socioeconomic Inequality and Access to Opportunity
However, differences in culture and nation have not always played a vital role in the broad sense of the word. An important aspect is also the socioeconomic component of society. In modern America, people continue to experience the unfavorable effects of economic decline. At the same time, the deep-rooted concept of classism reveals that not everyone has the same opportunity to be in the same place.
Many studies in this area have demonstrated that the privileges afforded to members of different socioeconomic classes are not equal. It is especially true in the field of education. Many parents from low-income families cannot afford to provide their children with the quality education necessary to overcome many other life stages. Without education, these children will have fewer opportunities to earn decent wages for their future work.
In addition to education, a similar situation is observed in medicine and social services. Due to the lack of opportunities and financial resources, people from lower socioeconomic classes often cannot access proper medical care when needed. That, in turn, entails not only physical but also consequences for mental health. Clinical treatment for many psychological disorders is not cheap, and figures often show that low-income people cannot always afford a routine consultation with a specialist. Society is moving in the direction of improving this situation. Yet, the pace of such changes leaves much to be desired.
Education and Competence in Promoting Equality
Educational institutions have taken significant strides in this regard, and now, every school, college, university, and other educational institution has incorporated the concept of diversity and difference. Increasingly, grants are being explicitly allocated to representatives of specific races, genders, and nationalities, not only to receive a quality education. Such opportunities do not always come from initiatives at the local administrative level. Still, they are often encouraged by a wide variety of public organizations and charitable and trust funds, which annually allocate funds for various programs of this nature.
However, there is often a lack of such education programs, leaving minorities or people with significantly lower incomes unable to obtain the required degree or higher education. Of course, in addition to financial issues, these programs also face numerous difficulties that both the candidates themselves and the selection committee (if we are talking about education) encounter. Limited places, grants, and other factors often result in ten to one hundred candidates applying for one position. Each of them can be different and unique in its own way. They may share common interests, despite representing completely different nations, which can lead to political conflicts.
However, do not forget that in addition to the essential criteria for admission, for example, for specialized grants, the candidate must fit and meet the requirements of competence. Competence is one of the key factors that many often overlook. Many critics of various programs aimed at combating discrimination and oppression in the workplace complain that they do not fulfill their intended role.
At the same time, they were forgetting that for the effective operation of such programs, it is strictly forbidden to take everyone in a row just because you need to eliminate differences and not let them interfere with determining the lives of different people. There is no logic in allocating quotas for grants or jobs based on gender. This is because equal representation does not mean eradicating injustice and is not always an indicator of quality selection.
Nobody argues that differences should be emphasized and equal opportunities should be given to all. Still, even with such equal opportunities, one should consider how competent a particular candidate is for a job or a grant. The importance of this issue will always be relevant. Still, most importantly, no one should forget that to solve the aforementioned societal problems, it is necessary to address the root of the issue. Solving only the consequences of this problem, humanity will never advance in the development of tolerance.