Diversity & Inclusion - The Arab Culturalist

The Dangers of Othering: Combating Intolerance and Building an Inclusive Society

November 13, 2020March 31, 2024debbieNo Comments

This acceptance of “othering” has become a subconscious and conscious attempt by some to distinguish themselves from another group

Covid-19 and Cultural Values

June 10, 2020March 23, 2021debbieNo Comments

Do Cultural Values Effect How We Battle Covid-19? Early on, researchers have been studying the response efforts of countries all over the world to the Covid-19 pandemic. What seems to be emerging are the differences among nations and their societies’ attitude towards the response. Why does attitude matter? Because the nature of this pandemic requires us to be mindful of others safety as well as our own. Countries whose first response was fear of the outgroup, (the group that was first infected by Covid-19) have, in large part influenced their leadership decisions and community response. For example, the United States’ first reaction to the virus was to blame China, stop… Read More

Cultural Intelligence and Social Pressure – The Honor-Shame Society

February 13, 2020March 13, 2021debbieNo Comments

Cultural Intelligence is the capability to work effectively in diverse cultural situations. Sounds like a must-have skill, right? Ok, let’s say you agree and decided that you need this skill in your workplace environment, as an international student or teacher, in your diverse community or for travel to an unfamiliar country and culture. How does one acquire these skills? The first step is to examine what motivates and drives behavior. For any individual or society, this would be determined by many factors including some general considerations like your place of birth, your family’s discipline style, your education, religious affiliation and your social encounters. Have you ever wondered why you chose… Read More

Mobility and CQ Cultural Intelligence

January 13, 2020March 22, 2021debbieNo Comments

Matching the right employee to the right assignment is just one of the elements of a successful optimization of your global mobility scheme.

Ramadan 2019 – Get Ready to Slow Down

May 13, 2019March 13, 2021debbieNo Comments

Get Ready for the Slow down, It’s Ramadan? There’s been a plethora of emails in my inbox asking if our company will be “business as usual” in Ramadan. While most of our staff will be fasting, Ramadan is usually a productive month, with staff continuing to work on projects, develop content and deliver first class cultural awareness and team building workshops. And if any month is about team building, its Ramadan. If your living and working in the GCC, you already know that businesses adjust during the next 29 or 30 days. But, some businesses are actually busier during this month (including the Arab Culturalist). What these companies have done… Read More

Culturally Responsive Classroom Management

October 18, 2018May 18, 2021debbieNo Comments

At a recent regional educational conference I overheard a conversation between seasoned teachers about teaching in the Middle East. “I don’t know why I struggle so much with classroom management! I feel exhausted at the end of the day, rather than a sense that my students have learned something. I’m not a recess monitor, I’m a teacher!” Acknowledging the problem is the first step in building a strategy that works towards creating caring, controlled, self-regulation classrooms that promote inclusion and successful learning outcomes. However, UNDERSTANDING the root of the problem is vital. The conversation continued, “I have always thought of myself as a successful teacher, able to meet the needs… Read More

Diversity & Inclusion Strategies Success = Changing Mindsets

July 13, 2018March 13, 2021debbieNo Comments

How can Emiratis, HR Departments, Managers and Stakeholders develop the mindset to achieve success with their Nationalization strategy? In the GCC the nationalization of the workforce is thought to be an integral part of every country’s growth strategy and sustainability goals. And in the UAE, the government has an ambitious plan to reach 20% Emiratization of the workforce as part of the its strategic sustainability plan 2021 (Dubai) and plan 2030 on the federal level. To put it simply, it is part of a plan to shift the mindset of its citizens away from dependence on government employment, to being fully vested in private sector enterprise. I mention mindset purposefully,… Read More

Unconscious Bias

October 13, 2017March 13, 2021debbieNo Comments

But the fact remains that there is an underlying deeper type of bias called unconscious bias, that still pervades. Is it a part human nature to be biased towards something, someone or some group? If so, then how can we “go against” human nature, spotting unconscious bias so that we can work towards eliminating?