Stay Current PSA Newsroom

January 10, 2023

Celebrating World Day for Cultural Diversity with the Inclusion Council

In celebration of World Day for Cultural Diversity, we asked members of our Inclusion Council to reflect on the importance of diversity, the value it has for them, and its positive impacts on workplace culture.

Here is what they said:

Tina Carroll

Diversity encompasses more than just the demographic groups we are born into; diversity results from the circumstances and life decisions that have shaped our worldviews. By building a workplace culture in which we respect and empower employees who have different values, ideas, and past experiences, we will be able to attract and retain a diverse workforce. Aviation is ultimately a customer service industry. By mirroring the diversity of the customers we serve, we will be able to draw upon our varied perspectives to proactively solve their problems and anticipate their needs.

Joshua Maxwell

Having a diverse culture in a company is vitally important for growth and innovation. Diversity in culture is linked to diversity in Ideas and thinking.

If a company or organization does not have a diverse culture, the ability to think outside of the “common box” is more difficult or impossible. As the world evolves, so do the challenges. Diversity goes hand in hand with success. If you want to be successful, you have to understand, accept and promote diversity.

Grant Guigou

To me, diversity is less about what we are not and more about what (and who) we are and can be – our potential.

Richer experiences and success stories come through people coming together. For me diversity creates an environment for people from different backgrounds and perspectives who are freely able to come together to rally around a shared cause or mission, whether it be in the workplace, as a country, a community or as a family at home.

We can’t do this alone. Isolation between groups can cause stagnation and while bringing people of different perspectives and backgrounds can lead to conflict, ultimately, if everyone is brought in and bought in to the mission at hand, and interact with respect and appreciation for those who are different from them, we are all made better for it. The sky is the limit!

Michael Krumm

Diversity is a sign that our company is providing opportunity and a comfortable setting for all individuals who wish to contribute to the success of the corporate mission.

It begins with a profound respect for the identity of all individuals by their existence; not by their race, physical appearance, gender, sexual orientation, religion, job function, past history or age. It then seeks out value in all that an individual has to offer for the mission at hand, without regard to anything else about that individual. When people accept the fact we are all human beings (period), I think diversity in race, sexuality, religion, age, appears naturally in the workplace.

Danielle Murphy

I believe diversity is important so we can grow as a unit. With different ideas, beliefs and values, together the group will flourish with more creative/unique ideas. It’s important to have a mix so we are more inclined to think outside the box.

Gwen Terry

For me, diversity means belonging or being a part of something. It’s like having a family of people who embrace you no matter what your differences are. I believe belonging is important to all humans. At work, I want to see a cohesive group of all kinds of people. This is crucial if we want to grow our airline’s economy. We need the success of ALL cultures in order to thrive as a business. Everyone brings a different spice or ingredient to the mix. Most successful recipes are made up of many different ingredients.

Toneka Hemphill

Diversity is important because it makes the world go round. No two people are alike. Through diversity we become aware of our own values and opinions. It makes us look within ourselves to say, ‘there’s another way to view the world and everyone is right, there is no right way or wrong way’.

Diversity is important because it makes the world go round. No two people are alike and through diversity we become aware of our own values and opinions and it makes us look within ourselves to say there’s another way to view the world and everyone is right, there is no right way or wrong way.

Diversity in the workplace aids in building a stronger brand and makes the company more interesting and desirable to the employees and others around can see how our company has grown and it has had a huge impact in our community.

Megan Smerk

Diversity needs to be a focus for all organizations and the main thing to remember, it doesn’t happen in one day. It is a long, ever-changing path to create awareness and bring awareness to being diverse. As an organization we have to have those tough conversations and start small, but start somewhere.

It’s being yourself and bringing your whole self to work. No one else is like you. Everyone has a different path and experience. It means that we are all accepted for who we are, and it is more than just color, creed, race and religion. We all are special in our own ways and can bring different viewpoints to discuss. Being diverse means we have a stronger output when you put everyone together.

It means, “We should leave the cookie-cutting business to Chips Ahoy.” And a crazy thing to think about is looking at chocolate chip cookies, the chocolate chips do not all fall in the same format, and thinking about people in an organization, you also do not want them to all be the same.

It brings acceptance, collaboration, teamwork, variety, and new beginnings. In an organization, it is easy to fall into a culture where everyone is the same. We need to challenge that status quo by being diverse and inclusive. We want to hear about different ways to do things, new ideas, and what needs to change. We can all bring something to the table and with everyone being different, we can make one uniformed and stronger team.