An Interactive Program for Workplace Diversity Skills

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): An interactive multimedia CD-ROM and Internet/intranet program providing cultural diversity training will be produced for use in worksites. The Phase II project will develop and evaluate a theoretically-grounded intervention designed to increase: (a) awareness of personal biases and personal reactions to difference; (b) knowledge about bias related to several dimensions of diversity (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, disability, and age); and (c) skills in communicating in a culturally diverse workplace (e.g., attending, reflecting, taking in difficult-to-hear information, clarifying, and recovering from communication errors). The program will employ demographic targeting on race/ethnicity and gender, tailoring on motivation for training, and self-efficacy. In addition, the program will embed evaluation and remediation to assess and to correct user performance. The construction of the material presented will be determined using formative research procedures with focus groups and in-depth interviews with men and women from several different groups: (a) four race/ethnic groups (African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, European American, and Hispanic); and (b) three groups with workers from populations with high rates of workplace discrimination claims (gender, disability and age bias). Program efficacy will be evaluated with a randomized controlled clinical trial.