Daily English 1300 Diversifying a Workforce

Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 0:59
Explanation begins at: 2:53
Normal Speed begins at: 15:22

Complete Transcript

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,300 – Diversifying a Workforce.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,300. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

This episode is a dialogue between Audrey and Simon about trying to get different kinds of people working at a company. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Audrey: Have you seen these design ideas? They’re stale.

Simon: Maybe it’s time we diversified our workforce. It’s pretty homogenous right now.

Audrey: It’s not that homogeneous. We have people from different cultures and backgrounds, people who are bilingual and multicultural.

Simon: That’s not what I mean and you know it. We’re missing a huge demographic. Having more diversity will help us find new ways to tackle problems and come up with creative ideas.

Audrey: Are you saying we’ve become stodgy? I’m not adverse to change, you know.

Simon: I know that.

Audrey: But how will the rest of the company react?

Simon: I don’t know, but a more diverse workforce will also prevent discrimination lawsuits. That’s the reality we live in.

Audrey: I really don’t know. Do you really think hiring more men to design women’s bras is a good idea?

Simon: Of course. We have a unique appreciation for them.

[end of dialogue]

Audrey begins our dialogue by asking Simon, “Have you seen these design ideas? They’re stale.” “Design” (design) is a plan for how something is going to look or the actual way that something looks, the form it takes, perhaps the colors that are present. We’re not sure what Audrey is talking about in terms of design here. It could be design for clothing. It could be design for a computer or a phone.

In any case, she says that the design ideas they have are “stale” (stale). Here, “stale” means not new or not interesting. “Stale” is used to mean outdated or perhaps old. Simon says, “Maybe it’s time we diversified our workforce.” The “workforce” (workforce) is the group of people who work at a certain company. It could also refer to all of the people who work in a given community or even in a certain country, but Simon I think is talking about the people in this particular company.

Simon thinks “it’s time,” meaning the company should think about diversifying the workforce. “To diversify” (diversify) means to have more variety, more variations – different kinds of, in this case, people. We’re not sure exactly what Simon is talking about. He could be talking about people from different backgrounds, different experiences. I’m not sure if that will help their design ideas, but Simon thinks so.

He says, “It’s pretty homogenous right now.” “Homogenous” (homogenous) refers to something being all the same. If the workforce is “homogenous,” everyone comes from the same kind of background or has the same experience, perhaps. Audrey says, “It’s not that homogenous,” meaning we do have some different kinds of people working for us. “We have people from different cultures and backgrounds, people who are bilingual and multicultural.”

“Bilingual” (bilingual) means someone who can speak two languages. The prefix “bi” (bi) means two, so “bilingual” is two languages. If someone spoke three languages, he would be “trilingual” – (tri), meaning three. Someone who speaks more than three languages is usually called a “polyglot” (polyglot). Audrey says that their employees are also, at least some of them, “multicultural.” “Multi” (multi) as a prefix means many, so representing many different cultures or having experiences in many different cultures.

Simon says, “That’s not what I mean and you know it,” meaning you know that’s not what I was saying. He says, “We’re missing a huge demographic.” The term “demographic” (demographic) here means a certain group within the larger population. He says, “Having more diversity will help us find ways to tackle problems and come up with creative ideas.” “To tackle (tackle) problems” means to deal with difficult situations – to solve difficult problems or find solutions to problems. “To tackle” means to take care of or to handle. “Come up with” means to create or to invent.

Simon says that having more diversity in their workforce will help them find new ways to “come up with creative (creative) ideas” – new and interesting ideas. Audrey says, “Are you saying that we’ve become stodgy?” “Stodgy” (stodgy) is similar to “stale.” It means old and boring, not interesting or perhaps old fashioned. Audrey says, “I’m not adverse to change, you know.” “To be adverse (adverse) to” something means not wanting to or being interested in doing something – in this case, in changing.

Audrey says she’s not adverse to change. Simon says, “I know that.” Audrey responds, “But how will the rest of the company react?” That is, what will other people think or say. Simon says, “I don’t know, but a more diverse workforce will also prevent discrimination lawsuits.” “Discrimination” (discrimination) refers to not treating people equally, not doing the same thing for one group that you would do for another in a way that would generally be considered illegal or against the law.

A “lawsuit” (lawsuit) is when a legal case is brought against a company or individual by someone who thinks that he has been harmed by that other person, damaged in some way. Usually a lawsuit is over money. The person wants money in order to make up for some harm that he has suffered because of what another person has done.

For example, if someone runs into your car with his car and doesn’t want to pay for the damage – for the fact that your car no longer works, let’s say – you might bring a lawsuit against that person. You might go to a judge and say, “This person has ruined my car. I want him to pay me money,” and you can use the government to help you force that person to pay you money. That’s basically what a “lawsuit” is.

A “discrimination lawsuit,” then, would be someone who takes a company or a person to court and makes the court correct the problem, if you will, that might include giving that person money. Simon says, “That’s the reality we live in,” meaning the world we live in is such that we need to protect ourselves to prevent discrimination lawsuits. Audrey says, “I really don’t know. Do you really think hiring more men to design women’s bras is a good idea?”

Now we learn that Simon and Audrey work at a company that makes bras. A “bra” (bra) is something that a woman usually wears under other clothing, under a shirt or a dress, that protects and supports her breasts, the two things that are found at the top of a woman’s body usually. I guess men also have breasts, but we don’t normally think of them as wearing bras, though perhaps some of them should.

Anyway, Audrey is wondering whether getting more men to work for the company will really be a good idea since the company makes bras for women. Simon says, “Of course. We,” meaning men, “have a unique appreciation for them.” “Unique” (unique) is one of a kind, or unlike anything else. “Appreciation” (appreciation) is an admiration for something or a feeling of pleasure or respect for something or someone.

A “unique appreciation” here means that men, unlike most women, are able to think about bras in a different way, perhaps. You probably can understand why men might have a unique appreciation for bras.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Audrey: Have you seen these design ideas? They’re stale.

Simon: Maybe it’s time we diversified our workforce. It’s pretty homogenous right now.

Audrey: It’s not that homogeneous. We have people from different cultures and backgrounds, people who are bilingual and multicultural.

Simon: That’s not what I mean and you know it. We’re missing a huge demographic. Having more diversity will help us find new ways to tackle problems and come up with creative ideas.

Audrey: Are you saying we’ve become stodgy? I’m not adverse to change, you know.

Simon: I know that.

Audrey: But how will the rest of the company react?

Simon: I don’t know, but a more diverse workforce will also prevent discrimination lawsuits. That’s the reality we live in.

Audrey: I really don’t know. Do you really think hiring more men to design women’s bras is a good idea?

Simon: Of course. We have a unique appreciation for them.

[end of dialogue]

We thank our scriptwriter, Dr. Lucy Tse, for her always creative scripts.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.

Glossary

design – a plan for the appearance of something, not related to its features or how it works

* The architect developed a beautiful design, but the building would be far too expensive to build.

stale – outdated; old; not fresh, new, or interesting

* Our creative team is proposing the same stale ideas we’ve

to diversify (one’s) workforce – to hire employees from different cultures, nationalities, languages, ages, genders, and sexual orientations

* Many software development companies are trying to diversify their workplace by hiring more women.

homogenous – with all people being very similar; with everyone or everything being the same; not diverse

* Newspaper writers must be aware that they have diverse readers, so they cannot write for a homogenous audience.

bilingual – speaking and understanding more than one language

* The ideal candidate would be bilingual in Korean and English.

multicultural – representing more than one culture; having grown up in more than one culture, and being familiar with and comfortable with all of them

* The United Nations is a multicultural decision-making body.

demographic – statistical (related to data in numbered form, usually in large quantity) information about a population and the groups within it

* The market researchers will produce a report on the demographics of our target market.

to tackle problems – to deal with a difficult or challenging situation that requires a lot of work

* To tackle problems on a global scale, we first need to work in our local community.

creative – with many new and interesting ideas that other people have not thought of before

* Brent has some really creative ideas for the new ad campaign.

stodgy – old-fashioned; dull; not interesting; old and boring

* This instructional video’s stodgy style is putting our employees to sleep.

adverse to change – not wanting to change and opposing it; wanting to have things continue the way they are and rejecting attempts to make changes

* Companies that are adverse to change have a difficult time adapting to new technology and are losing customers as a result.

discrimination lawsuit – a legal case filed against a company or individual by someone who believes he or she was treated unfairly and illegally on the basis of age, race, gender, or other factor

* Terrence filed a discrimination lawsuit against his employer, saying that he didn’t receive a promotion due to his skin color.

bra – a woman’s undergarment worn over the breasts with elastic straps around the back and over the shoulders, used to support and shape the breasts

* You’ll need to get a strapless bra if you’re going to wear that off-the-shoulder dress.

unique – one of a kind; unlike anything else

* That restaurant has a unique interpretation of Cajun food.

appreciation – admiration of and attraction to something; feelings of pleasure and respect toward someone or something

* It’s unusual to find a young person with such a deep appreciation for classical music.

Comprehension Questions

1. According to Audrey, what’s wrong with the design ideas?
a) They’re too expensive.
b) They’re very creative and edgy.
c) They’re dull and uninteresting.

2. Why does Simon describe the workforce as homogenous?
a) Because the employees are old.
b) Because the employees are gay.
c) Because the employees are too similar to each other.

Answers at bottom.

What Else Does It Mean?

stale

The word “stale,” in this podcast, means outdated and old, not fresh, new, or interesting: “All these ideas to raise money are so stale! Why can’t we think of anything more interesting?” When talk about air, “stale’ means air that seems old or used: “The air in the apartment was really stale, but once we opened the windows, it seemed better.” When talking about food, “stale” describes something that isn’t fresh and is unpleasant to eat: “This bread is stale, but I guess we could toast it and eat it warm.” Finally, the phrase “to get stale” or “to go stale” means to become uninteresting because one has been doing something for too long: “I loved going to bars and clubs in my 20s, but as I got older, it got stale.”

to tackle problems

In this podcast, the phrase “to tackle problems” means to deal with a difficult or challenging situation that requires a lot of work: “They’ve agreed to meet with a marriage counselor to tackle problems in their marriage.” The verb “to tackle” sometimes means to physically attack another person so that he or she is against the ground and cannot move: “The police officer tackled the thief and caught her holding the stolen money.” In football, “to tackle” means to hit someone on the other team with one’s body to make him or her fall to the ground so that one can take the ball for one’s own team: “The quarterback tackled the other player.” Finally, “fishing tackle” refers to the equipment used by a fisherman: “They packed all of their fishing tackle into the back of the truck and drove the lake to catch some trout.”

Culture Note

The Job Accommodation Network

The United States Department of Labor created the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) in 1983. JAN is a “technical assistance center” (a place where people seek help from trained professionals with specialized knowledge) that helps workers with “disabilities” (physical or mental conditions that limit a person’s actions or ability to think clearly).

JAN provides information to employers as well as people with disabilities and their family members. Much of the information is related to “job accommodations,” or technology, equipment, and ways in which jobs can be changed so that they can be performed by someone with a disability. For example, someone who is “visually impaired” (unable to see well) might have a large computer monitor that “magnifies” (increases the size of) text so that he or she can read and use a computer. This is an example of a job accommodation, but other jobs are actually “modified” (changed). For example, a job that would normally require “lifting” (moving objects upward) may be changed to “accommodate” (make room for; adapt to) someone with a disability who cannot lift heavy items.

JAN also helps people with disabilities become “entrepreneurs” (people who start and own their own business). JAN provides “expertise” (detailed and in-depth knowledge) in small business development, financial planning, marketing, and other areas that are “essential” (extremely important or required) for starting a new business.

The “enactment” (making into law) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 resulted in an increase in demand for JAN’s services. Today, JAN “fields” (receives and handles) more than 50,000 “inquiries” (requests for information) each month.

Comprehension Answers

1 - c

2 - c