ABSTRACT
Chapter Overview Th e complexity of the concept of identity confounds the interactions that we as humans have with one another. In reality, we are not onedimensional, but multidimensional beings. Individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts all infl uence who we believe ourselves to be. In this chapter, we examine ethnicity as a separate construct from race, although related, along with how it impacts the workforce. Although there are other dimensions of our being that also blend with our race and ethnicity, making up our total being-gender, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, abilities versus disabilities, and religious or spiritual beliefs-ethnicity is generally understood as a “fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common or national tradition” (Ethnicity, 2013).
