Gender Communication Differences, presented by Mary Kaner at Blackhawk East at the Holmes Student Center on Tuesday, focused on the fact that men and women communicate differently.

The program offered tips on how to avoid pitfalls that many people fall into concerning communication differences. This event was sponsored by the Affirmative Action Diversity Resources.

The AADR office provides assistance to members of the university community who believe they have been treated differently, discriminated against or harassed because of race, color, sex, age, disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or political affiliation. The office also offers advice to individuals who have witnessed unfair or discriminatory treatment against others.

Trained staff also conduct confidential investigations, which are available to assist in conflict resolution, or will make referrals to other service units on or off campus for additional assistance. The office also ensures that Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employment guidelines are met and followed by monitoring the hiring of all faculty and staff.

“The training that we provide is as a resource. These are workshops with a wide range of topics,” spokeswoman Phinette Maszka said. “They are just a part of human resource service training program, so these are workshops that have gone on for quite a while.”

AADR also offers workshops on other topics.

Some of these topics are culture diversity, diversity in the workplace, leadership skills, networking and mentoring, Maszka said.

Some students say the workshops are a good thing.

“I feel that seminars like this are needed; they are always needed,” senior business major Judy Dawson said. “However, I wish I would have known about it so that I could have attended.”

DeKalb resident Sheila Calhan agreed.

“It helps you better understand the many different aspects of the workplace and it makes you aware of many things you may have been unaware of at first,” Calhan said.

Another workshop titled, “Effective supervisor wants,” is to be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Friday at the Holmes Student Center, Room 506. The presenter will be Nancy Atkinsonof the Employee Wellness and Assistance Program. This workshop will deal with how communication and working with emotional intelligence are effective in supervisory and work relationships.

For information, call the AADR office at 753-6000.