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 The Case for Diversity

Groups that are not diverse make bad decisions.

Pluralistic ignorance can occur even when everyone involved is of the same race, ethnicity, or gender—sometimes even with those things in common.

Studies suggest that ethnic and racial diversity can lead to higher rates of innovation and reduces social tensions. It has been shown to reduce crime rates, school segregation, corporate bias, medical errors, and health care costs.   And yet as a society we try very hard to avoid it.

An article from The Washington Post shares some horrifying examples of how not embracing diversity leads to problems: "In 2008 China found itself in the midst of a series of protests stemming from ethnic tension in Tibet... When the government censored information from the Internet and cell phone networks, it set off a wave of riots across the country. A year later, a similar situation arose in Xinjiang province in western China. The Uighurs, who are Muslim, were rioting over their treatment by Han Chinese: They felt that the government was eroding their culture and traditional way of life... "In both cases there was no real difference in how people were treated. Rather than focusing on what made them similar, people focused on what made them different. So they rioted." 

An article from Psychology Today suggests that people identify with and seek social groups where their needs, values, and basic beliefs are best reflected... a process called "affinity bias". This can cause people to stick to the familiar, even if it means missing out on something better or exciting. The article says: "People tend to prefer those things that are similar to them. A group of white students might not actively discriminate against pale-skinned or light-haired students when selecting members for a student club. Those traits aren't part of their definition of what sort of person is desirable... But they might exclude dark-skinned or kinky-haired students because they don't identify with these ways of being in the world. It's not overt prejudice, but their affinity bias makes them prefer students who are more like them." 

Do you think that a diverse environment would make the world a better place? Some people do think it would, even if they can't quite put into words why. For example a blogger named Lily says: "I want to live in a world where I will see all sorts of people living different kinds of lives... I'll be able to learn from what they're doing and how they're doing it. That sounds pretty beautiful to me." Another blogger called Leo Fung shares this sentiment when he says: "Having grown up in and around various cultures, I can't say for sure that diversity is the whole answer. But it is a good start. The more diversity there is in any social area, the more likely we are to learn from each other."

But this isn't just about learning from each other for the sake of learning. It's about learning so that we can improve ourselves and the world at large. Thomas Sowell said: "Diversity is not to be judged by whether it accords with some static notion of how people would like things to be, but by how well it works -- whether people can live together with a minimum of friction."  He goes on to explain that "the most diverse places do not necessarily have the highest levels of satisfaction".

The fact is that the world is changing and diversity is a part of that change. Not all of it, but much of it. We have to adjust to that by being open-minded, understanding how the changes affect our lives, and finding ways to overcome differences so that we can live together in harmony. And ultimately we have to stop trying to live in the "old way" and build a community where everyone feels equally valued and accepted for who they are.

Notes:

This article was originally posted on EconLog with the title "Diversity". The source can be found here . 

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There is no singular definition of "diversity" because different things may be said to contribute to it. Some diversity means that different races, ethnicities, and genders are present.

Other diversity means that different perspectives and beliefs are present. Diversity also implies that there are differences in age, economic status, educational achievement or ability, gender identity, marital status and family structure (e.g., single-parent households), sexual orientation (i.e., heterosexual, gay/lesbian), political affiliation or ideology (e.g., liberal/conservative), religious affiliation or involvement . We might also add that there are differences in lifestyles, social and cultural practices (e.g., food, music, clothes, art, etc.), geographic location (e.g., urban/rural), and geographical distance from the core of the community to where one lives. 

Most diversity is not a good thing. In fact, it often fuels discrimination and acts of exclusion or stigmatization against entire groups of people based on their differing characteristics---race/ethnicity; gender; socioeconomic status; age; political affiliation or ideology; sexual orientation; religious affiliation; geographic location (geographic distance); lifestyle or social and cultural practices considered aberrant by some group members (i.e., crime prevention). Exclusion and stigmatization of this sort may cause the excluded individuals to find themselves socially isolated from other members of their group.

Diversity can be a good thing if it leads to greater tolerance and understanding of different people, groups, and cultures. 

A blog called The Diversity Project provides information about diversity . It says that "diversity refers to difference in the form or kind and quantity of characteristics, behaviors, and/or events."  It offers some excellent definitions of diversity:

"Diversity refers to the culture or character and forms that differentiate one community from another. Although communities are not monolithic, they do share some common traits. They tend to have: A shared history, memory, or values; Shared physical space (e.g., a village); Common goals, beliefs, and social and cultural practices; and An identity that is shaped by these shared cultural traits.

With this definition in mind it is clear that diversity can occur in a variety of ways. These include the ethnic make-up of the community population, income levels and educational achievement levels, age structure of the population, religious affiliation or practice (or lack thereof), sexual orientation or gender identity, political views or views on controversial issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage.

Conclusion

Diversity can have a positive or negative effect on communities depending on the context. Without a value-neutral definition of diversity as a basic principle, it is impossible to determine whether the community is better off with or without diversity."  The source can be found here .

References:

Kane, M. (2006). Diversity versus conformity. Retrieved from http://www.americandigest.org/s/diversity-versus-conformity . Sowell, T. (2006). Diversity and multiculturalism . Retrieved from http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2006/11/30/diversity_and_multiculturalism . Watson, P.