Diversity within groups is a key concept in sociology and political science that refers to the degree of difference along socially significant identifying features among the members of a purposefully defined group, such as any group differences in racial or ethnic classifications, age, gender, religion, philosophy, physical abilities, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, intelligence, physical health, mental health, genetic attributes, personality, behavior, or attractiveness.[1]

When measuring human diversity, a diversity index exemplifies the likelihood that two randomly selected residents have different ethnicities. If all residents are of the same ethnic group it is zero by definition. If half are from one group and half from another, it is 50. The diversity index does not take into account the willingness of individuals to cooperate with those of other ethnicities.[2]

International human rights edit

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities affirms to "respect difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as human diversity and humanity" for protection of human rights of persons with disabilities.[3]

Ideology edit

Political creeds which support the idea that diversity is valuable and desirable hold that recognizing and promoting these[which?] diverse cultures may aid communication between people of different backgrounds and lifestyles, leading to greater knowledge, understanding, and peaceful coexistence.[citation needed] For example, "Respect for Diversity" is one of the six principles of the Global Greens Charter, a manifesto subscribed to by green parties from all over the world. In contrast to diversity, some political creeds promote cultural assimilation as the process to lead to these ends.

Use in American academy edit

This use of diversity in this sense[which?] also extends to American academy, where in an attempt to create a "diverse student body" typically supports the recruitment of students from historically excluded populations, such as students of African American or Latino background as well as women in such historically underrepresented fields as the sciences.[citation needed]

Business and workplace edit

Corporations make commitments to diversity in their personnel both for reasons of brand halo and competitive advantage, but progress is slow.[4][clarification needed]

Gender in Politics edit

Historically, women have been underrepresented in politics compared to men. Women's rights movements, such as feminism, have addressed the marginalization of women in politics.[5]

United Kingdom edit

Among the 61 Prime Ministers of the U.K. (Kingdom of Great Britain until 1801) there have been 3 women: Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), Theresa May (2016–2019), Liz Truss (2022).

Race in politics edit

United Kingdom edit

Rishi Sunak (since 2022) is the first non-white Prime Minister of the U.K.

United States edit

In American politics, white men have often been represented more compared to people of color. There has only been one black president, Barack Obama. All of the other 44 U.S. presidents have been white men. In other sections of U.S. politics, the number of people of color represented has gradually increased each year since the 20th Century.[6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Queensborough Community College". www.qcc.cuny.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Mapping L.A..," Los Angeles Times website
  3. ^ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 3 "General Principles", (c)
  4. ^ Discovery, R. S. M. "Why Workplace Diversity Is So Important, And Why It's So Hard To Achieve". Forbes. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. ^ Celis, Karen (1 November 2013). "Representativity in times of diversity: The political representation of women". Women's Studies International Forum. Pregnant politicians and sexy fathers? The politics of gender equality representations in Europe. 41: 179–186. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2013.07.007. ISSN 0277-5395.
  6. ^ Uberoi, Elise; Burton, Matthew (30 September 2022). "Ethnic diversity in politics and public life". The House of Commons Library. Retrieved 5 November 2022.

External links edit