Social:Diversity (politics)

Short description: Concept in sociology and political studies

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.

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.

International human rights

Further information: Social:Inclusion (disability rights)

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.

Ideology

Political creeds which support the idea that diversity is valuable and desirable hold that recognizing and promoting these diverse cultures may aid communication between people of different backgrounds and lifestyles, leading to greater knowledge, understanding, and peaceful coexistence. 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

This use of diversity in this sense 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.

Business and workplace

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

Gender in Politics

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.

United Kingdom

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

United Kingdom

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

United States

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.

See also

• Acceptance
• Affirmative action
• Cultural diversity
• Discrimination
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Diversity training
• Functional diversity
• Gender diversity
• Heterodox Academy (viewpoint diversity in academy)
• Identity politics
• Individual and group rights
• Motto of the European Union
• Multiculturalism