Diversity

Diversity Definition

Diversity refers to the mixture of different social groups within a society, distinguished by such factors as ethnicity, religion, customs, or language. Most societies are mixtures of this kind, and the diversity of a population can arise from many sources, including immigration, invasion and conquest, and religious schism. The UK’s diverse population, for example, is the product of immigration since the Second World War as well as of immigration and invasion over a much longer period before it, while South Africa’s diversity stems from waves of Dutch and British settlers during the colonialism of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Diversity, Inequality, and Conflict

Diversity is often associated with inequality. The black population of the United States, originally transported as slaves, is on the whole notably poorer than the white population; Catholics in Northern Ireland are, on average, less well-off than their Protestant counterparts. Diversity is also frequently associated with conflict, prejudice, and stereotyping: different groups develop beliefs about one another that prevent social contact, discrimination in jobs, education, and housing may follow, and communal violence can become endemic.

Policy Responses

Many societies have formulated social policies to address this inequality and conflict — for example by outlawing racial discrimination or making incitement to racial hatred a crime. In this context it is important to note that diversity and equality are not the same thing: recognizing that societies benefit from a mixture of ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, and cultures does not by itself imply equality of opportunity for the groups concerned.