Five Reasons Why Diversity is Important in the 21st Century by Toni O’Boyle

Growing Acceptance, Diminishing Discrimination

Promoting diversity is the first step to not just “tolerance” but true inclusion and acceptance. Through
growing contact with, exposure to, and communication between people who are not like us, we can
learn how to relate to difference in a way where difference doesn’t have to be a problem, a barrier, or a
5 threat. And accidentally, we might also see that the people we assumed to be so different to us may
actually have a lot more in common than they thought. Increasing familiarity with these differences
(and commonalities) can shape and shift our perspectives (see #3), cultivate an acceptance that
facilitates belonging, and diminish the misconceptions and prejudices that fuel discrimination.
Becoming a Global Citizen
10 If you experience diversity in your everyday life, you will have regular exposure to people, cultures,
traditions, and practices that are unlike your own. Hopefully you will learn the skills to communicate
and interact with communities, concepts, and belief systems that you are unfamiliar with and therefore
gain a more worldly, balanced, and informed perspective. Not only will you enhance your own social
development, but you will also increase your true understanding of the world. This will prepare you to
15 be a part of a global society, whether you are traveling to a new country, working with people from
diverse backgrounds, or just reading about events in the news that heavily impacts a population
different than your own.
Perspective
Hearing about another’s experience can shed light on a life different than your own and provide you a
20 new perspective. When you contrast your struggles, needs, and values with someone else’s, you can
really begin to comprehend where an individual is coming from and empathetically understand their
attitudes, behaviours, and beliefs at a deeper level (through which you can more deeply understand
your own). Perhaps talking to someone new will change your mind or challenge your values which on
a subconscious level can seem scary for our brains, or the payoff for flexible thinking is a life where we
25 get to see through many different lenses and experience the kaleidoscope that diversity of perspective
has to offer.
Richer Life Experience
Diversity is a natural state of being for the human race. In fact, it’s what our survival depends on. What
if everyone who surrounded you was exactly like you, in every way? How easily could a disease wipe
30 you all out? And where is the fun in relating to people who are exactly like you? Groupthink might feel
safer and more certain, but it invites cognitive dissonance, one dimensional ideas, and some pretty
limited conversation. We need new ideas, views, and practices to stimulate and inspire us, to show us
the way others eat, celebrate, and love! And so it’s important to recognise that diversity is absolutely
fundamental to our surviving but it’s also absolutely key to our thriving.
35 Productivity
Bringing together people of various backgrounds with different life experiences can generate ideas or
perspectives that others may not have ever considered or been aware of. Everyone has their own way
of viewing a problem, shaped by the individual experiences that they have and the worldview they
carry with them. When tackling an issue, a multitude of interpretations and approaches can generate
40 creativity and innovation, instead of everyone contributing the same thoughts and conclusions. In this
way, it’s important to recognise the utility of diversity, it is after all what supports nature’s productivity,
and we can learn a lot from the natural world. […] The productivity or business case of diversity is
undeniable and yet it can distract from the real reason we should be living and breathing diversity…
because it’s the right thing to do.
(Source: AMP Global Youth, June 20, 2020)

Tasks

1. Find the following information: who is the author, where and when was this article
published and what is its core topic.
2. Summarize the paragraphs in one or two sentences.
3. Compare your results with your neighbour. Add to your results if you miss anything.