The Value of Diversity

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I heard a very interesting interview this morning on NPR, in which a gentleman named Shankar Vedantam, who writes a column on Human Behavior in the Washington Post, was discussing the value of diversity in the work place. He described a study of 250 companies done by a sociologist named Cedric Harring (sp?) which measured both levels of diversity and various measures of business performance and showed that with every successive level of increased diversity, the companies did better on all the measures of business performance.

But the really interesting thing that he described was a psychological study that documented the differences in reactions that people can have from simply being in a mixed group as opposed to a homogeneous group. The example he gave was that in a group of all Caucasian people on pretending to be on a jury and given an ambiguous fact pattern, 50% of them found the defendant guilty, but when the group was mixed with African-Americans, only 33% of the Caucasians found the defendant guilty. He pointed out that in both cases the individuals were instructed not to discuss the case at all, so it was not even a case of the different experiences that the African-Americans members had had influencing the Caucasian member's opinions, but rather it was simply the presence of the African-Americans in the group that was influencing how the Caucasian members were thinking.

Very interesting.

Here is link to the story on NPR, if you want to give a listen:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=6858215

[vison]

That was kewl: just as I began to read your post, your avatar pic changed!!!! Wowsa.

Interesting linky, btw. Thanx.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That's pretty cool, but quite strange, because I changed my avatar picture yesterday.

[yovargas]

Wow, that's awesome! I wish the interview had been long enough for him to give more examples. One wants a better idea of what precisely it is that is being changed.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I found Mr. Vedantum's column in today's Washington Post on this issue. The Post now requires registration, which I don't think it used to do, but here is the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00720.html

In the article, he reveals the name of the pychologist that did that study: Tufts University psychologist Sam Sommers. He also gives an additional example:

In a more recent experiment, Sommers asked all-white and diverse groups to read short passages and then asked them to answer SAT-style questions about the passages. When the topics touched on race -- affirmative action, for example -- whites who were part of diverse groups answered more questions correctly than people in all-white groups.

Again, the groups had no verbal interaction before answering the questions, so it wasn't that people of color raised issues that prompted whites to remember the material more clearly. Rather, the mere act of sitting around a table with a diverse group of people seemed to improve the performance of white participants.

While such changes could be deliberate -- whites forcing themselves to be more alert when people of color are around -- Sommers thinks the changes are largely unconscious.

"It is not just the minority group members who are responsible for the diversity -- something happens to all the members in a group when the group is diverse," he said. "White people behave differently and have different cognitive tendencies in a diverse setting than in a homogenous setting."

[Inanna]

One of the Profs, whose course I just started this week has done some seminal research in the effect of diversity in groups in organizational behaviour. Once we get to that paper of his, I will post bits of it here.

Just by my experience, I know how much effect exposure to diversity has. Several times back home, and here in US, I find myself unable to explain things to people who have not been exposed to diverse cultures/people at all and hold on to their notions of what non-whites (Indians, as an example) are like. I was probably guilty of the same before I travelled and stayed in various countries...

It is not possible for everyone to be exposed to diverse cultures, living wherever they are. But, increasingly, I have felt this is an important part of being an understanding person (provided you have the basic requisit of being open). How do we make this happen? Media often just builds on stereotypes, as opposed to breaking them....

[Cenedril_Gildinaur]

I have a problem with diversity discussions, which is why when I ran for college board I was pleased when I was the last one among the several candidates to be asked my opinion on diversity.

After all the rest of the candidates made the exact same empty praise of diversity, I pointed out how they were all wrong. All of them. Diversity has nothing to do with appearance. What good is a dozen people who look different and think the same? Diversity only exists if there is diversity of thought an opinion.

Then I tied it back to academic freedom, a previously asked question.

[Primula Baggins]

But surely a group of people from diverse cultural backgrounds is more likely to provide that "diversity of thought and opinion" than a homogeneous group. Even if the homogeneous group has some variations in political views, all their other views, especially the ones that don't often get examined, are likely to be similar: what's "good food," how do healthy people behave, what is "art," what is "marriage," who is and is not "family," what level of consumption is "average". . . .

[vison]

On my street there is a different "ethnic group" in almost every house. We live in an odd area, in some ways, with a big group of Mennonites who are Russian/German background, an almost equally big group of South Asians (from India), lots of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians, and since there is a bible college we have a sprinkling of black Africans. (I say black since there are some white Africans, too, and Asian Africans from Uganda, it gets very confusing.) We have Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems (both Ismaili and the other kinds, including some very strict chador-wearing Moslems), Dutch Reformed, Presbyterians, United, various sorts of Evangelicals, Mennonites. Within a couple of miles of my house there are temples, mosques, churches, gathering places, of every known variety, including a little congregation of Tibetan Buddhists I never knew about until I saw the picture in the local paper of them donating to the Food Bank at Christmas. (I remember the Tibetan restaurant in Cow Hollow very fondly!) I live in a pretty rural area, yet it is strongly diversified. Vancouver and the closer suburbs are much more diverse.

Personally, I like the diversity. I would guess that "non-whites" make up half our population now, and when I was a kid, the vast majority of British Columbians were white and from European backgrounds. There was always a significant number of Chinese people in Vancouver, though, as well as people from the Punjab, brought here to work on the CNR and in the bush as loggers.

We have our problems, but one thing for sure, you can eat a different kind of food every night for a very long time.

Oh, and this is funny. I advertised a job on the Jobs Canada website and I have an application from Mongolia.

[Cenedril_Gildinaur]

But surely a group of people from diverse cultural backgrounds is more likely to provide that "diversity of thought and opinion" than a homogeneous group. Even if the homogeneous group has some variations in political views, all their other views, especially the ones that don't often get examined, are likely to be similar: what's "good food," how do healthy people behave, what is "art," what is "marriage," who is and is not "family," what level of consumption is "average". . . .

That is quite true outside of college campuses, where political correctness is considered diversity and deviation from political correctness is considered something to condemn.

[The Watcher]

But surely a group of people from diverse cultural backgrounds is more likely to provide that "diversity of thought and opinion" than a homogeneous group. Even if the homogeneous group has some variations in political views, all their other views, especially the ones that don't often get examined, are likely to be similar: what's "good food," how do healthy people behave, what is "art," what is "marriage," who is and is not "family," what level of consumption is "average". . . .

But, there again, you are relying on cultural assumptions, and not the current geographic, political, historical, and economic ties which ALSO come into play to a large degree.

I do not go around in my life thinking "I am XXX and so behave accordingly." I think it is very good to have diversity of all kinds when we deal with others, but, and I guess I might get shouted down here a bit, the far Western parts of the US and Canada are in NO way the same as the older industrialized regions of the East Coast or Rust Belt cities of the Midwest. It is far more divided in these areas, there is no "common consensus" for the most part, and there are LOTS of different opinions out there which maybe do not contribute to the greater good, or that even find common ground. It is sad, but all too true.

Do I myself agree with Voronwë's original post? Yes, I do, because when we are forced out of our "comfort zone" we do open our minds up far more than we would otherwise. It is human nature to want to belong, after all, and we do not even realize when we are retreating into that comfort zone often times.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

... when we are forced out of our "comfort zone" we do open our minds up far more than we would otherwise. It is human nature to want to belong, after all, and we do not even realize when we are retreating into that comfort zone often times.

Well said, Watcher! I think that explains the results of those studies that I referenced very well.

[vison]

But surely a group of people from diverse cultural backgrounds is more likely to provide that "diversity of thought and opinion" than a homogeneous group. Even if the homogeneous group has some variations in political views, all their other views, especially the ones that don't often get examined, are likely to be similar: what's "good food," how do healthy people behave, what is "art," what is "marriage," who is and is not "family," what level of consumption is "average". . . .

That is quite true outside of college campuses, where political correctness is considered diversity and deviation from political correctness is considered something to condemn.

So, C_G, if all these physically diverse people announced that they were Libertarians and worshipped at the shrine of Ayn Rand and/or Lew Rockwell, would we hear all this about "thinking alike"? Or would you think the millennium (the proverbial millennium, not the actual one) had arrived and all would henceforth be shining and wonderful?

Just askin'.

[Griffon64]

vison - from which parts of Africa are those Africans, do you know? I just ask because I keep running into people who know people who used to live in Africa, including South Africa, and I find it all very interesting

[vison]

My old doctor was from Johannesburg. (sp?) He said he was a Boer, although maybe that name isn't PC anymore? He told me that he left while his children were young because he didn't want them caught up in what he saw as the inevitable bloodbath. Now and again he would tell the odd little story about how different it was being a doctor in Canada compared to being a doctor in SA. He was an odd man, with absolutely no bedside manner whatsoever, he always reminded me of a mechanic. But I got used to him! I know a couple of other white South Africans as well, and by and large they left there because they were afraid, or maybe afraid isn't the reason, what they say is that it was starting to be too much trouble and while they wish the place well, they don't want to chance staying there. I can understand that.

I know a woman who works at a monkey sanctuary in Africa, Zimbabwe, I think. Not sure I remember that right. I find that very odd, but it's what she loves to do. Seems weird to me, to grow up in Cloverdale and wind up working in a monkey sanctuary in Africa.

The man who fixed my furnace is a Ugandan, of obvious Indian extraction. They left Uganda when Idi Amin chucked them all out. He's about 6 foot 8, very handsome, urbane and sophisticated, he was a lawyer in Uganda but could not practice law here and bought a furnace repair shop eventually. His wife is just about as tall as he is. Their sons used to play soccer with my oldest son, I daresay they all have 8 foot children by now. Jeez. What did they put in the water?

Another young man I know is from Tanzania, originally. His family emigrated to Newfoundland one Christmas about 20 years ago, they landed in St. John, NFLD on Christmas Eve in the midst of a blizzard, and none of the family had ever seen real snow before. This young man who looks like an Indian is a Roman Catholic with an Italian name, his father's best friend is Italian. His mother tongue was Swahili, but by the time I met him he had a strong Newfie accent. His ancestors had gone to Africa from Portugese Goa, they had adopted Portugese names and religion in about the 17th century. He is also about 8 foot tall. His family were wealthy professional people in Tanzania and had to start from scratch when they got here. Same thing, politics got scary, they had the means to leave, so they did. It is very charming to hear this handsome young man speak like a Newfie, I don't know why, it's just a strange combination. I daresay he's lost his Newfie accent now, he's going to McGill to be a doctor.

The students from the Bible college shop in the local stores, of course. About 2 years ago my grandson Oz and I were in Value Village, it's a second-hand store. Oz was very, very impressed by the two men who came in wearing their African robes, they are so black that their skin is purple and Oz said, "Now, those are BLACK men, grandma, not brown like the other black people." It's a delightful and exotic sight to see these students, men and women both, in their robes in the snow.

[yovargas]

Apparently, vison is a world attraction.