From the food we eat and the people we surround ourselves with to the ecological environment around us, diversity is at the center of healthy and resilient systems. Without diversity, our lives would be dull and the critical systems within and around us would fail to thrive. Diversity is at the heart of creating a rich life that supports growth, creativity, and innovation for individuals, organizations, communities, and the environment.

As individuals and humans, our health benefits from a diverse diet that allows us to get the necessary vitamins and nutrients we need to thrive. Beyond our physical health, we expand our understanding of the world and people around us by visiting different places and experiencing new ways of living and thinking. Our lives are enriched when we expand our inner and outer world through diverse cultural exchanges through art, music, dance, food, rituals, etc. Research supports the claim that we benefit on an individual and collective basis from access to diversity and found that, “studies on cognitive development show that critical thinking, problem-solving capacities, and cognitive complexity increase for all students exposed to diversity on the campus and in the classroom” (Smith and Schonfeld, 2000). 

In our organizations, intentionally building and nurturing a diverse workforce helps drive innovation and creativity due to the availability of unique life experiences and perspectives that support creative thinking and problem-solving. According to research on the psychological benefits of creating an affirming climate for workplace diversity, authors Chrobot-Mason, et al., assert that the outcome of creating supportive and diverse workplaces is “the espoused potential benefits of a diverse workforce that comprise the business case for diversity namely, that employees will realize their full potential at work and greater creativity and innovation will result from the variety of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and work styles that a diverse workforce may bring, positively impacting the bottom line”. Conversely, the authors Chrobot-Mason, et al., warn that a failure to focus on creating a positive environment can lead to higher rates of turnover due to a diverse workforce feeling alienated or undervalued for the perspectives and experiences they bring to the table.

In our communities, diversity makes our cities come alive. Vibrant murals and access to worldly art and artifacts in museums take us on a global journey to discover people and places we may have never been exposed to otherwise. A diverse offering of ethnic cuisines enlivens our tastebuds and introduces us to flavors not typically found in our cultural cuisine, introducing us to far away, lands, people, and cultures.

In our ecological environment, biodiversity is an essential aspect of maintaining the health of the systems within it. A lack of, or an overabundance of a resource could cause an entire system to struggle to maintain its overall health and ability to support the other systems that rely upon it. In their research article titled, “The Biodiversity Paradigm: Building Resilience for Human and Environmental Health,” authors Shroff and Cortés state that “it is a well-established fact that biodiversity is pivotal to human and planetary health, completely entwining biodiverse natural systems into a continuum, through our food systems, into human health. This means there is an intimate connection between the biodiversity of the soil, the biodiversity, and interrelationships of cultivated and wild plants and animals” (2020).

 Every aspect of our life is enriched by diverse populations, experiences, cultures, environments, and more. Without diversity, our lives would be dull, and our planet and species would likely fail to thrive. That is why whenever possible we should intentionally create, maintain, and seek out diverse inputs and experiences.

Work Cited

Chrobot-Mason, D., & Aramovich, N. P. (2013). The Psychological Benefits of Creating an Affirming Climate for Workplace Diversity. Group & Organization Management, 38(6), 659–689. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.1177/1059601113509835  

Shroff, R., Cortés, C.R. (2020). The Biodiversity Paradigm: Building Resilience for Human and Environmental Health. Development 63:172–180. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.1057/s41301-020-00260-2  

Smith, D. G., & Schonfeld, N. B. (2000). The Benefits of Diversity What the Research Tells Us. About Campus, 5(5), 16–23. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.1177/108648220000500505