Diversity Makes Us Smarter

12/26/2017

We are leaders of inclusiveness and community, of love, equity, and justice.
Judith Heumann, 1947-2023, Disability Rights Activist

"Decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and demographers show that socially diverse groups (that is, those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender...) are more innovative than homogeneous groups," writes Katherine W. Phillips in a Scientific American article.

"It seems obvious that a group of people with diverse individual expertise would be better than a homogeneous group at solving complex, non-routine problems. It is less obvious that social diversity should work in the same way—yet the science shows that it does.

This is not only because people with different backgrounds bring new information. Simply interacting with individuals who are different forces group members to prepare better, to anticipate alternative viewpoints and to expect that reaching consensus will take effort."

Source: "How Diversity Makes Us Smarter," by Katherine W. Phillips, Scientific American, October 1, 2014

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