Diversity is the term generally used to denote the various difference in the cultural, traditional, religious, geographical, gender, and racial differences that may be present in human beings. For example, America is a highly diverse country encompassing Hispanics, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians, etc., thus America is a country with people from diverse nationalities. An example of a religiously diverse country would be an Asian country for instance India. In India, people practice many religions including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, etc. and there is no one majority religion. Hence we can say that India is a religiously diverse nation.
The term diversity is used to denote the differences in the characteristics of people which make them unique from one another. Diversity among people can be based on several characteristics including age, culture, education, gender, language, political preference, and many other factors. Variations among human beings may be a result of any of the factors, which may distinguish one individual or individuals from the other members of society.
Diversity is an important aspect of human co-existence and to live peacefully and productively, diversity needs to be accepted. Diversity opens up minds to newer perspectives. Diversity also enables people to be sensitive to one another irrespective of the background or milieu to which different people belong. Diversity provides insight into the different cultures, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyles of different people all over the world and enables humans to interact with each other and to learn new things in life. It is a medium for exchanging knowledge about the way things function in the world with different people.
Diversity brings more experience about the different people and enables to gain insight regarding diverse perceptions, and helps to clear the prejudices people may hold regarding different people from different cultures, races, and religions. For example, the culture of Asian countries like India is very dissimilar to the culture of Western countries like America. In India, emphasis is laid on the upbringing of the children from a traditional and religious perspective.
Cultural values are imbibed in children by way of the family set-ups which are mostly joint family systems. This proves to be highly beneficial for the psychological and physical growth of children. In this way, our knowledge about the different ways different societies function is enhanced and we can develop newer means and methods to alter our perceptions for the betterment of our society as well.
Diversity helps in strengthening our communities and helping in the development of our personalities in unselfish ways and gets rid of our stereotyped preconceptions. Diversity also initiates competition and provides us with varied choices. For instance, the diversity of political candidates in the selection of governments enables us to choose the best candidate based on their credentials. Political diversity thus helps in the development and progress of nations as diverse candidates will work harder to achieve success. Diversity presents the nation with a multitude of talents in different fields, which can be put to use for the progress of the country.
For instance, there are several stereotype images regarding various communities. The Indians are believed to be smart, the Chinese are supposed to be hardworking, the Japanese are supposed to be meticulous and precise, Africans are supposed to be strong, etc. If all the virtues of the multiple societies are found and utilized in any country, the nation is most likely to prosper due to the multiple talents found in that country. Since diversity also creates competition, people are likely to work harder to stay ahead in the race.