Diversity? Borrrrring.

When I heard someone talking about 'diversity' again this morning, I found myself recoiling.

Not because I disagree with the fundamental notion that teams and organisations should have a diverse range of intellect and skills. It was more a recoiling from being reminded again that we even need to have a conversation about it, and that we need a word to describe it.

I’ve noticed something about the resistance and criticism of the ongoing push for diversity, whether it’s for women, people of colour or any other group subjected to inequality.

It’s often treated by those who oppose it as a ‘woke’, bleeding-heart-liberal, soft and fluffy perspective that’s divorced from the hard facts & realities of life. Something driven by emotions and therefore blind to the practicalities of the world

Maybe that emotional driver true of some people. But for me, greater equality is also a deeply logical and rational position to take.

If my plane crash lands on a desert island, I want every single ounce of talent, resource and intellect to come together for our survival, growth and harmony.

I certainly wouldn’t want to assume that 50% of the survivors on that island will do less valuable work (women), or that 14% are less capable of being useful (people of colour), or that 2% of the survivors are better suited for specific jobs (LGBTQ). I also wouldn’t want to automatically assume that another 50% are the best suited for the dirtiest and most dangerous work (men).

Where would that get us as a group on that island?

Of course, like most of us, I probably would make some of these assumptions because my decision-making is skewed and tainted by unconscious bias.

And that’s the point - humans aren’t perfectly rational decision-making machines, as some would have us believe. For good or bad, we’re riddled with flaws, including emotions and historic stories, which contribute hugely to the way we make assumptions about each other.

So, alas, we do need to think about 'woke' things like ‘diversity’.

Because diversity is simply a way of saying we need to make sure we’re giving ourselves access to broadest range of ideas and intellect. That’s not softy, ‘woke’, nonsense - it’s cold, hard logic. It's the optimal position to take for the good of the world and humanity.

That’s what I want on my desert island. What do you want on yours?