[Civics Notes] on What do You Mean by Diversity? Pdf for Exam

In a social context, diversity means recognizing that each individual is different. Diversity is created by groups and individuals from an extensive spectrum of demographic, geographic, and philosophical differences. It is recognizing an individual’s differences along dimensions such as age, race, gender, ethnicity, ideologies, sexual orientation, physical abilities, political beliefs, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic status. Diversity is about trying to understand where a person comes from, their differences on the basis of their religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.

Diversity is all about understanding and acknowledging the differences that are inherent between individuals. The practice is to educate ourselves about these differences and create a healthy environment for all individuals in society. A society that is free from prejudice and discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, economical background or any other reason.

Types of Diversity

Diversity comes in different ways, some of the types are explained below.

Racial Diversity is the differences between people on the basis of their race. The race of a person is derived from the place of their birth and the colour of their skin. In the history of human beings, it can be traced back that all human beings came from Africa but through the ages, as human beings moved across the different continents in the world. The skin colour of us human beings started to change based on the environment around us. People living near the equator had darker skin due to the heat of the sun. People living near the poles had lighter skin because the sunlight there was not as strong as that near the poles.

• Sexual Orientation Based Diversity:

Sexual orientation is something people are born with just like the colour of their skin. The debate over if sexual orientation is natural or not is absolutely bogus. The diversity over sexual orientation comes from social constructs and traditional thinking that believes that there are only two genders. The fact is that there are more than two genders and sexual orientation is about that only. People can like a same-sex person or a person of other sex both of which are normal. The gender spectrum today is seen as LGBTQ which is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer. All five of these sexual orientations are found in all parts of the world in different people.

Religious Diversity stands for the differences in people on the basis of the religion that they follow. Religious diversity is not something people are born with like their skin colour or sexual orientation. People follow religion from birth but it is different from the aforementioned concepts as religion is a manmade concept. Some of the main religions that are followed around the world are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and many other religions that are followed in the different parts of the world.

• Diversity on the Basis of Physical Abilities:

Diversity on the basis of physical diversity stands for diversity on the basis of people who are physically disabled. Physical disability can be from birth or from an accident. Physical disability can be defined as a person who cannot lead life normally due to physical limitations. These disabilities require special attention and can be so that often people need special help from other people to lead their life. These disabilities do not make the people suffering any less than us and it is essential that we understand how they are different from us and be respectful towards them.

• Socio-Economic Diversity:

Diversity on the basis of socio-economic status stands for the differences in people on the basis of their economic standpoint. This in the most basic sense means the difference between poor and rich people. The social part of this diversity comes from the different social points of the people based on their economic status. These together create an environment where the rich are influential and famous whereas the poor live in poverty without any attention.