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> Diverse teams bring different perspectives for solving problems. By problems I don't mean just technical ones, but also design, usability, and marketing. < H

> Diverse teams bring different perspectives for solving problems. By problems I don't mean just technical ones, but also design, usability, and marketing. < Honest question here regarding quoting of statistics. If statistics showed that homogenous teams led to better solving of problems, does that mean the teams should discourage diversity? If not, then clearly the reason why diversity is encouraged is not because it brings better results, rather that it is considered as a more 'just' position. It's like when people say "Studies show that gay parents are better parents than straight parents" as a reason to support gay marriage. The idea is simple, even if it didn't, that wouldn't be a reason against gay marriage.

frign 11y ago
That is a very good point. It's easy to cite studies to support one's position. I could easily find studies which show that diversity actually decreases the mean IQ of the population. Now, evaluating these studies, we might then rightfully say, that IQ evaluation is erroneous and discourages minorities, and that social status has a huge impact on the IQ. However, when diversity leads to a lower social status and poverty, doesn't this defeat the purpose of arguing for more diversity? Just to give you an insight into my thought process on this. Another point is: Did the lack of diversity really hinder the creative minds of the last millenia?
- splintercell 11y ago
  > Did the lack of diversity really hinder the creative minds of the last millenia? < This is exactly the reason why I think this is probably a cause and effect confusion. Better teams might attract a diverse crowd. Just like a better product can claim a more diverse group of users. In fact it isn't even just about 'better products', it might just be the most popular product (without any specific reason behind it). For instance, you will find Windows users to be more diverse than Linux users, mostly because former is a lot bigger userbase than latter, and Linux usage requires users to be of a certain technical aptitude (hopefully 2016 will be the year Linux Mint becomes the majority OS) which is mostly shared by the majority demographic (i.e. White males). The minority also overrepresents other areas. For instance, some brands of hair products are more popular on Asian males, than among non-asian males (possibly because it suits their hair type better). Where as fairness creams are more popular among Indian men and women, not because of some sort of physiological differences but because of cultural preferences. The fundamental idea is that not all areas of life will reflect the population distribution of the demographics. When I went to a fountain pen show, most people were white. There is no pipeline failure there, there is no widespread discrimination going on against non-whites.

frign 11y ago

That is a very good point. It's easy to cite studies to support one's position. I could easily find studies which show that diversity actually decreases the mean IQ of the population. Now, evaluating these studies, we might then rightfully say, that IQ evaluation is erroneous and discourages minorities, and that social status has a huge impact on the IQ. However, when diversity leads to a lower social status and poverty, doesn't this defeat the purpose of arguing for more diversity? Just to give you an insight into my thought process on this. Another point is: Did the lack of diversity really hinder the creative minds of the last millenia?

splintercell 11y ago
> Did the lack of diversity really hinder the creative minds of the last millenia? < This is exactly the reason why I think this is probably a cause and effect confusion. Better teams might attract a diverse crowd. Just like a better product can claim a more diverse group of users. In fact it isn't even just about 'better products', it might just be the most popular product (without any specific reason behind it). For instance, you will find Windows users to be more diverse than Linux users, mostly because former is a lot bigger userbase than latter, and Linux usage requires users to be of a certain technical aptitude (hopefully 2016 will be the year Linux Mint becomes the majority OS) which is mostly shared by the majority demographic (i.e. White males). The minority also overrepresents other areas. For instance, some brands of hair products are more popular on Asian males, than among non-asian males (possibly because it suits their hair type better). Where as fairness creams are more popular among Indian men and women, not because of some sort of physiological differences but because of cultural preferences. The fundamental idea is that not all areas of life will reflect the population distribution of the demographics. When I went to a fountain pen show, most people were white. There is no pipeline failure there, there is no widespread discrimination going on against non-whites.