what is the diversity thesis

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How to Write the Diversity Essay – With Examples

May 1, 2024

The diversity essay has newfound significance in college application packages following the 2023 SCOTUS ruling against race-conscious admissions. Affirmative action began as an attempt to redress unequal access to economic and social mobility associated with higher education. But before the 2023 ruling, colleges frequently defended the policy based on their “compelling interest” in fostering diverse campuses. The reasoning goes that there are certain educational benefits that come from heterogeneous learning environments. Now, the diversity essay has become key for admissions officials in achieving their compelling interest in campus diversity. Thus, unlocking how to write a diversity essay enhances an applicant’s ability to describe their fit with a campus environment. This article describes the genre and provides diversity essay examples to help any applicant express how they conceptualize and contribute to diversity.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Defining the Genre

Diversity essays in many ways resemble the personal statement genre. Like personal statements, they help readers get to know applicants beyond their academic and extracurricular achievements. What makes an applicant unique? Precisely what motivates or inspires them? What is their demeanor like and how do they interact with others? All these questions are useful ways of thinking about the purpose and value of the diversity essay.

It’s important to realize that the essay does not need to focus on aspects like race, religion, or sexuality. Some applicants may choose to write about their relationship to these or other protected identity categories. But applicants shouldn’t feel obligated to ‘come out’ in a diversity essay. Conversely, they should not be anxious if they feel their background doesn’t qualify them as ‘diverse.’

Instead, the diversity essay helps demonstrate broader thinking about what makes applicants unique that admissions officials can’t glean elsewhere. Usually, it also directly or indirectly indicates how an applicant will enhance the campus community they hope to join. Diversity essays can explicitly connect past experiences with future plans. Or they can offer a more general sense of how one’s background will influence their actions in college.

Thus, the diversity essay conveys both aspects that make an applicant unique and arguments for how those aspects will contribute on campus. The somewhat daunting genre is, in fact, a great opportunity for applicants to articulate how their background, identity, or formative experiences will shape their academic, intellectual, social, and professional trajectories.

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Sharing a Story

All diversity essays ask applicants to share what makes them unique and convey how that equips them for university life. However, colleges will typically ask applicants to approach this broad topic from a variety of different angles. Since it’s likely applicants will encounter some version of the genre in either required or supplemental essay assignments, it’s a good idea to have a template diversity essay ready to adapt to each specific prompt.

One of the most standard prompts is the “share a story” prompt. For example, here’s the diversity-related Common App prompt:

“Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”

This prompt is deliberately broad, inviting applicants to articulate their distinctive qualities in myriad ways. What is unsaid, but likely expected, is some statement about how the story evidences the ability to enhance campus diversity.

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Describing Contribution

Another common prompt explicitly asks students to reflect on diversity while centering what they will contribute in college. A good example of this prompt comes from the University of Miami’s supplemental essay:

Located within one of the most dynamic cities in the world, the University of Miami is a distinctive community with a variety of cultures, traditions, histories, languages, and backgrounds. The University of Miami is a values-based and purpose-driven postsecondary institution that embraces diversity and inclusivity in all its forms and strives to create a culture of belonging, where every person feels valued and has an opportunity to contribute.

Please describe how your unique experiences, challenges overcome, or skills acquired would contribute to our distinctive University community. (250 words)

In essays responding to these kinds of prompts, its smart to more deliberately tailor your essay to what you know about the institution and its values around diversity. You’ll need a substantial part of the essay to address not only your “story” but your anticipated institutional contribution.

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Navigating Difference

The last type of diversity essay prompt worth mentioning asks applicants to explain how they experience and navigate difference. It could be a prompt about dealing with “diverse perspectives.” Or it could ask the applicant to tell a story involving someone different than them. Regardless of the framing, these types of prompts ask you to unfold a theory of diversity stemming from social encounters. Applicants might still think of how they can use the essay to frame what makes them unique. However, here colleges are also hoping for insight into how applicants will deal with the immense diversity of college life beyond their unique experiences. In these cases, it’s especially important to use a story kernel to draw attention to fundamental beliefs and values around diversity.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Tips for Writing

Before we get to the diversity college essay examples, some general tips for writing the diversity essay:

Be authentic: This is not the place to embellish, exaggerate, or overstate your experiences. Writing with humility and awareness of your own limitations can only help you with the diversity essay. So don’t write about who you think the admissions committee wants to see – write about yourself.
Find dynamic intersections: One effective brainstorming strategy is to think of two or more aspects of your background, identity, and interests you might combine. For example, in one of the examples below, the writer talks about their speech impediment alongside their passion for poetry. By thinking of aspects of your experience to combine, you’ll likely generate more original material than focusing on just one.
Include a thesis: Diversity essays follow more general conventions of personal statement writing. That means you should tell a story about yourself, but also make it double as an argumentative piece of writing. Including a thesis in the first paragraph can clearly signal the argumentative hook of the essay for your reader.
Include your definition of diversity: Early in the essay you should define what diversity means to you. It’s important that this definition is as original as possible, preferably connecting to the story you are narrating. To avoid cliché, you might write out a bunch of definitions of diversity. Then, review them and get rid of any that seem like something you’d see in a dictionary or an inspirational poster. Get those clichéd definitions out of your system early, so you can wow your audience with your own carefully considered definition.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Tips for Writing (Cont.)

Zoom out to diversity more broadly: This tip is especially important you are not writing about protected minority identities like race, religion, and sexuality. Again, it’s fine to not focus on these aspects of diversity. But you’ll want to have some space in the essay where you connect your very specific understanding of diversity to a larger system of values that can include those identities.

Revision is another, evergreen tip for writing good diversity essays. You should also remember that you are writing in a personal and narrative-based genre. So, try to be as creative as possible! If you find enjoyment in writing it, chances are better your audience will find entertainment value in reading it.

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Diversity Essay Examples

The first example addresses the “share a story” prompt. It is written in the voice of Karim Amir, the main character of Hanif Kureishi’s novel The Buddha of Suburbia .

As a child of the suburbs, I have frequently navigated the labyrinthine alleys of identity. Born to an English mother and an Indian father, I inherited a rich blend of traditions, customs, and perspectives. From an early age, I found myself straddling two worlds, trying to reconcile the conflicting expectations of my dual heritage. Yet, it was only through the lens of acting that I began to understand the true fluidity of identity.

A fairly typical table setting first paragraph, foregrounding themes of identity and performance
Includes a “thesis” in the final sentence suggesting the essay’s narrative and argumentative arc

Diversity, to me, is more than just a buzzword describing a melting pot of ethnic backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations. Instead, it evokes the unfathomable heterogeneity of human experience that I aim to help capture through performance. On the stage, I have often been slotted into Asian and other ethnic minority roles. I’ve had to deal with discriminatory directors who complain I am not Indian enough. Sometimes, it has even been tempting to play into established stereotypes attached to the parts I am playing. However, acting has ultimately helped me to see that the social types we imagine when we think of the word ‘diversity’ are ultimately fantastical constructions. Prescribed identities may help us to feel a sense of belonging, but they also distort what makes us radically unique.

Includes an original definition of diversity, which the writer compellingly contrasts with clichéd definitions
Good narrative dynamism, stressing how the writer has experienced growth over time

Diversity Essay Examples Continued – Example One

The main challenge for an actor is to dig beneath the “type” of character to find the real human being underneath. Rising to this challenge entails discarding with lazy stereotypes and scaling what can seem to be insurmountable differences. Bringing human drama to life, making it believable, requires us to realize a more fundamental meaning of diversity. It means locating each character at their own unique intersection of identity. My story, like all the stories I aspire to tell as an actor, can inspire others to search for and celebrate their specificity.

Focuses in on the kernel of wisdom acquired over the course of the narrative
Indirectly suggests what the applicant can contribute to the admitted class

Acting has ultimately underlined an important takeaway of my dual heritage: all identities are, in a sense, performed. This doesn’t mean that heritage is not important, or that identities are not significant rallying points for community. Instead, it means recognizing that identity isn’t a prison, but a stage.

Draws the reader back to where the essay began, locating them at the intersection of two aspects of writer’s background
Sharply and deftly weaves a course between saying identities are fictions and saying that identities matter (rather than potentially alienating reader by picking one over the other)

Diversity Essay Examples Continued – Example Two

The second example addresses a prompt about what the applicant can contribute to a diverse campus. It is written from the perspective of Jason Taylor, David Mitchell’s protagonist in Black Swan Green .

Growing up with a stutter, each word was a hesitant step, every sentence a delicate balance between perseverance and frustration. I came to think of the written word as a sanctuary away from the staccato rhythm of my speech. In crafting melodically flowing poems, I discovered a language unfettered by the constraints of my impediment. However, diving deeper into poetry eventually made me realize how my stammer had a humanistic rhythm all its own.

Situates us at the intersection of two themes – a speech impediment and poetry – and uses the thesis to gesture to their synthesis
Nicely matches form and content. The writer uses this opportunity to demonstrate their facility with literary language.

Immersing myself in the genius of Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, and Maya Angelou, I learned to embrace the beauty of diversity in language, rhythm, and life itself. Angelou wrote that “Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.” For me, this quote illuminates how diversity is not simply a static expression of discrete differences. Instead, diversity teaches us the beauty of a multitude of rhythms we can learn from and incorporate in a mutual dance. If “everything in the universe has a rhythm,” then it’s also possible that anything can be poetry. Even my stuttering speech can dance.

Provides a unique definition of diversity
Conveys growth over time
Connects kernel of wisdom back to the essay’s narrative starting point

As I embark on this new chapter of my life, I bring with me the lessons learned from the interplay of rhythm and verse. I bring a perspective rooted in empathy, an unwavering commitment to inclusivity, and a belief in language as the ultimate tool of transformative social connection. I am prepared to enter your university community, adding a unique voice that refuses to be silent.

Directly addresses how background and experiences will contribute to campus life
Conveys contributions in an analytic mode (second sentence) and more literary and personal mode (third sentence)

Additional Resources

Diversity essays can seem intimidating because of the political baggage we bring to the word ‘diversity.’ But applicants should feel liberated by the opportunity to describe what makes them unique. It doesn’t matter if applicants choose to write about aspects of identity, life experiences, or personal challenges. What matters is telling a compelling story of personal growth. Also significant is relating that story to an original theory of the function and value of diversity in society. At the end of the day, committees want to know their applicants deeper and get a holistic sense of how they will improve the educational lives of those around them.

Additional Reading and Resources

10 Instructive Common App Essay Examples
How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
Common App Essay Prompts
Why This College Essay – Tips for Success
How to Write a Body Paragraph for a College Essay
UC Essay Examples
College Essay

Tyler Talbott

Tyler holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Missouri and two Master of Arts degrees in English, one from the University of Maryland and another from Northwestern University. Currently, he is a PhD candidate in English at Northwestern University, where he also works as a graduate writing fellow.

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May 8, 2024

The Diversity Essay: How to Write an Excellent Diversity Essay

What is a diversity essay in a school application? And why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Most importantly, how should you go about writing such an essay?

Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how every student will contribute to the diversity on their campus. A diversity essay gives applicants with disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, an unusual education, a distinctive experience, or a unique family history an opportunity to write about how these elements of their background have prepared them to play a useful role in increasing and encouraging diversity among their target program’s student body and broader community.

The purpose of all application essays is to help the adcom better understand who an applicant is and what they care about. Your essays are your chance to share your voice and humanize your application. This is especially true for the diversity essay, which aims to reveal your unique perspectives and experiences, as well as the ways in which you might contribute to a college community.

In this post, we’ll discuss what exactly a diversity essay is, look at examples of actual prompts and a sample essay, and offer tips for writing a standout essay.

In this post, you’ll find the following:

What a diversity essay covers

How to show you can add to a school’s diversity, why diversity matters to schools.

Seven examples that reveal diversity

Sample diversity essay prompts

How to write about your diversity.

A diversity essay example

Upon hearing the word “diversity” in relation to an application essay, many people assume that they will have to write about gender, sexuality, class, or race. To many, this can feel overly personal or irrelevant, and some students might worry that their identity isn’t unique or interesting enough. In reality, the diversity essay is much broader than many people realize.

Identity means different things to different people. The important thing is that you demonstrate your uniqueness and what matters to you. In addition to writing about one of the traditional identity features we just mentioned (gender, sexuality, class, race), you could consider writing about a more unusual feature of yourself or your life – or even the intersection of two or more identities.

Consider these questions as you think about what to include in your diversity essay:

Do you have a unique or unusual talent or skill?
Do you have beliefs or values that are markedly different from those of the people around you?
Do you have a hobby or interest that sets you apart from your peers?
Have you done or experienced something that few people have? Note that if you choose to write about a single event as a diverse identity feature, that event needs to have had a pretty substantial impact on you and your life. For example, perhaps you’re part of the 0.2% of the world’s population that has run a marathon, or you’ve had the chance to watch wolves hunt in the wild.
Do you have a role in life that gives you a special outlook on the world? For example, maybe one of your siblings has a rare disability, or you grew up in a town with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

If you are an immigrant to the United States, the child of immigrants, or someone whose ethnicity is underrepresented in the States, your response to “How will you add to the diversity of our class/community?” and similar questions might help your application efforts. Why? Because you have the opportunity to show the adcom how your background will contribute a distinctive perspective to the program you are applying to.

Of course, if you’re not underrepresented in your field or part of a disadvantaged group, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to write about in a diversity essay.

For example, you might have an unusual or special experience to share, such as serving in the military, being a member of a dance troupe, or caring for a disabled relative. These and other distinctive experiences can convey how you will contribute to the diversity of the school’s campus.

Maybe you are the first member of your family to apply to college or the first person in your household to learn English. Perhaps you have worked your way through college or helped raise your siblings. You might also have been an ally to those who are underrepresented, disadvantaged, or marginalized in your community, at your school, or in a work setting.

As you can see, diversity is not limited to one’s religion, ethnicity, culture, language, or sexual orientation. It refers to whatever element of your identity distinguishes you from others and shows that you, too, value diversity.

The diversity essay provides colleges the chance to build a student body that includes different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, and so on. Applicants are asked to illuminate what sets them apart so that the adcoms can see what kind of diverse views and opinions they can bring to the campus.

Admissions officers believe that diversity in the classroom improves the educational experience of all the students involved. They also believe that having a diverse workforce better serves society as a whole.

The more diverse perspectives found in the classroom, throughout the dorms, in the dining halls, and mixed into study groups, the richer people’s discussions will be.

Plus, learning and growing in this kind of multicultural environment will prepare students for working in our increasingly multicultural and global world.

In medicine, for example, a heterogeneous workforce benefits people from previously underrepresented cultures. Businesses realize that they will market more effectively if they can speak to different audiences, which is possible when members of their workforce come from various backgrounds and cultures. Schools simply want to prepare graduates for the 21st century job market.

Seven examples that reveal diversity

Adcoms want to know about the diverse elements of your character and how these have helped you develop particular personality traits , as well as about any unusual experiences that have shaped you.

Here are seven examples an applicant could write about:

1. They grew up in an environment with a strong emphasis on respecting their elders, attending family events, and/or learning their parents’ native language and culture.

2. They are close to their grandparents and extended family members who have taught them how teamwork can help everyone thrive.

3. They have had to face difficulties that stem from their parents’ values being in conflict with theirs or those of their peers.

4. Teachers have not always understood the elements of their culture or lifestyle and how those elements influence their performance.

5. They have suffered discrimination and succeeded despite it because of their grit, values, and character.

6. They learned skills from a lifestyle that is outside the norm (e.g., living in foreign countries as the child of a diplomat or contractor; performing professionally in theater, dance, music, or sports; having a deaf sibling).

7. They’ve encountered racism or other prejudice (either toward themselves or others) and responded by actively promoting diverse, tolerant values.

And remember, diversity is not about who your parents are. It’s about who you are – at the core.

Your background, influences, religious observances, native language, ideas, work environment, community experiences – all these factors come together to create a unique individual, one who will contribute to a varied class of distinct individuals taking their place in a diverse world.

The best-known diversity essay prompt is from the Common App . It states:

Some schools have individual diversity essay prompts. For example, this one is from Duke University :

“We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.”

And the Rice University application includes the following prompt:

“Rice is strengthened by its diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders and change agents across the spectrum of human endeavor. What perspectives shaped by your background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity inspire you to join our community of change agents at Rice?”

In all instances, colleges want you to demonstrate how and what you’ll contribute to their communities.

Your answer to a school’s diversity essay question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective.

The school might ask how you think of diversity or how you will bring or add to the diversity of the school, your chosen profession, or your community. Make sure you answer the specific question posed by highlighting distinctive elements of your profile that will add to the class mosaic every adcom is trying to create. You don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out in a positive way while also complementing the school’s canvas.

Here’s a simple, three-part framework that will help you think of diversity more broadly:

Who are you? What has contributed to your identity? How do you distinguish yourself? Your identity can include any of the following: gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, nontraditional work experience, nontraditional educational background, multicultural background, and family’s educational level.

What have you done? What have you accomplished? This could include any of the following: achievements inside and/or outside your field of study, leadership opportunities, community service, internship or professional experience, research opportunities, hobbies, and travel. Any or all of these could be unique. Also, what life-derailing, throw-you-for-a-loop challenges have you faced and overcome?

How do you think? How do you approach things? What drives you? What influences you? Are you the person who can break up a tense meeting with some well-timed humor? Are you the one who intuitively sees how to bring people together?

Read more about this three-part framework in Episode 193 of Accepted’s Admissions Straight Talk podcast or listen wherever you get your favorite podcast s.

Think about each question within this framework and how you could apply your diversity elements to your target school’s classroom or community. Any of these elements can serve as the framework for your essay.

Don’t worry if you can’t think of something totally “out there.” You don’t need to be a tightrope walker living in the Andes or a Buddhist monk from Japan to be able to contribute to a school’s diversity!

And please remember, the examples we have offered here are not exhaustive. There are many other ways to show diversity!

All you need to do to be able to write successfully about how you will contribute to the diversity of your target school’s community is examine your identity, deeds, and ideas, with an eye toward your personal distinctiveness and individuality. There is only one you .

Take a look at the sample diversity essay in the next section of this post, and pay attention to how the writer underscores their appreciation for, and experience with, diversity.

A diversity essay sample

When I was starting 11th grade, my dad, an agricultural scientist, was assigned to a 3-month research project in a farm village in Niigata (northwest Honshu in Japan). Rather than stay behind with my mom and siblings, I begged to go with him. As a straight-A student, I convinced my parents and the principal that I could handle my schoolwork remotely (pre-COVID) for that stretch. It was time to leap beyond my comfortable suburban Wisconsin life—and my Western orientation, reinforced by travel to Europe the year before.

We roomed in a sprawling farmhouse with a family participating in my dad’s study. I thought I’d experience an “English-free zone,” but the high school students all studied and wanted to practice English, so I did meet peers even though I didn’t attend their school. Of the many eye-opening, influential, cultural experiences, the one that resonates most powerfully to me is experiencing their community. It was a living, organic whole. Elementary school kids spent time helping with the rice harvest. People who foraged for seasonal wild edibles gave them to acquaintances throughout the town. In fact, there was a constant sharing of food among residents—garden veggies carried in straw baskets, fish or meat in coolers. The pharmacist would drive prescriptions to people who couldn’t easily get out—new mothers, the elderly—not as a business service but as a good neighbor. If rain suddenly threatened, neighbors would bring in each other’s drying laundry. When an empty-nest 50-year-old woman had to be hospitalized suddenly for a near-fatal snakebite, neighbors maintained her veggie patch until she returned. The community embodied constant awareness of others’ needs and circumstances. The community flowed!

Yet, people there lamented that this lifestyle was vanishing; more young people left than stayed or came. And it wasn’t idyllic: I heard about ubiquitous gossip, long-standing personal enmities, busybody-ness. But these very human foibles didn’t dam the flow. This dynamic community organism couldn’t have been more different from my suburban life back home, with its insular nuclear families. We nod hello to neighbors in passing.

This wonderful experience contained a personal challenge. Blond and blue-eyed, I became “the other” for the first time. Except for my dad, I saw no Westerner there. Curious eyes followed me. Stepping into a market or walking down the street, I drew gazes. People swiftly looked away if they accidentally caught my eye. It was not at all hostile, I knew, but I felt like an object. I began making extra sure to appear “presentable” before going outside. The sense of being watched sometimes generated mild stress or resentment. Returning to my lovely tatami room, I would decompress, grateful to be alone. I realized this challenge was a minute fraction of what others experience in my own country. The toll that feeling—and being— “other” takes on non-white and visibly different people in the US can be extremely painful. Experiencing it firsthand, albeit briefly, benignly, and in relative comfort, I got it.

Unlike the organic Niigata community, work teams, and the workplace itself, have externally driven purposes. Within this different environment, I will strive to exemplify the ongoing mutual awareness that fueled the community life in Niigata. Does it benefit the bottom line, improve the results? I don’t know. But it helps me be the mature, engaged person I want to be, and to appreciate the individuals who are my colleagues and who comprise my professional community. I am now far more conscious of people feeling their “otherness”—even when it’s not in response to negative treatment, it can arise simply from awareness of being in some way different.

What did you think of this essay? Does this middle class Midwesterner have the unique experience of being different from the surrounding majority, something she had not experienced in the United States? Did she encounter diversity from the perspective of “the other”?

Here a few things to note about why this diversity essay works so well:

1. The writer comes from “a comfortable, suburban, Wisconsin life,” suggesting that her background might not be ethnically, racially, or in any other way diverse.

2. The diversity “points” scored all come from her fascinating experience of having lived in a Japanese farm village, where she immersed herself in a totally different culture.

3. The lessons learned about the meaning of community are what broaden and deepen the writer’s perspective about life, about a purpose-driven life, and about the concept of “otherness.”

By writing about a time when you experienced diversity in one of its many forms, you can write a memorable and meaningful diversity essay.

Working on your diversity essay?

Want to ensure that your application demonstrates the diversity that your dream school is seeking? Work with one of our admissions experts . This checklist includes more than 30 different ways to think about diversity to jump-start your creative engine.

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications, and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Sundas has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

Different Dimensions of Diversity , podcast Episode 193
What Should You Do If You Belong to an Overrepresented MBA Applicant Group?
Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions , a free guide

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Reason and Meaning

Philosophical reflections on life, death, and the meaning of life, summary of cultural relativism.

Left to right: Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Buddha, Confucius, Averroes

Philosophical Ethics

Ethics is that part of philosophy which deals with the good and bad, or right and wrong in human conduct. It asks questions like: What is morality? Is morality objective or subjective? What is the relationship between self-interest and morality? Why should I be moral?

We can divide philosophical ethics into four parts. Meta-ethics analyzes moral concepts, moral justification, and the meaning of moral language. Descriptive ethics describes the moral systems of various cultures. Normative ethics considers moral norms, standards or criteria that underlie moral theories. Applied ethics applies normative theories to moral problems in law, medicine, business, computer science, the environment and more. Over the next few weeks we will discuss normative ethics, or moral theories. We’ll begin with relativism.

Now you might agree that my previous assault on relativism has been successful, but still claim that while some truths are objective—logical, mathematical, and natural scientific ones for example—other so-called truths are relative—ethical truths for instance. Such considerations lead us to moral relativism, the theory that there are no absolute, objective, and universally binding moral truths . According to the moral relativist, there exist conflicting moral claims that are both true. (X is right, and x is wrong.) In short, the ethical relativist denies that there is any objective truth about right and wrong. Ethical judgments are not true or false because there is no objective moral truth—x is right—for a moral judgment to correspond with. In brief, morality is relative, subjective, and non-universally binding, and disagreements about ethics are like disagreements about what flavor of ice cream is best.

And what specifically might morality be relative to? Usually morality is thought to be relative to a group’s or individual’s: beliefs, emotions, opinions, wants, desires, interests, preferences, feelings, etc. Thus, we distinguish between two kinds of moral relativism: cultural moral relativism and personal moral relativism. (I’ll discuss the first one today, and the second one tomorrow.)

What is Cultural Moral Relativism?

Cultural moral relativism i s the theory that moral judgments or truths are relative to cultures . Consequently, what is right in one society may be wrong in another and vice versa. (For culture, you may substitute: nation; society; group, sub-culture, etc.) This is another theory with ancient roots. Herodotus, the father of history, describes the Greeks encounter with the Callatians who ate their dead relatives. Naturally, the Greeks found this practice revolting. But the Callatians were equally repelled by the Greek practice of cremation causing Herodotus to conclude that ethics is culturally relative. World literature sounds a recurring theme: different cultures have different moral codes , an insight confirmed by the evidence of cultural differences. The Incas practiced human sacrifice, Eskimos shared their wives with strangers and killed newborns, Japanese samurai tried out his new sword on an innocent passer-by, Europeans enslaved masses of Africans, and female circumcision is performed today in parts of North Africa.

Cultural moral relativism contains two theses: 1) the diversity thesis— moral beliefs, practices, and values are diverse or vary from one culture to another; and 2) the dependency thesis —moral obligations depends upon cultures, since they are the final arbiters of moral truth. In short, cultural relativism implies that no cultural values have any objective, universal validity, and it would be arrogant for one culture to make moral judgments about other cultures.

The thesis of diversity is descriptive; it describes the way things are. Moral beliefs, rules, and practices, in fact, depend upon facets of culture like social, political, religious, and economic institutions. By contrast the thesis of dependency is prescriptive ; it describes how things ought to be. Morality should depend on culture because there is nothing else upon which it is based. Now we might argue for cultural relativism as follows:

Argument 1 – (from the diversity thesis)

Different cultures have different moral codes;
Thus, there is no morality independent of culture.

The weakness of this argument is that the conclusion doesn’t follow from the premise . The fact that cultures disagree about morality doesn’t show that morality is relative. After all, cultures disagree about whether abortion is moral or immoral, but their disagreement doesn’t mean there is no truth about the matter. It might be that one culture is just mistaken. Consider how cultures might disagree as to whether the earth or sun is at the center of our solar system. Their disagreement doesn’t mean there is no truth about the matter. Similarly, societies might disagree about whether they should put their young to death, but that disagreement proves nothing, other than societies disagree. So cultural disagreements are not enough to prove cultural relativism. Consider another argument:

Argument 2 – (from the dependency thesis)

What is often regarded as the moral truths depends on cultural beliefs;
Thus, there is no moral truth independent of culture.

The argument commits the fallacy that logicians call “begging the question.” This occurs when you assume the truth of what you are trying to prove. (For example, if you ask me why I think abortion is wrong and I say, because it’s bad, I’ve begged the question.) In argument 2, one is trying to show that right and wrong depend on culture. It begs the question to say that right and wrong depend on culture because they depend on culture.

Now might we make a stronger case for the relativist if we put the two theses together?

Premise 1 – Right and wrong vary between cultures (diversity). Premise 2 – Right and wrong depend upon a cultural context (dependency). Conclusion – Thus, right and wrong are relative to culture.

Critique of Cultural Moral Relativism – Premise 1

This seems better; at least the conclusion follows from the premises. But are these premises true? Let’s consider the first premise (diversity). Nothing seems more obvious than the fact of cultural differences. Eskimos believed in infanticide; most Americans do not. Most Americans believe executing criminals is morally justifiable; most French find the practice barbaric. Clearly, there are different cultural mores. But maybe the differences between cultural values are not as great as they seem.

Consider that Eskimos live in harsh climates where food is in short supply and mothers nurse their babies for years. There simply isn’t enough food for all their children, nor enough backs upon which nomadic people can carry their children. So Eskimos want their children to live just like we do, and it is the harsh and unusual condition that force them to make difficult choices. Sometimes they kill a weaker child so that both the stronger and weaker children won’t die. We may disagree with the practice, but we can imagine doing the same in similar circumstances. Thus, the underlying principle—life is valuable—has been applied differently in different contexts. Maybe cultures aren’t so different after all.

Consider that there is more crime in America than in France. Most Americans seem to believe that criminals deserve to be punished for their crimes, that severe punishment brings peace to the victim’s family, that capital punishment is a deterrent to crime, etc. The French are more likely to renounce retribution or doubt that capital punishment brings victim’s families peace or deters crime. But notice again. Both cultures are steered by a principle—act justly—even though they apply the principle differently. So upon closer inspection, there doesn’t seem to be as much disagreement as it first appeared. So the differences in cultural values might be more apparent than real.

Now suppose we could show that there are moral principles that all cultures share? Wouldn’t that show that morality was not relative to culture? Many scientists claim that there are moral principles common to all cultures. 1 For instance, all cultures share: regulations on sexual behavior; prohibitions against unjust killing; requirements of familial obligations and child care; emphasis on truth-telling; and reward for reciprocity and cooperation. If we take these two ideas together—cultural moral differences aren’t as great as they appear, and all cultures share some moral values—then the diversity thesis is false . And if the first premise is false, then the conclusion of the cultural relativist’s argument doesn’t follow.

However notice that even if the first premise is false , that doesn’t prove that moral objectivism is true. Cultures that share the same moral values could all be wrong! So the empirical evidence concerning similarities and differences between moral codes isn’t relevant to the question of whether morality is absolute or relative. And that means that while we haven’t proven the truth of cultural absolutism, we have undermined the cultural relativist. For the evidence about diversity of culture is irrelevant, then we have undermined the relativist’s first premise, and with it the conclusion of his/her argument.

Critique of Cultural Moral Relativism – Premise 2

While undermining the first premise sufficiently undermines cultural relativism, let’s turn to the second premise (dependency) to see if it fares any better. Now it does appear true that some moral “truths” depend on culture—for example, regulations on sexual behaviors or funeral practices. But it is not self-evident that all moral truth depends on culture. Moral truth may be independent of culture in the same way that other truths are independent of culture. Ethics may be objectively grounded in reason, the god’s commands, the most happiness for the most people, human nature, or something else.

But rather than trying to contradict all the relativist’s arguments for the second premise, consider the implications of taking cultural relativism seriously. If cultural relativism is true then all of the following (counter-intuitive) are true. 1) We cannot make cross-cultural judgments . We could not consistently criticize a culture for killing all those over forty, exterminating ethnic groups, or banishing children to the Antarctic. 2 ) We cannot make intra-cultural judgments . We cannot say, even within our culture, whether we should send children to their death or to school, whether we should torture our criminals or reward them. 3) The idea of moral progress is incoherent . All you can say is that cultures change, not that one is better than another. The old culture practiced slavery; we do not, and that’s the end of it. The appearance of moral progress is illusory.

But all of this is counter-intuitive. We might think that cultures can do what they want regarding funeral practices, but what about human sacrifice? Aren’t there some things that are just plain wrong, in both other cultures and our own? Don’t you believe that society is better now because it has outlawed slavery? Cultural relativism answers no to both questions. But can such a strongly counterintuitive theory be correct?

Summary and Transition

Thus cultural relativism is as incoherent and unsubstantiated as epistemological relativism, as I argued yesterday. The logical arguments for cultural relativism fail, and we have good reasons to doubt the truth of the premises of cultural relativism. Finally, cultural relativism contradicts our moral intuition. While we can’t prove that cultural relativism is mistaken—you can only really do this in logic or mathematics—we have shown that there are many reasons to doubt the theory, and few reasons to accept it.

Louis Pojman destroys relativism

October 6, 2012.

Louis Pojman: Against Relativism and For Objectivism

source: http://www2.drury.edu/cpanza/relativism.pdf

I. Philosophical arguments aspire to the form of deductive validity.

This means that philosophers strive to make their arguments deductively valid. A deductively valid argument is one where, if the premises are true, the conclusion can’t possibly be false (it has the right logical form such that this will be the case). So what a philosopher tries to do is construct a valid argument form, and then make sure that the premises ARE true. In such a case, the conclusion cannot be false. If so, no better argument for that conclusion can be given.

II. Pojman’s Strategy Against the Argument for relativism:

P1. Beliefs about what is right and wrong differ across cultures (the Diversity thesis). P2. What is right and wrong is dependent upon, or relative to, culture (the Dependency thesis). — C1. Thus, there is no objective right and wrong.

Pojman recognizes that this is a valid argument. As such, IF the premises are true, the conclusion (which denies moral objectivism) must be true. If moral objectivism must be false, then moral relativism must be true. Pojman tries to attack this argument. The attack has two stages.

STAGE ONE: show that one or more of the premises (of the relativist’s argument) are NOT true. If Pojman can do this, then even if the argument is valid, the truth of the conclusion will not necessarily follow (because it would only follow IF the premises were true). *Note: Even if Pojman is successful, showing that the conclusion is not necessarily true does not entail that it is false. It simply shows that the conclusion could be false.

STAGE TWO: show that the conclusion is false by showing that the reverse of the conclusion must be true. In other words, Pojman’s project here will be to show that moral objectivism must be true. If it must be true, then the claim that there is no objective right and wrong cannot be true. If he succeeds in both stages, the argument for relativism is defeated.

III. Pojman’s Stage One Argument

Pojman must show that one or more of the premises in the argument for relativism is (or are) false. Now Pojman realizes that the first premise (called P1 in the argument for relativism) is not objectionable. What this means is that there is no reason why Pojman would need to find it false. As a matter of fact, Pojman thinks it is true. If you go to various cultures, you will find various different definitions of right and wrong. Is this harmful to moral objectivism?

If Pojman acknowledges that P1 is true, does this harm moral objectivism? No. Recall why Ruth Benedict’s argument (which is really just P1) doesn’t work to get you relativism on its own. The reason is this: one cannot validly move from a statement about beliefs to a statement about fact. If you could, then this argument would be conclusive: P1. Beliefs about what is right and wrong differ across cultures — C1. Thus, there is no objective right and wrong

The conclusion here is NOT necessarily true, even if the premise P1 is true. That means thatthe argument is not valid. We know it is not valid because it is possible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. To see how, just construct another argument with a similar form (this is called an argument from analogy):

P1. Beliefs about the shape of the Earth differ across cultures — C1. Thus, there is no objective right and wrong about the shape of the Earth.

Clearly, this argument is not valid. It is possible for people to disagree about the shape of the Earth, but this does not entail that there is no objective answer about the shape of the Earth. So Pojman reasons that if this is so, and the argument for relativism using just P1 as a premise has the same form, then the claim that people differ about moral beliefs does not entail that there is no objective answer about what is right and wrong.

So Pojman allows for P1 to be true, since it does not harm objectivism about morality. Clearly, then, the worrisome premise is P2, called the dependency thesis. The dependency thesis is the claim that what is right and wrong is itself relative to culture (this differs from P1 – it is not a claim about beliefs, it is a claim about the nature of right and wrong itself). Clearly P2 entails relativism about morality. If P2 is true, then C1 cannot be false.

Pojman recognizes, however, that P2 – the dependency thesis – has two forms, what he calls ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ dependency. Before he attacks P2 he must be sure that he is attacking the right version of P2.

Here’s an example.

In America and in Europe we share the belief that one ought to be polite to strangers. Let’s call this belief X. Now this does not mean that the way in which politeness is expressed in America and in Europe is the same. As a matter of fact, they differ.

In Europe, politeness to a stranger might mean kissing the stranger on both cheeks. In America, this would be disturbing. Rather, a handshake would be polite, one which would be rude in Europe. From this we can ascertain that the right way to express politeness is relative to the country you are in.

Does moral objectivism need to be worried about ‘weak’ dependency? No. It can be true that moral belief X (politeness in this case) is objective and not relative to culture, even if the ways in which politeness is ‘rightly’ expressed is relative to culture.

What about strong dependence? This is the form of P2 Pojman wants to attack. It says not just that the ways in which moral beliefs are expressed is relative to culture, but that the moral beliefs themselves are relative to culture.

IV. The Case Against P2 or the Strong Dependency Thesis

The Strong Dependency Thesis is used by two camps of relativism to support why their positions are right. The two camps are:

1. Subjectivism: morality is dependent on individuals, not culture

2. Conventionalism: morality is dependent on culture

If Pojman’s argument against P2 is going to work, then it will have to turn out that both subjectivism and conventionalism are false. If they are both false, then P2 does not lead to any true theories (and thus P2 must be false). If either of the two is not false, then it will turn out that the strong dependency thesis could in fact be true, since it does lead to a theory that could be true.

So Pojman must attack both camps and show that they cannot work.

The Argument Against Subjectivism

Pojman’s Objection: The purpose of morality is to settle interpersonal conflicts. By definition, however, a subjectivist does not share a moral language with another person.-4- Moreover, as we see in chapter 3 of Rachels, subjectivism states that moral statements are just claims about feelings. And two people cannot be in disagreement about their feelings.

Thus subjectivism cannot settle interpersonal conflicts, because no interpersonal conflicts can exist. Since interpersonal conflicts on morality DO exist, and because we DO think morality is used to settle those disputes, subjectivism is false.

Against Conventionalism

Pojman recognizes that he cannot use the same argument that he used against subjectivism and lodge it against conventionalism. The reason is evident: if conventionalism is true, then people do in fact share moral language. So they can in fact settle interpersonal conflicts. So Pojman needs a different argument.

Pojman’s Objection: Conventionalism entails tolerance. So there is at least one absolute value at the ehart of relativism – tolerance of others’ opinions.

V. Stage Two: Establishing the Truth of Moral Objectivism

Pojman’s argument for moral objectivism requires reducing morality to biology. What this means is this: Pojman thinks that there are certain moral rules that are entailed if we, as a species, wish to stay alive and flourish.

Example: if the human species is to survive, then a moral rule would be ‘one ought not to kill another’. If it were permissible to kill others, then the chances of species survival would be lower than if it were not permissible.

Here is Pojman’s argument: P1. Objective moral principles are those adherence to which meet the needs and promote the most significant needs of persons. P2. Some principles are such that adherence to them meets and promotes the significant needs of persons. -5- — C1. Thus, there are some objective moral rules.

Note that Pojman thinks the argument is valid. So if the premises are true, the conclusion cannot be false. If the conclusion in this case (there are some objective moral rules) cannot be false, then it must be true. If so, then the conclusion of the relativist=s argument (which denies objective moral rules) must be false. If so, the Pojman has succeeded in completely dismantling the relativist’s argument.

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The Effective Diversity Statement

By Tanya Golash-Boza

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Inside Higher Ed

Faculty job postings are increasingly asking for diversity statements, in addition to research and teaching statements. According to the University of California at San Diego website , “the purpose of the statement is to identify candidates who have professional skills, experience and/or willingness to engage in activities that would enhance campus diversity and equity efforts ” (emphasis added). In general, these statements are an opportunity for applicants to explain to a search committee the distinct experiences and commitment they bring to the table.

So, how do you write an effective diversity statement? If you are a job candidate who actually cares about diversity and equity, how do you convey that commitment to a search committee? (Note that if you do not care about diversity and equity and do not want to be in a department that does, don’t waste your time crafting a strong diversity statement -- and you need not read any farther in this essay.)

My first piece of advice is: do not write a throwaway diversity statement. Some job applicants think that writing a diversity statement that shows they actually care about diversity and equity may be too political. Thus, they write a blasé statement about, for example, how they encourage students to come to class in pajamas if they feel comfortable. That is not an effective strategy, because it does not show a genuine commitment to diversity and equity.

Of course, it is true that many faculty members overtly reject campus efforts to enhance diversity and equity. However, it is also true that search committee members who do not care about diversity do not read diversity statements. Just like search committee members who do not care about teaching gloss over teaching statements, those who do not care about diversity gloss over diversity statements. So, don’t bother writing a statement directed at faculty members who do not care about diversity. Write one for those faculty members who will take the time to read your statement carefully.

I can assure you that many faculty members truly care about diversity and equity and will read your statement closely. I have been in the room when the diversity statement of every single finalist for a job search was scrutinized. The candidates who submitted strong statements wrote about their experiences teaching first-generation college students, their involvement with LGBTQ student groups, their experiences teaching in inner-city high schools and their awareness of how systemic inequalities affect students’ ability to excel. Applicants mentioned their teaching and activism and highlighted their commitment to diversity and equity in higher education.

Here are seven additional suggestions to consider as you write your diversity statement.

Tell your story. If you have overcome obstacles to get to where you are, point those out. If, in contrast, you are privileged, acknowledge that. If you grew up walking uphill to school carrying two 20-pound sacks of rice on your back, by all means, tell that story. If you were raised with a silver spoon in your mouth, acknowledge your privilege. Either way, use your story to explain how you can empathize with students who confront challenges on their way to achieving their educational goals.
Focus on commonly accepted understandings of diversity and equity. Concentrate on issues such as race, gender, social class and sexual orientation. Don’t try to tone down your statement by writing about how it is hard to be a Kansan in Missouri, for example. Instead, write about racial oppression, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism or some other commonly recognized form of oppression.
Avoid false parallels. By that I mean do not equate the exclusion you faced due to being a Kansan in Missouri with the exclusion an African-American faces at a primarily white institution. You do not have to be an African-American to have insight into the challenges they face, but if you do not have experiential knowledge of racism, then do not claim it. Instead, focus on writing about what you do know. If you feel comfortable getting personal, you can write about your own experiences of privilege or oppression. But you don’t have to get personal; you can cite statistics or studies to make your points.
Write about specific things you have done to help students from underrepresented backgrounds succeed. If you have never done anything to help anyone, then go out and do something. Sign up to be a tutor at an underperforming school, build a house with Habitat for Humanity or incorporate antiracist pedagogy into your teaching. In addition to having a rewarding experience, you can write about it in your diversity statement.
Highlight any programs for underrepresented students you’ve participated in. If you have had any involvement with such programs (e.g., McNair Scholars Program), describe that involvement in your statement. This involvement can either be as a former participant or as a mentor or adviser to someone who has participated. These kinds of specific examples show that you understand what effective programs look like and how they work.
Write about your commitment to working toward achieving equity and enhancing diversity. Describe specific ways you are willing to contribute. You can mention your willingness to contribute to pre-existing programs on the campus or you can express interest in creating new programs based on models at other campuses.
Modify your statement based on where you are sending it. Your statement for a land-grant institution in the rural South should not be the exact same one you send to an elite institution in urban California. Look up the demographics of the institution to which you are applying and mention those demographics in your statement. For example, if the university you are applying to is a Hispanic-serving institution, you should be aware of that. Or if it has a well-known scholarship program for underrepresented minorities, you should mention that program.

Diversity statements are a relatively new addition to the job application packet. Thus, search committees are still developing assessment tools for such statements, and many campuses lack clear guidelines. Nevertheless, you can use this novelty to your advantage by writing a stellar statement that emphasizes your record of contributions to diversity and equity as well as your commitment to future efforts

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Ethical Relativism

by James R. Beebe

Dept. of Philosophy

University at Buffalo

Outline of Essay :

I. Introduction

II. Arguments in Favor of Conventional Ethical Relativism

A. Cultural Diversity

B. Avoiding Ethnocentrism

C. Culturally Conditioned Values

D. Lack of Knowledge

III. Arguments Against Conventional Ethical Relativism

A. A Universal Conscience

B. Conflicting Cultures

C. Create Your Own Culture

D. Reformers

E. Culture vs. Culture

F. Consistency

G. Diversity and Dependency

IV. Arguments in Favor of Subjective Ethical Relativism

A. Immunity to Some Earlier Objections

B. The Importance of Individual Liberty

C. Tolerance

D. Lack of Entitlement

E. Lack of Knowledge

V. Arguments Against Subjective Ethical Relativism

A. Violent Lifestyles

B. Judging Other People

C. Deciding for Yourself

D. The Psychology of Belief

E. The Truth of Relativism

F. Living Together in Peace

G. Moral Absolutes in Relativism

H. You Can’t Live It Out

VI. Conclusion

Although most people are unfamiliar with the term ‘ethical relativism,’ almost everyone has probably encountered relativist slogans like the following:

(1) What’s right for you may not be what’s right for me.

(2) What’s right for my culture won’t necessarily be what’s right for your culture.

(3) There are no absolute moral truths.

(4) No moral principles are true for all people at all times and in all places.

(5) No ethical principle is any better than any other.

(6) All ethical opinions, lifestyles and worldviews are equally right.

It is possible to be a relativist either about all truths whatsoever or only about truths in certain domains—e.g., truths in ethics or religion. Though some people claim to be relativists about all truths across the board, it is more common today for people to be relativists about ethics and to be absolutists about truths in other areas, like science and mathematics. Because ethical relativism is the most common variety of relativism, it will be the focus of our discussion in this essay.

There are two basic kinds of ethical relativism: subjective ethical relativism and conventional (or cultural) ethical relativism. The two kinds of relativism are defined as follows:

Subjective ethical relativism = df the view that:

(i) there are no absolute or universally true moral principles; and

(ii) the truth of moral principles is relative to individuals.

Conventional ethical relativism = df the view that:

(ii) the truth of moral principles is relative to cultures.

Notice that both views deny that there are any absolute or objective ethical truths. Let’s call the view that there are absolute or universally correct moral principles ‘ moral absolutism .’ The only difference between two relativist views is that they disagree about that to which ethical truths or principles are supposed to be relative. Each version of ethical relativism, then, is composed of both a negative and a positive element—the negative claim that there are no absolute or objective ethical truths and a positive account of that to which ethical truths are relative.

According to subjective ethical relativism (‘subjective relativism,’ for short), whatever you think is right for you really is right for you, and no one can tell you any differently. What is right for you is completely up to you to decide. You are sovereign over the principles that can tell you how to live your life.

According to conventional ethical relativism (‘conventional relativism,’ for short), what is right for you as an individual depends upon what your culture thinks is right for you. What your culture says is right for you really is right for you. The culture or society is the highest authority about what is right for individuals living within that society. On this view, an individual’s will is subordinated to the will of the cultural majority.

In the next two sections we will consider arguments for and against conventional ethical relativism. We will put off discussing subjective ethical relativism until after we have finished discussing conventional relativism.

The argument from cultural diversity seeks to support conventional relativism by appealing to empirical facts about the wide variety of cultural practices around the globe. The argument goes like this: Centuries ago, when cultures were relatively isolated and little information was known about distant lands, it might have been reasonable to think that the traditions and practices of one’s own culture represented the only right way of doing things. But now we know that each of our conventions and norms reflects only one out of an endless number of possibilities and that other cultures have opted for other ways of doing things. In this modern age of worldwide communication and information it is no longer reasonable to view the practices of one’s own culture as being the only correct cultural practices.

Louis Pojman (1999, p. 27) describes some of the facts about cultural diversity that are often cited in support of this position:

For instance, Eskimos allow their elderly to die by starvation, whereas we believe that this is morally wrong. The Spartans of ancient Greece and the Dobu of New Guinea believe that stealing is morally right; but we believe it is wrong. Many cultures, past and present, have practiced or still practice infanticide. A tribe in East Africa once threw deformed infants to the hippopotamus, but our society condemns such acts. Sexual practices vary over time and clime. Some cultures permit homosexual behavior, whereas others condemn it. Some cultures, including Moslem societies, practice polygamy, while Christian cultures view it as immoral. Anthropologist Ruth Benedict describes a tribe in Melanesia that views cooperation and kindness as vices, and anthropologist Colin Turnbull has documented that the Ik in northern Uganda have no sense of duty toward their children or parents. There are societies that make it a duty for children to kill their aging parents (sometimes by strangling).

According to the present argument, to think that your culture’s way of doing things is the only right way or the best way to do things reflects an extreme ignorance of the wide cultural diversity that has always existed in the world. The anthropological study of foreign lands has (or ought to have) opened our eyes and set us free from any closed-minded adherence to the parochial standards of our own culture. Faced with the tremendous cultural diversity the world offers, it is simply not reasonable to think that one set of cultural practices can be the one and only right set. Hence, we must conclude that all cultural practices are equally valid.

The first argument in favor of conventional relativism uses facts about cultural diversity to argue against moral absolutism. The second argument claims that there is something intrinsically wrong with the view of moral absolutism itself. Moral absolutism implies that some cultures are better, ethically speaking, than others. Conventional relativists, however, argue that such a claim is ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism , roughly, is judging another culture through the eyes of your own culture and not trying to see things from their perspective. This almost inevitably leads to thinking that your culture is superior to others. Most people today agree that ethnocentrism belongs in the same category with racism, sexism and other unacceptable forms of discrimination. To be racist is to think that, simply because someone belongs to a different ethnic group, that person is inferior. To be sexist is to think that, simply because someone is a member of the opposite sex, that person is inferior. All forms of bigotry and prejudice involve judging other people solely on the basis of their group membership. Ethnocentrism is not any different. Instead of looking down on other races or sexes, the ethnocentric person looks down on and devalues other cultures.

Conventional relativists claim that their position—unlike moral absolutism—is not ethnocentric. Because conventional relativists maintain that all cultures are equally valid and that no culture is any better than any other, they claim their position avoids any kind of ethnocentrism. Because ethnocentrism is a pernicious form of discrimination, the apparent fact that conventional relativism avoids it and moral absolutism seems to fall into it is a reason for choosing conventional relativism over moral absolutism.

C. Culturally Conditioned Values

The third argument for conventional relativism begins by focusing on the source of our values and beliefs about morality. Think about how people have acquired most of their views about what is right and wrong. From infancy our parents and teachers have sought to instill within us the values of our society. Friends, books, television, movies, and sometimes priests or preachers have also contributed to helping us internalize the values of the society around us. Children in America today grow up thinking that women and minorities deserve the same educational and professional opportunities as white men. One hundred years ago, children in America grew up with different views because those around them impressed upon them a different set of values. Most women from the nineteenth-century did not believe that women should have the same educational and professional opportunities as men. It wasn’t just nineteenth-century men who thought that. Because the women of a century or more ago were surrounded by a culture that did not place a high value on the capacities of women, most of them simply internalized the values of their society and accepted them as true. It is only because women today grow up in a different cultural milieu that they find themselves with different views about the equality of the sexes. We are conditioned by our cultures to have the ethical values and beliefs that we do.

If we were to try to make judgments about the rightness or wrongness of the practices of some other culture, our thoughts would inevitably reflect the beliefs and values of our own culture. If culture A ’s practices are different from culture B ’s, how is a person from culture A going to assess the practices of culture B ? If that person were to rely upon the standards of culture A , the practices of culture B would obviously be viewed as wrong because they deviate from what culture A ’s standards say are right. Of course, if you were to ask someone from culture B about culture A , we would get the same result in the opposite direction.

If we were somehow able to throw off all of the cultural baggage we have inherited from our social environments and to break free from all of the cultural conditioning that has shaped our minds, our emotions and our personalities, we might then be able to formulate a completely neutral and objective assessment of some other culture. However, conventional relativists claim, this is not a realistic human possibility. We can never get beyond the cultural conditioning that has shaped us and our views of morality. Therefore, any time we try to sit in judgment on other cultures, we’re going to be just like the hypothetical people from culture A and culture B above: our judgments will simply reflect the values of our own societies. Since this is the fundamental human condition, there is no reason to think that the judgments any person makes about some other culture will have any objective validity or truth. Such judgments will always be subjective and culturally conditioned.

It is as if we all are wearing tinted glasses, the particular tint of your glasses being a function of your upbringing and cultural background. People from different cultures have glasses that are tinted different colors from ours. Consequently, their view of reality will be different. The catch is this: No one can take off their glasses and see reality as it really is in itself. No one can view truth or reality, except through the distorting lenses of their own cultural biases.

Conventional relativists claim that those who believe in moral absolutes are simply blind to the cultural influences that have shaped their ethical opinions. Absolutists think they can view reality as it is in itself, when in fact they can only see a prejudiced and subjective view of reality.

Since we are incapable of freeing ourselves from the cultural influences that have shaped our ethical views, what kinds of judgments should we form about other cultures? According to conventional relativism, we should stop judging other cultures altogether. We should stop pretending that our ethical judgments and opinions reflect anything more than the contingent, historical forces that have shaped our lives.

D. Lack of Knowledge

The argument from lack of knowledge makes explicit a theme that is probably implicit in some of the earlier arguments for conventional relativism. According to this argument, if there is some absolute or objective fact about which cultural practices are the right ones, we simply have no way of discovering what this fact is. Even if we wanted to believe in moral absolutism, we would be faced with the daunting—and perhaps unanswerable—question, “How can we tell for certain that these cultural practices but not those are morally correct?” Where would we go to obtain an answer to this question? Some people suggest that certain sacred texts contain the answers we seek. But the question that arises for these people is, “How can we tell for certain that this sacred text but not that one contains the absolute truth?” How do we know that any sacred text will tell us the truth? Once again the conventional relativist will point out that people raised to believe in one sacred text will think that theirs contains the truth, but people raised to believe in another sacred text will think that theirs is the only true sacred text.

For those who do not want to bring religion into the debate, the question is equally challenging. There are just as many different secular opinions about what is right or wrong as there are religious opinions. In science we can rely upon experimental methods and empirical observations to resolve differences of opinion. But what can we use to resolve ethical disagreements? There do not seem to be any experiments we can run or empirical observations we can make that could show some ethical judgments or principles to be the right ones. In ethics there seems to be no way to prove some answers right and other answers wrong.

Since none of us seems to have any privileged access to the absolute truth about morality, conventional relativists urge us to stop treating our own ethical opinions as infallible or indubitable. Every culture has its own view of morality. Since we have no way to prove that some views are better than others, we should simply treat them all as being equally valid or correct.

Some people respond to the conventional relativist’s arguments—particularly the culturally conditioned values argument—by claiming that all people have an innate ability to know what is right and wrong. This source of this inborn ability, they say, is your conscience. Your conscience tells you what the right thing to do is, and it’s the thing that makes you feel bad when you do something you know is wrong. Because everyone has a conscience, moral absolutists say, we can rise above the cultural conditioning we have received from our social environments. Contrary to what conventional relativists maintain, we can take off our colored glasses. Our conscience shows us the truth about morality—not what our culture says is the truth, but the truth itself.

Mark Twain’s portrait of Huckleberry Finn provides a compelling counterexample to this line of argument. Huck is helping his slave friend Jim run away from Miss Watson, Jim’s owner. The two of them are taking a raft down the Mississippi River to a place where Jim will be legally free. Huck says:

Jim said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom. Well I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free—and who was to blame for it? Why, me . I couldn’t get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way.... It hadn’t ever come home to me, before, what this thing was that I was doing. But now it did; and it stayed with me, and scorched me more and more. I tried to make out to myself that I warn’t to blame, because I didn’t run Jim off from his rightful owner; but it warn’t no use, conscience up and say, every time: “But you knowed he was running for his freedom, and you could a paddled ashore and told somebody.” That was so—I couldn’t get around that, no way. That was where it pinched. Conscience says to me: “What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her [racial epithet] go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you, that you could treat her so mean?...” I got to feeling so mean and miserable I most wished I was dead. (Quoted in Bennett 1997, pp. 23-24)

Jim tells Huck that he plans to work hard and save enough money to buy his wife and children out of slavery. He goes on to say that, if he is unable to save enough money to buy them, he will steal them. Huck is horrified at hearing this:

Thinks I, this is what comes of my not thinking. Here was this [racial epithet] which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flat-flooted and saying he would steal his children—children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm.

I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him. My conscience got to stirring me up hotter than ever, until at last I says to it: “Let up on me—it ain’t too late, yet—I’ll paddle ashore at first light, and tell.” I felt easy, and happy, and light as a feather, right off. All my troubles was gone. (Quoted in Bennett 1997, p. 24)

When Huck gets the chance, he sets off toward shore in a canoe, telling Jim he is simply going to look around. In reality, he plans to turn Jim in.

As I shoved off, [Jim] says: “Pooty soon I’ll be a-shout’n for joy, en I’ll say, it’s all on accounts o’ Huck I’s a free man... Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ old Jim’s got now.”

I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this, it seemed to kind of take the tuck all out of me. I went along slow then, and I warn’t right down certain whether I was glad I started or whether I warn’t. When I was fifty yards off, Jim says:

“Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to ole Jim.” Well, I just felt sick. But I says, I got to do it—I can’t get out of it. (Quoted in Bennett 1997, p. 25)

While ashore, Huck runs into two white men searching for runaway slaves. They ask Huck whether the man on his raft is white or black. Huck tells us:

I didn’t answer up prompt. I tried to, but the words wouldn’t come. I tried, for a second or two, to brace up and out with it, but I warn’t man enough—hadn’t the spunk of a rabbit. I see I was weakening; so I just give up trying, and up and says: “He’s white.” (Quoted in Bennett 1997, p. 25)

Huck’s conscience was telling him that the right thing to do was to turn Jim in. Jim was the property of Miss Watson, and his children were the property of someone else. This “stolen” property needed to be returned to its rightful owner. In Huck’s mind, he didn’t have the moral fiber, the courage, or the strength of will to do what was right. He does not turn Jim in, but he does not think that he has done the right thing. He despises himself for his weakness, and his conscience tells him that he is a morally despicable person.

We see that Huck’s conscience is not something that rises above the cultural conditioning he has received throughout his life. Instead, it merely reflects the values of the slave-owning society he grew up in. In response to the conventional relativist’s culturally conditioned values argument, some moral absolutists want to argue that only part of us is subject to cultural conditioning. There is, they claim, another part of us that is immune to cultural conditioning—a part that can really tap into the absolute truth about morality without reflecting the contingent values of our society. Twain’s very believable description of Huck suggests that cultural conditioning may very well extend so deeply into our psyche that there is no part of us that is left unaffected. Even our consciences appear to be shaped by the values of our society. Thus, it seems that this first argument against conventional relativism does not succeed.

B. Conflicting Cultures

Consider the following case: Lacey is both a feminist and a Roman Catholic. (This case is a modified version of Pojman’s (1997, p. 36) case of Mary, who is a U.S. citizen and a Roman Catholic.) In her law practice, she specializes in defending the rights of women. Most of the time, her commitments to feminism and Catholicism do not conflict with each other. Her religion views women as being created in the image of God and as having an intrinsic value that should not be violated. Consequently, Catholicism condemns most of the same abuses and injustices suffered by women that feminism condemns. However, there is one obvious issue where Lacey’s joint commitments conflict: abortion. According to the feminist movement, abortion is morally permissible. According to Catholicism, however, abortion is not morally permissible.

Conventional relativism claims that what is right for you as an individual is determined by the culture you belong to. Lacey, however, belongs to more than one culture, and the values of the two cultures conflict. So, is abortion morally permissible for Lacey or not? Which culture takes precedence over the other? Which one should she listen to?

Some students think that Lacey should listen to the Catholic church more than to the feminist movement. But why? If you find yourself belonging to one religious culture and one secular culture, why should the religious culture take priority? Simply because it is a religious culture? That doesn’t seem like much of a reason. And what do you do if you belong to two secular cultures whose views conflict? How do you decide which one to follow?

Before offering an answer to these questions, I want to present another case, due to Pojman (1997, p. 36): John is a college student. He belongs to a fraternity that is racist in both its creed and its practices. However, John is also a member of the larger university community, and the university is officially non-racist in its policies and procedures. The university, it turns out, is located in a town that is overwhelmingly racist. Because this is John’s sixth year of college (he’s had some trouble with calculus), John has been living, working, shopping, and paying taxes in this town for quite some time. He is, thus, very much an integral part of his community. Of course, this town is located in a nation that is officially non-racist in its policies. So, is racism right or wrong for John?

Pojman (1997, p. 36) writes,

As a member of a racist university fraternity, KKK, John has no obligation to treat his fellow Black students as an equal, but as a member of the university community (which accepts the principle of equal rights), he does have the obligation; but as a member of the surrounding community (which [rejects] the principle of equal rights), he again has no such obligation; but then again, as a member of the nation at large (which accepts the principle), he is obligated to treat his fellow students with respect.

Conventional relativism says that what is right for John depends upon what his culture says is right. But which of the overlapping and conflicting cultures that he belongs to should be listen to?

Some students think that the nation is the most important culture John belongs to and that, therefore, he should not be racist. But what if John identifies more with his fraternity than he does with his country? Suppose that members of his fraternity believe the nation has gone downhill ever since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and that it is their sworn duty to combat civil rights for minorities wherever they can. It is difficult to see how, in such a case, the culture that defines what is right for John should be the nation when he has rejected the beliefs, principles and practices of that nation.

Moreover, opting for the nation as the relevant culture for John seems completely arbitrary. Conventional relativism itself does not say anything about nations, as opposed to smaller cultures. John could just as well identify with white people worldwide or college students worldwide or people in Western industrialized nations or even with humanity itself. Why should national affiliation trump all others?

The most tempting solution to the dilemmas facing Lacey and John is one that conventional relativists cannot accept. It is natural to think that the decision about which culture to identify with should be left up to Lacey and John. They should each decide for themselves which culture’s values will be the ones that determine what is right and wrong for them. However, this way out of the dilemma is not open to the conventional relativist. It is subjective relativism that claims that morality is relative to individuals and that individuals can decide what is right and wrong for them. But conventional relativism says that it is cultures—not individuals—that decide. A conventional relativist who says that Lacey and John can decide for themselves what is right for them would be giving up on conventional relativism and adopting subjective relativism instead. Is there a solution to this dilemma that does not require abandoning conventional relativism? It is difficult to see what such a solution could be.

Conventional relativism appears to work fairly well when we are considering a culture other than our own, especially when that culture meets the following conditions:

(a) The culture is non-Western and non-industrialized.

(b) The culture would be described by ethnocentric Westerners as “primitive.”

(c) The culture is monolithic or homogeneous, meaning that there is (or at least appears to outsiders to be) only one uniform social structure that defines the culture’s social relations.

Condition (c) is simply another way of saying that the culture is not pluralistic. In other words, it does not contain a variety of overlapping and sometimes conflicting cultures that (as in the Lacey and John cases) cause problems for conventional relativism. I doubt that “primitive” cultures are ever as uniform or homogeneous on the inside as they appear to Western observers who have only limited and superficial exposure to them. But even if Western stereotypes of these cultures were accurate, the fact remains that conventional relativism could not be made to work very well when applied to an obviously pluralistic and modern society like our own. Each of us (like Lacey and John) belongs to many different subcultures, and this sometimes results in conflict. It seems much more plausible to say that we must each, as individuals, decide what is right for ourselves than to say that “our culture” (whatever that is) decides what is right for us. In short, subjective relativism seems like it might work better in America than conventional relativism.

C. Create Your Own Culture

Thinking about the cases of Lacey and John, in which people belong to many different overlapping cultures, raises questions about the nature of a culture. What exactly is a culture anyway? Cultural anthropologist Richley Crapo (1993, p. 24) defines a culture as “a learned system of beliefs, feelings, and rules for living around which a group of people organize their lives.” According to this definition, the shared way of life of any group of people counts as that group’s culture. This seems to imply that you could organize any group of people into some set of shared practices, beliefs and rules and it would count as a culture. In other words, you could create you own culture.

David Koresh did. If you are charismatic enough, you can take any rule—regardless of how lame-brained, idiotic, cruel, ignorant or twisted it may be—and convince at least some people to go along with it. One of the rules that David Koresh instituted in the Branch Davidian culture was that married couples living in the Branch Davidian compound outside of Waco, TX, were not allowed to have sex with each other. Only David Koresh was allowed to have sex with the women of the compound, and he could have sex with whomever he wanted. This included sex with young girls. According to conventional relativism, David Koresh’s sexual lifestyle was right for him. Why? Because the norms of his culture—which was in part something of his own making—said that it was OK.

If there is some kind of activity you would like to engage in but that is viewed as immoral by the rest of society, take heart. According to conventional relativism, all you have to do is to convince a few of your buddies to go along with you, and—Voila!—you will made the previously questionable activity morally correct for you.

Surely it is absurd to think that any seemingly evil practice can become morally good simply by convincing a few other people to go along with it. And yet that is what conventional relativism seems to imply.

D. Reformers

Conventional relativism subordinates the will of the individual to the will of the cultural majority. What is right for you as an individual is not up to you to decide. What is right for you is what your culture says is right. Think about what conventional relativism implies about reformers like Martin Luther King, Jr., or Mahatma Gandhi. Reformers are people whose beliefs and actions run contrary to those of their surrounding culture and who strive to change the beliefs and actions of their culture for the better. If MLK’s culture says that African-Americans should not be allowed to eat at the same lunch counters, drink out of the same water fountains, attend the same schools, and sit in the same seats on crowded buses as white people, then it was morally wrong for MLK to praise Rosa Parks for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white person one cold December day in 1955. If the culture says that African-Americans should be treated as second-class citizens, then according to conventional relativism you are morally obligated to treat African-Americans as second-class citizens. It is morally wrong for you to buck the system. The system is always right. In the eyes of conventional relativism, reformers are—by definition—always in the wrong.

It is difficult to stomach the idea that the majority is always right and that the status quo should always be respected. The people whom we treat as our greatest heroes were people who stood up to the system and fought against the tyranny of the majority. When was the last time you saw an action movie starring Mel Gibson or Harrison Ford in which they were on the side of the powerful majority? Our movie heroes are always lone individuals, often misunderstood by those around them, who take courageous stands against the injustices of their society.

The fact that conventional relativism implies that reformers are always wrong provides a strong reason for thinking that conventional relativism is false.

E. Culture vs. Culture

Consider the following case: Lothar is a barbarian. Raping, pillaging and plundering are central to Lothar’s barbarian culture. One day Lothar and his band of warriors set off for Pleasantville, a quiet little town in sunny, southern California. The residents of Pleasantville are peace-loving vegetarians and animal rights activists who, when they are not tending to their organic farms or making pottery for burning incense, work as strong advocates for conventional relativism. When Lothar’s barbarian war party arrives in Pleasantville, the sandal-shod residents of Pleasantville are faced with a dilemma: Should they defend themselves against the barbarian attack or not?

You may be thinking, “Dilemma? What dilemma? How can the question of whether they should defend themselves against an unwanted attack be difficult to answer? Of course, they should defend themselves!” Despite the plausibility of this response, it is important to see that the Pleasantvilleans’ belief in conventional relativism poses a problem for them. As conventional relativists, they believe that the right thing for Lothar to do is determined by his culture. But Lothar’s culture says that adult barbarian men should display their bravery and strength by sacking at least one city (preferably one with a Starbucks) per year. So, according to conventional relativism, it is morally right for Lothar to sack Pleasantville. Since it is morally correct for him to do so, it doesn’t seem right for the residents of Pleasantville to try and stop the barbarian attack. They would be keeping Lothar from doing what, according to their own moral standards, is the morally right thing for him to do. However, if the citizens of Pleasantville do not defend themselves against the barbarian invasion, they will be brutalized and killed.

Another problem that would be generated by any attempted defense of Pleasantville concerns ethnocentrism. One of the main motivations for conventional relativism is that it supposedly allows us to avoid ethnocentrism—the view that our culture is superior to others. A great deal of harm has been done throughout the ages by people who have forced their way of life upon other cultures. By claiming that all cultures are morally equal and that no culture is morally better than any other, conventional relativism is supposed to help us lead more tolerant lives. But killing barbarians doesn’t seem to be a very good way to display tolerance for barbarian culture. By keeping the barbarians from sacking Pleasantville, the Pleasantvilleans would be ethnocentrically forcing the barbarians to accept what they think is right in opposition to what the barbarians think is right.

It is difficult to see how the citizens of Pleasantville could be morally justified in fighting against the barbarians. Their belief in conventional relativism seems to undermine any moral justification they might have for fighting. Keep in mind that I am not asking whether they would fight against Lothar and his warring band. I am asking about the morality of their actions. I want to know whether conventional relativism can provide a reason for thinking that the defeat of the barbarians would be a morally good thing. I am unable to see how conventional relativists could provide such a reason. Since it is absurd to think that it might not be justified for them to defend themselves, the case of Lothar and the barbarians provides a reason for thinking that conventional relativism is false.

(If my tale of Lothar and the barbarians seems a little too far-fetched to some of you, note that I could have told basically the same story as a clash between the culture of a violent urban gang and the culture of the law-abiding citizens in the city where the gang lives. Clashes between cultures with opposing viewpoints are more than merely fictional.)

F. Consistency

What should conventional relativists say about a culture that is ethnocentric? Is it right for them to be ethnocentric? Or is it wrong? Remember, according to conventional relativism, what is right for you to do is determined by your culture. If your culture is ethnocentric, it seems like it should be morally right for you to act in an ethnocentric way. And yet conventional relativists condemn ethnocentrism as morally wrong. They use the fact that most people today view ethnocentrism as being wrong as a way to motivate people to become conventional relativists. But if my culture says that it is OK to look down upon other cultures, then according to conventional relativism it should be OK for me to do so.

What if my culture is absolutist? What if a belief in absolute moral truths is a central feature of my culture? According to conventional relativism, it should be right for me to believe in the existence of moral absolutes. But, of course, a belief in moral absolutes is incompatible with a belief in conventional relativism because the first component of conventional relativism is the claim that there are no moral absolutes. So, if my culture is absolutist, conventional relativism says that it is right for me to believe that conventional relativism is false. Think carefully about this claim before reading further. Does it make sense for a conventional relativist to believe that conventional relativism is true and yet at the same time to believe that it is OK for me to think that conventional relativism is false? Conventional relativists think that it does. It might (just barely) be possible for a conventional relativist to act consistently on their relativist views, but it looks like it will be extremely difficult.

G. Diversity and Dependency

One of the most common ways to argue in favor of conventional relativism involves appealing to facts about cultural diversity. Conventional relativists say, “How can you believe in moral absolutes? Just look at all of the moral diversity in the world. It should be obvious that no moral truths are universal or absolute.” This line of argument, however, involves a confusion. To sort out the confusion Pojman (1999, pp. 37-38) distinguishes between the following two claims:

The Diversity Thesis :

What is considered morally right and wrong varies from society to society, so there are no moral principles that all societies accept.

The Dependency Thesis :

What really is morally right and wrong depends upon what societies think is morally right and wrong.

(I have changed the wording of the dependency thesis, but the idea remains the same.) The diversity thesis makes a claim about people’s moral opinions—about what they think is right or wrong. It simply says there is a wide diversity of human opinion about morality. Taken by itself, that claim is pretty harmless and indeed uncontroversial. The diversity thesis itself does not make any value judgments about this diversity of opinion. It simply reports the existence of the diversity.

Some people try to suggest there really are some moral principles that all societies accept. It is difficult to know whether this is really true because so many social scientists disagree about this issue. Some say that the ban on incest is the only universally accepted moral rule, while others claim there are dozens of other such rules. Many social scientists claim there are no universally accepted moral rules at all. It’s hard to know who to believe. We do not, however, need to resolve this issue in order to consider the heart of the controversy concerning conventional relativism. The most important of the two claims above is the dependency thesis, not the diversity thesis.

The dependency thesis says that moral principles depend upon cultural acceptance for their validity or correctness. In other words, if a culture accepts some principle, then it will be right for the members of that culture. If they do not accept another principle, that principle will not be right for that culture. The heart of conventional relativism is the claim that cultural acceptance determines morality.

To illustrate the differences between the two theses, think about what a moral absolutist like Socrates would say about the diversity thesis. Would he think it was true or false? Many students are initially tempted to think that Socrates would disagree with the diversity thesis. But think carefully about it. The diversity thesis simply claims that people disagree about what is right and wrong. How could Socrates deny that this is obviously true? A moral absolutist need not (indeed should not) deny that people disagree about morality. The difference between the conventional relativist and the moral absolutist concerns how the two parties view the diversity of moral opinions. Conventional relativists think that everybody is equally right, while moral absolutists think that only some moral opinions are right while the rest are all wrong. According to moral absolutism, the fact that there is an extremely wide diversity of opinions about morality simply shows that there are a lot of very mistaken people in the world.

Distinguishing between the diversity thesis and the dependency thesis allows us to see that—contrary to what most conventional relativists think—demonstrating how much diversity of opinion there is in the world does not in any way undermine moral absolutism. Many relativists think that conventional relativism can be (and has been) proven true simply by doing enough anthropological research on the divergent beliefs and practices of people around the globe. All of this anthropological research, however, simply supports the diversity thesis. But it provides no reason for believing the dependency thesis. Consequently, the argument from cultural diversity fails to show that conventional relativism is true.

Conventional relativism seems to face several serious problems. It is, however, only one of the two main versions of relativism. Some people claim that subjective relativism is more defensible than conventional relativism. In this section we examine some of the main arguments offered in favor of subjective relativism.

A. Immunity to Some Earlier Objections

One point in favor of subjective relativism is that it does not fall prey to some of the same objections that were levied against conventional relativism. For example, recall the cases of Lacey and John. They each belonged to overlapping cultures with conflicting values, and there did not seem to be any way for conventional relativism to say whether abortion was morally permissible for Lacey or whether racism was morally permissible for John. Subjective relativism, however, can easily handle this sort of case. According to subjective relativism, Lacey and John are free to choose how they will live their lives. If Lacey chooses to make the values of the Catholic church her own personal values, then abortion will not be morally permissible for her. If, however, she chooses to identify more with the feminist movement and to adopt their values, abortion will be morally permissible for her. Similar considerations apply in John’s case. By making moral correctness a function of personal choice, subjective relativism avoids the problem of conflicting cultures.

Subjective relativism is also able to provide a seemingly more acceptable verdict in the case of reformers who challenge or reject the values of their culture. Because conventional relativism subordinates the will of the individual to the will of the culture or society, it seems that little room is left over for individuals to make their own, autonomous decisions about how they ought to live their lives. Conventional relativism says that anyone who challenges the values of their society will be in the wrong. Subjective relativism, however, says that what is right for you is up to you. Regardless of what the majority says or what anyone else in your culture thinks, you are the one who should decide what kind of lifestyle or what kind of values you will adopt. If you want to be a reformer and you want to challenge the society around you, subjective relativism says you are acting rightly if you are true to yourself.

Subjective relativism, then, seems to give answers to the ultimate questions about morality that are more plausible than those given by conventional relativism. Consequently, some objections that seem to undermine conventional relativism do not harm subjective relativism in any way.

B. The Importance of Individual Liberty

By relativizing ethical truth to individuals rather than cultures, subjective relativism is able to give more consideration to the importance of individual liberty. In America we place an extremely high value on our freedom, our ability to direct the course of our own lives. Subjective relativism makes individual liberty and freedom central to morality. According to subjective relativism, it is not right for anyone to try to force their oppressive morality upon you against your wishes. The only morality that is right for you is one that you have autonomously chosen.

Many subjective relativists believe that the theories of conventional relativism and moral absolutism do not adequately respect individual liberty. Conventional relativism makes the culture or the majority in control and allows them to trample on the rights of individuals to choose how to live their lives. Moral absolutism says that you don’t have any choice about what is right for you. The moral absolutes that define morality are all predetermined ahead of time, and you have no say in the matter. Because subjective relativism respects individual liberty more than conventional relativism and moral absolutism, subjective relativists claim this is a reason for choosing subjective relativism over these other views.

C. Tolerance

Subjective relativists argue that conventional relativism’s emphasis on tolerance of other cultures is good but that it does not go far enough. Conventional relativism says that no culture is better than any other and that we should treat them all as being equally valid. However, conventional relativism does not make tolerance of other people within a society a priority. Subjective relativists claim that it is not only cultures but individuals as well who deserve to be treated with tolerance. Subjective relativism claims that no individual’s ethical opinions, values or lifestyle is any better than any other individual’s. All opinions about morality and lifestyles should be treated as being equally good. Tolerance of other individuals, then, is an important part of subjective relativism.

Think about all of the injustices that have been committed because of intolerance. In the years following the Protestant Reformation, Protestants and Catholics slaughtered each other by the thousands because each side would not tolerate the religious views of the other side. Racism, genocide and ethnic cleansing all involve an unwillingness to tolerate other people who are different from us. Subjective relativists believe that most of the world’s intolerance results from a belief in moral absolutism. If you believe in moral absolutes, you think there is only one right way to do things. Moral absolutists think that everybody who disagrees with them is dead wrong. It is this kind of belief that has led people throughout the centuries to think it is OK to abuse and slaughter other people. They are the pagans, the barbarians, the heretics. So, it is only right to rid the world of their corrupting influence.

Subjective relativism promotes tolerance and takes its advocacy of tolerance farther than conventional relativism does. Moral absolutism seems to lead to intolerance. Subjective relativists think the choice is clear: subjective relativism is preferable to either conventional relativism or moral absolutism.

D. Lack of Entitlement

Subjective relativists ask, “Who’s to judge what is really right and wrong for everybody? What person has the entitlement or authority to sit in judgment on the rest of us?” Their answer is: “Nobody.” When you judge other people, you are placing yourself above them and pretending that you have the authority to decide what is right and wrong for them. But you do not have any such authority. So, it is inappropriate for you to judge other people. If you actually did have the authority to make such judgments, there might not be a problem. As it is, however, there is nothing that entitles you to pass judgment on anyone else. You’re no better than the rest of us. Thus, you have no business judging us.

Not only do we not have the authority or entitlement to judge other people, there is something problematic about the act of judging itself. Judging someone else displays an intolerance for the judged person’s way of life. To judge another person is to do something unkind to that person. It is not unlike insulting them because it involves say negative things about them.

Subjective relativism urges us to admit that we are not entitled to stand in judgment over other people. According to subjective relativism, we should view other people’s opinions about morality, their lifestyles, their habits, and their actions as being as equally valid as our own. It is only by adopting subjective relativism that people can learn to stop judging others.

E. Lack of Knowledge

Subjective relativists have their own lack of knowledge argument that is similar to the one offered by conventional relativists. None of us, they note, can really tell for sure what is the absolute truth about morality. What is right for us is something that we each have to make up our own minds about. Conventional relativists correctly note that none of us has an infallible access to absolute truth, but they go wrong in concluding that what is right for you is something to be determined by your culture. It is ultimately a personal decision. You have to decide for yourself what the right way to live is.

Moral absolutists think they have everything all figured out. They think they know what is right for everybody, and they try to force their morality on everyone else. It is arrogant of them to think they know what the absolute truth is. No one person has any better access to the truth than the rest of us. So, none of us should presume to speak on behalf of everyone else. What is right for you is something for you to decide and no one else.

The arguments offered in favor of subjective relativism can sound very convincing to many people. There are, however, some serious problems for the view lurking just below the surface.

A. Violent Lifestyles

Subjective relativism would have us believe that no opinion about morality is any better than any other and that no lifestyle is any better than any other. All moral opinions and lifestyles are equally valid, they say. Consider now the lifestyle of the Baton Rouge serial killer. If no lifestyles are any better or any worse than any others, that means the lifestyle of the serial killer is not any worse than the lifestyles of Baton Rouge’s law-abiding citizens. Remember: we are supposed to be tolerant of all lifestyles. Also, according to subjective relativism, the opinion that rape and murder are morally wrong is not any better than the opinion that rape and murder are fine and dandy. Both opinions are equally valid. Each person (including the Baton Rouge serial killer!) gets to decide what is right and wrong for that person. If a serial killer has decided that rape and murder are right for him, then these horrible crimes really are right for him, and it is inappropriate for us to think any differently.

Can anyone seriously believe that the subjective relativist’s assessments of the Baton Rouge serial killer’s lifestyle and ethical views are correct? I don’t see how they could. Subjective relativism’s claim that all lifestyles and all opinions about morality are equally valid cannot be true.

B. Judging Other People

Subjective relativism claims that it is wrong to be judgmental, that we should not judge other people. Something about this claim seems reasonable. However, subjective relativism’s claim that we should not think that anyone else’s lifestyle or opinion is wrong seems absurd. But if forming an opinion about someone else is judging them, how can we accept the first relativist claim and reject the second?

The key to understanding this issue is realizing there is an ambiguity in the phrase “judging someone else.” In the most basic sense of this phrase, to judge someone else is to form an opinion about them. For example, Louisiana voters were recently asked to decide whether Kathleen Blanco or Bobby Jindal should be their next governor. Voters had to form an opinion about which candidate they think will do the best job. Regardless of which candidate you may have voted for, no one will condemn you for having “judged other people.” That’s what you were supposed to do. In this sense of “judging,” it is impossible not to judge other people. In fact, it is necessary in order to get along in society.

The foregoing example reveals that there must be another sense of the phrase “judging someone else” that is reasonably taken to be objectionable. When we speak of judging someone else in a negative sense, what we sometimes have in mind is an inappropriate rejection of the person being judged. We have probably all seen an episode of some television show with the following motif: A couple’s estranged son has finally come home. He has been gone for years, and they have hardly spoken since he left. The mother weeps tears of joy. However, the son has brought with him a “special friend,” and he has some important news to share: “Mom, Dad, I’m gay.” The father disowns the son and will not speak to him. He says, “You are no longer my son” and orders his son to leave his house. The father is intolerant, unloving and verbally abusive.

When we call the father “judgmental,” we are not merely saying that the father has formed some opinion or other about his son. We mean there is something about his opinions and the way he is acting upon them that is inappropriate. To judge other people in this negative sense means that you will shun them, disown them, cut off whatever relationship you had with them, refuse to associate with them, look down upon them, exclude them, or deny them the same privileges as those who have not been so judged. Subjective relativists claim that judging in this negative sense is wrong. That seems like a reasonable suggestion. Responding in a hateful way to another person is usually going to be a bad thing.

However, this does not mean that we should stop judging them in the first sense discussed above, but this is what subjective relativists recommend. Couldn’t the television father continue to believe that his son’s alternative sexual lifestyle was morally wrong but embrace and love his son anyway? Disagreeing with another person does not (and should not) always lead to shunning, excluding or disowning that person. In other words, “judging someone” in the first sense of forming an opinion about that person, does not always lead to “judging someone” in the second sense of rejecting or cutting off all social ties with that person. You can still love someone with whom you disagree.

Subjective relativists, however, do not distinguish between these two senses of “judging other people.” They argue that, since the second sort of judging is inappropriate, so is the first. But this conclusion does not logically follow. It is possible to judge in the first sense but not the second. However bad the second sense of judging may be, this does not mean that the first sense is also bad.

C. Deciding for Yourself

Subjective relativists claim that you should get to decide what is right for you. Something about this claim seems very true. As autonomous, rational agents, we have the ability to make our own decisions, and our autonomy and rationality should be respected by others. However, is seems absurd to think that the Baton Rouge serial killer should be free to decide that rape and murder are right for him. We need to distinguish two different senses “deciding for yourself.” Subjective relativists slide from using one sense of “deciding for yourself” to using a completely different sense, without acknowledging this is what they are doing.

In one sense, you must decide for yourself what to believe not only in ethics but in every area of your life. You must evaluate the evidence that is available to you, the arguments for and against various positions, and make up your mind about what you think is true. For example, if you are unsure about whether to believe in global warming, you can go to the library, check out some books, read some journal articles, and familiarize yourself with the various arguments that have been put forward. Then, you must decide for yourself whether you think the evidence supports or does not support a belief in global warming. Talking about “deciding for yourself” in this sense seems unobjectionable.

However, subjective relativists also like to talk about “deciding for yourself” in another sense. In this second sense, subjective relativists claim that the fact that you chose lifestyle X for yourself makes lifestyle X right for you. To see that this sense of “deciding for yourself” is different from the first, recall the global warming case. Choosing to believe in global warming does not make global warming a fact. When it comes to issues like global warming, your choices determine your beliefs, but they do not determine the facts. You hope that your belief in global warming corresponds to the facts. But the facts do not depend upon you believing in them in order for them to be the facts. The facts are the way they are, regardless of what you think about them.

By contrast, subjective relativists claim that in ethics your choices determine not only your ethical beliefs but also the ethical facts. If you decide that cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend is morally permissible, that makes cheating morally permissible for you. You never have to wonder or worry whether your ethical beliefs correspond to the facts. Your beliefs create the ethical facts. Without your beliefs, there would be no ethical facts about what is right for you. So, there is never any possibility that you could be wrong about what is right for you. According to subjective relativism, believing so makes it so.

Subjective relativists claim that, because we must obviously decide for ourselves what to believe (in the first sense of “deciding for yourself”) in ethics, we are also able to decide for ourselves (in the second sense of “deciding for yourself”) what the ethical facts are. In their discussions of “deciding for yourself,” they never distinguish the two senses and use the plausibility of the first sense illicitly to support the second sense. But the fact that the first sense gives no support to the second sense. Consequently, subjective relativists cannot appeal to the importance of autonomous decision making to show that their view is true.

D. The Psychology of Belief

The subjective relativism position also seems to misunderstand the psychology of belief. Subjective relativists believe it is OK for you to think that capital punishment is right but that you should not think the opinions of those who oppose capital punishment are any less correct than your own. Think about that for a minute. Is what they recommend even psychologically possible? How can I believe that position A is true and yet at the same time believe that those who think that position A is false are just as right as I am? That sounds like nonsense. If I believe position A is true, I am committed to believing that anyone who thinks position A is false is wrong. Subjective relativism seems to be asking us to do something that is not humanly possible.

E. The Truth of Relativism

Consider the following simply question: Do subjective relativists believe that subjective relativism is true? This may seem like an utterly ridiculous question, unless you think carefully about it. At first glance, the answer seems obvious. Of course, they believe subjective relativism is true. That’s what makes them subjective relativists. However, this seemingly obvious answer causes serious problems for the subjective relativist.

Subjective relativists deny that there are any absolute truths in ethics. No ethical principle, they say, is true for all people at all times and in all places. The problem, however, is that subjective relativists think subjective relativism is the TRUTH about ethics. They do not merely think that subjective relativism is true-for-them. They think it is true for all people at all times and in all places. They seem to be contradicting themselves. Subjective relativism also claims that no moral view is any better than any other. Since subjective relativism is itself a moral view, this means that subjective relativism is not any better than any other moral view, such as moral absolutism. And yet you will never meet a subjective relativist who does not think that moral absolutism is just plain wrong. They contradict themselves once again.

(By the way, conventional relativism falls prey to this same problem. Conventional relativists also deny that there are any absolute truths in ethics, but they claim that conventional relativism is the absolute truth about ethics. They also claim that no culture’s moral viewpoint is any better than any other, and yet they claim that any culture that subscribes to conventional relativism is correct while any culture that subscribes to moral absolutism is objectively wrong.)

Is there any way for the subjective relativists to keep from contradicting themselves. There might be one way, but it has some serious drawbacks. Instead of claiming that subjective relativism is TRUE, subjective relativists could argue that subjective relativism is simply true-for-them and not necessarily true-for-others. So, if you are a moral absolutist, this kind of subjective relativist would not try to tell you that you are wrong—even if you were intolerant and ethnocentric. The subjective relativist I am imagining would claim that, while subjective relativism is true-for-them, moral absolutism would still be true-for-you. This kind of subjective relativist does not fall into self-contradiction.

However, the subjective relativist’s position is no longer a very interesting one. The features that make subjective relativism an attractive position for a lot of people are no longer present: the emphasis on trying to get other people to be more tolerant, the opposition to ethnocentrism, the critique of the injustices done in the name of moral absolutism, etc. Subjective relativists want other people to become relativists, too. They want to tell those who believe in moral absolutes that they are really wrong for being absolutists. Relativists of all stripes are continually criticizing people who believe in absolute moral truths for being closed-minded, intolerant, dogmatic, politically incorrect, and just plain wrong. But if belief in moral absolutism is merely wrong-for-the-subjective-relativist but not necessarily wrong-for-you, then the relativist is not in a position to criticize you for being an absolutist. Going with the option under consideration avoids a contradiction, but only by making it impossible for the subjective relativist to disagree with absolutists.

Consequently, although the position I have just sketched is logically possible, you will never meet a subjective relativist who believes in it. All of the subjective relativists you will ever come across will believe that subjective relativism is the fundamental, objective and universal truth about morality. This is not something they can believe in without contradicting themselves. (For more on contradictions, point your browser to: http://www.geocities.com/beebejames/Contradictions101.)

F. Living Together in Peace

Subjective relativists suggest that the only way for us to live together in peace in a pluralistic society like ours is for us to treat everyone else’s opinions and lifestyles as being as equally valid as our own. They suggest that moral absolutism leads to intolerance and injustice. If we all stopped thinking that our opinions and ways were superior to those of other people, we would have a more peaceful, more egalitarian society.

Subjective relativists, however, misunderstand what democracy is all about. Living together peacefully in a democracy does not mean having no opinions about what is right and wrong. It means living together in peace with those with whom you strongly disagree. It is ridiculous to think that we will never have a peaceful, just and fair society as long as Democrats are convinced that Republicans are wrong (and vice versa), pro-lifers are convinced that pro-choicers are wrong (and vice versa), evangelical Christians are convinced that purveyors of pornography are wrong (and vice versa), proponents of the death penalty are convinced that opponents of it are wrong (and vice versa), and proponents of affirmative action are convinced that opponents of it are wrong (and vice versa). Subjective relativism makes the absurd suggestion that the only way to live together in harmony is to stop having any convictions about what is right or wrong. Subjective relativists want us to stop thinking that anybody else’s opinion is wrong. As long we think that, they say, we will be intolerant, judgmental and unjust. Such a position completely misunderstands the beauty of democracy.

Citizens in a democracy are expected to respect the rights of others and to find peaceful means of resolving their disagreements. You don’t have to agree with the people on the other side of the aisle, but you are not free to abuse them or deprive them of their rights simply because they disagree with you. You are free to debate, to persuade, to campaign, to make commercials, and to donate money to political parties or private organizations that promote your interests. But you are not free to harm those with whom you disagree. That’s democracy: peaceful disagreement. It’s not (as subjective relativism suggests) a lack of any real disagreement.

G. Moral Absolutes in Relativism

Subjective relativists contradict themselves not only in claiming that subjective relativism is true but also by believing in the following absolute moral truths:

(1) Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of race, religion, class, color or creed.

(2) Different lifestyles and cultures should be treated with tolerance.

(3) Intolerance is morally wrong.

(4) The basic human rights of every individual should be defended by a free and just society.

(5) We should strive to provide the citizens of our nation with as much individual liberty as is compatible with the free exercise of everyone else’s liberty.

(6) It is wrong to deprive those with whom one disagrees of their right to make their voices heard in an arena of public discourse.

(7) Racism, sexism and all forms of hateful discrimination are unjust and have no place in an equitable and peaceful society.

Every relativist I have ever met (or expect to meet) believes in (1) through (7). And they do not merely believe that (1) through (7) are true-for-them. They believe these truths apply to all people in all cultures at all times and in all places. In other words, relativists (subjective and conventional) treat (1) through (7) as moral absolutes. Thus, contrary to the explicit statements of their own position, they do believe in moral absolutes after all.

H. You Can’t Live It Out

Not only are self-contradictory positions necessarily false, they are also impossible to put into practice. You couldn’t really live your life in accordance with subjective relativism if you wanted to.

Suppose that Boudreaux deliberates about what he should do in the following manner:

(a) One is morally obliged to keep one’s promises.

(b) I promised my cousin Jethro that I would attend the premiere of his performance art piece.

(d) I want to do what is right.

(e) Therefore, I will attend Jethro’s premiere.

Statement (a) is an expression of a universal principle about what is morally right or wrong. (b) is a statement of descriptive fact regarding Boudreaux’s interaction with Jethro. (c) states a logical consequence of (a) and (b). (d) expresses one of Boudreaux’s desires, which provides him (let us suppose) with sufficient motivation for caring about (c) and for following through with what he knows to be right. Finally, (e) expresses Boudreaux’s decision or determination to undertake the specified course of action.

Suppose, however, that Boudreaux is a subjective relativist and consider what effect this might have on his practical deliberations. Since he denies that there are any absolute moral truths, the moral principle in (a) can only be interpreted as being true-for-him, if he has decided to believe in it. But Boudreaux could just as well have chosen to believe in any of the following, incompatible moral principles:

(f) One is morally obliged to keep one’s promises, unless it is inconvenient to do so.

(g) One is morally obliged to keep one’s promises only if one has promised to do something pleasurable.

(h) One is not morally obliged to keep any of one’s promises.

Which one of these is right-for-Boudreaux? Whichever one he happens to believe in. Remember: According to subjective relativism, what is right-for-him is whatever he thinks is right-for-him. So, none of the above options can be any more accurate or true than the others. Since, according to subjective relativism, whatever Boudreaux believes to be right really is right-for-him, there is no reason for him to worry that his beliefs might be wrong-for-him. They are right-for-Boudreaux of necessity.

How is Boudreaux supposed to choose which one to believe or adopt? His relativism cannot be of any help in this matter. If Boudreaux had chosen (f) instead of (a), then (f) would have been right-for-him. If he had chosen (g), then (g) would have been right-for-him. And so on. There is no belief choice he can make which will be ‘wrong-for-him.’

In such circumstances, it is difficult to see how genuine practical deliberation can still be possible. To deliberate is to weigh one’s options in light of one’s evidence, reasons, consequences and background beliefs. But no process of weighing is applicable in the relativist’s case because every belief has equal weight or merit. Regardless of what ethical beliefs Boudreaux may have, each of them is ‘true-for-him.’ Subjective relativism seems to make it impossible for Boudreaux’s practical choices to be anything but arbitrary.

We have seen that conventional relativism and subjective relativism are both subject to very serious objections. However, you should not forget that both forms of relativism also put forward some very challenging arguments against moral absolutism. Relativists seem to be right about the evils of ethnocentrism and the virtue of tolerance. Both forms of relativism also try to promote a seemingly healthy respect for other ways of life and other people. Both relativists and absolutists face philosophical objections they must answer if their views of morality are going to be fully adequate.

Bennett, Jonathan. 1997. “The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn.” In Christina Sommers and Fred Sommers (eds.), Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life: Introductory Readings in Ethics . Ft. Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, pp. 20-34.

Crapo, Richley H. 1993. Cultural Anthropology: Understanding Ourselves & Others , 3rd edn. Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing.

Pojman, Louis. 1999. Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong , 3rd edn. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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6 Diversity College Essay Examples

What’s covered:, how to write the diversity essay after the end of affirmative action, essay #1: jewish identity, essay #2: being bangladeshi-american, essay #3: marvel vs dc, essay #4: leadership as a first-gen american, essay #5: protecting the earth, essay #6: music and accents, where to get your diversity essays edited, what is the diversity essay.

While working on your college applications, you may come across essays that focus on diversity , culture, or values. The purpose of these essays is to highlight any diverse views or opinions that you may bring to campus. Colleges want a diverse student body that’s made up of different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and interests. These essay prompts are a way for them to see what students can bring to their school.

In this post, we will share six essays written by real students that cover the topic of culture and diversity. We’ll also include what each essay did well and where there is room for improvement. Hopefully, this will be a useful resource to inspire your own diversity essay.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. That said, you should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and they will not have a favorable view of students who have plagiarized.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of race in college admissions was unconstitutional. In other words, they struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions . This will affect college-bound students of color in a number of ways, including lowering their chances of acceptance and reducing the amount of direct outreach they’ll receive from colleges. Another change to consider is the ways in which students should tackle their diversity essays.

Although colleges can no longer directly factor race into admissions, students aren’t prohibited from discussing their racial backgrounds in supplemental application essays. If your racial background is important to you, seriously consider writing about it in your diversity essays. If you don’t, admissions officers are extremely limited in their ability to consider your race when making an admission decision.

As in the essays listed below, discussing your race is an excellent tool for showing admissions officers the person behind the grades and test scores. Beyond that, it provides admissions officers with an opportunity to put themselves in your shoes—showing them how your background has presented challenges to overcome, helped build important life skills, and taught you valuable lessons.

Diversity Essay Examples

I was thirsty. In my wallet was a lone $10 bill, ultimately useless at my school’s vending machine. Tasked with scrounging together the $1 cost of a water bottle, I fished out and arranged the spare change that normally hid in the bottom of my backpack in neat piles of nickels and dimes on my desk. I swept them into a spare Ziploc and began to leave when a classmate snatched the bag and held it above my head.

“Want your money back, Jew?” she chanted, waving the coins around. I had forgotten the Star-of-David around my neck, but quickly realized she must have seen it and connected it to the stacks of coins. I am no stranger to experiencing and confronting antisemitism, but I had never been targeted in my school before. I grabbed my bag and sternly told her to leave. Although she sauntered away, the impact remained.

This incident serves as an example of the adversity I have and will continue to face from those who only see me as a stereotype. Ironically, however, these experiences of discrimination have only increased my pride as a member of the Jewish Community. Continuing to wear the Star-of-David connects me to my history and my family. I find meaning and direction in my community’s values, such as pride, education, and giving—and I am eager to transfer these values to my new community: the Duke community.

What the Essay Did Well

Writing about discrimination can be difficult, but if you are comfortable doing it, it can make for a powerful story. Although this essay is short and focused on one small interaction, it represents a much larger struggle for this student, and for that reason it makes the essay very impactful.

The author takes her time at the beginning of the essay to build the scene for the audience, which allows us to feel like we are there with her, making the hateful comments even more jarring later on. If she had just told us her classmate teased her with harmful stereotypes, we wouldn’t feel the same sense of anger as we do knowing that she was just trying to get a drink and ended up being harassed.

This essay does another important thing—it includes self-reflection on the experience and on the student’s identity. Without elaborating on the emotional impact of a situation, an essay about discrimination would make admission officers feel bad for the student, but they wouldn’t be compelled to admit the student. By describing how experiences like these drive her and make her more determined to embody positive values, this student reveals her character to the readers.

What Could Be Improved

While including emotional reflection in the latter half of the essay is important, the actual sentences could be tightened up a bit to leave a stronger impression. The student does a nice job of showing us her experience with antisemitism, but she just tells us about the impact it has on her. If she instead showed us what the impact looked like, the essay would be even better.

For example, rather than telling us “Continuing to wear the Star-of-David connects me to my history and my family,” she could have shown that connection: “My Star-of-David necklace thumps against my heart with every step I take, reminding me of my great-grandparents who had to hide their stars, my grandma’s spindly fingers lighting the menorah each Hanukkah, and my uncle’s homemade challah bread.” This new sentence reveals so much more than the existing sentence about the student and the deep connection she feels with her family and religion.

Life before was good: verdant forests, sumptuous curries, and a devoted family.

Then, my family abandoned our comfortable life in Bangladesh for a chance at the American dream in Los Angeles. Within our first year, my father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He lost his battle three weeks before my sixth birthday. Facing a new country without the steady presence of my father, we were vulnerable—prisoners of hardship in the land of the free.

We resettled in the Bronx, in my uncle’s renovated basement. It was meant to be our refuge, but I felt more displaced than ever. Gone were the high-rise condos of West L.A.; instead, government projects towered over the neighborhood. Pedestrians no longer smiled and greeted me; the atmosphere was hostile, even toxic. Schoolkids were quick to pick on those they saw as weak or foreign, hurling harsh words I’d never heard before.

Meanwhile, my family began integrating into the local Bangladeshi community. I struggled to understand those who shared my heritage. Bangladeshi mothers stayed home while fathers drove cabs and sold fruit by the roadside—painful societal positions. Riding on crosstown buses or walking home from school, I began to internalize these disparities.

During my fleeting encounters with affluent Upper East Siders, I saw kids my age with nannies, parents who wore suits to work, and luxurious apartments with spectacular views. Most took cabs to their destinations: cabs that Bangladeshis drove. I watched the mundane moments of their lives with longing, aching to plant myself in their shoes. Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day.

As I grappled with my relationship with the Bangladeshi community, I turned my attention to helping my Bronx community by pursuing an internship with Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. I handled desk work and took calls, spending the bulk of my time actively listening to the hardships constituents faced—everything from a veteran stripped of his benefits to a grandmother unable to support her bedridden grandchild.

I’d never exposed myself to stories like these, and now I was the first to hear them. As an intern, I could only assist in what felt like the small ways—pointing out local job offerings, printing information on free ESL classes, reaching out to non-profits. But to a community facing an onslaught of intense struggles, I realized that something as small as these actions could have vast impacts.

Seeing the immediate consequences of my actions inspired me. Throughout that summer, I internalized my community’s daily challenges in a new light. I began to see the prevalent underemployment and cramped living quarters less as sources of shame. Instead, I saw them as realities that had to be acknowledged, but that could ultimately be remedied.

I also realized the benefits of the Bangladeshi culture I had been so ashamed of. My Bangla language skills were an asset to the office, and my understanding of Bangladeshi etiquette allowed for smooth communication between office staff and the office’s constituents. As I helped my neighbors navigate city services, I saw my heritage with pride—a perspective I never expected to have.

I can now appreciate the value of my unique culture and background, and the value of living with less. This perspective offers room for progress, community integration, and a future worth fighting for. My time with Assemblyman Sepulveda’s office taught me that I can be an agent of change who can enable this progression. Far from being ashamed of my community, I want to someday return to local politics in the Bronx to continue helping others access the American Dream. I hope to help my community appreciate the opportunity to make progress together. By embracing reality, I learned to live it. Along the way, I discovered one thing: life is good, but we can make it better.

This student’s passion for social justice and civic duty shines through in this essay because of how honest it is. Sharing their personal experience with immigrating, moving around, being an outsider, and finding a community allows us to see the hardships this student has faced and builds empathy towards their situation.

However, what really makes it strong is that the student goes beyond describing the difficulties they faced and explains the mental impact it had on them as a child: “Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day.” The rejection of their culture presented at the beginning of the essay creates a nice juxtaposition with the student’s view in the latter half of the essay, and helps demonstrate how they have matured.

They then use their experience interning as a way to delve into a change in their thought process about their culture. This experience also serves as a way to show how their passion for social justice began. Using this experience as a mechanism to explore their thoughts and feelings is an excellent example of how items that are included elsewhere on your application should be incorporated into your essay.

This essay prioritizes emotions and personal views over specific anecdotes. Although there are details and certain moments incorporated throughout to emphasize the author’s points, the main focus remains on the student and how they grapple with their culture and identity.

One area for improvement is the conclusion. Although the forward-looking approach is a nice way to end an essay focused on social justice, it would be nice to include more details and imagery in the conclusion. How does the student want to help their community? What government position do they see themselves holding one day?

A more impactful ending might describe the student walking into their office at the New York City Housing Authority in 15 years. This future student might be looking at the plans to build a new development in the Bronx just blocks away from where they grew up that would provide quality housing to people in their Bangladeshi community. They would smile while thinking about how far they have come from that young kid who used to be ashamed of their culture.

Superhero cinema is an oligopoly consisting of two prominent, towering brands: Marvel and DC. I’m a religious supporter of Marvel, but last year, I discovered that my friend, Tom, was a DC fan. After a vociferous 20-minute quarrel about which was better, we decided to allocate one day to have a professional debate, using carefully assembled and coherent arguments.

One week later, we both brought pages of notes and evidence cards (I also had my Iron-Man bobblehead for moral support). Our impartial moderator—a Disney fan—sat in the middle with a stopwatch, open-policy style. I began the debate by discussing how Marvel accentuated the humanity of the storyline—such as in Tony Stark’s transformation from an egotistical billionaire to a compassionate father—which drew in a broader audience, because more people resonated with certain aspects of the characters. Tom rebutted this by capitalizing on how Deadpool was a duplicate of Deathstroke, how Vision copied Red Tornado, and how DC sold more comics than Marvel.

40 minutes later, we reached an impasse. We were out of cards, and we both made excellent points, so our moderator was unable to declare a winner. Difficult conversations aren’t necessarily always the ones that make political headlines. Instead, a difficult discussion involves any topic with which people share an emotional connection.

Over the years, I became so emotionally invested in Marvel that my mind erected an impenetrable shield, blocking out all other possibilities. Even today, we haven’t decided which franchise was better, but I realized that I was undermining DC for no reason other than my own ignorance.

The inevitability of diversity suggests that it is our responsibility to understand the other person and what they believe in. We may not always experience a change in opinion, but we can grant ourselves the opportunity to expand our global perspective. I strive to continue this adventure to increase my awareness as a superhero aficionado, activist, and student, by engaging in conversations that require me to think beyond what I believe and to view the world from others’ perspectives.

And yes, Tom is still my friend.

Diversity doesn’t always have to be about culture or heritage; diversity exists all around us, even in our comic book preferences. The cleverness of this essay lies in the way the student flipped the traditional diversity prompt on its head and instead discussed his diverse perspective on a topic he is passionate about. If you don’t have a cultural connection you are compelled to write about, this is a nifty approach to a diversity prompt—if it’s handled appropriately.

While this student has a non-traditional topic, he still presents it in a way that pays respect to the key aspects of a diversity essay: depicting his perspective and recognizing the importance of diverse views. Just as someone who is writing about a culture that is possibly unfamiliar to the reader, the student describes what makes Marvel and DC unique and important to him and his friend, respectively. He also expands on how a lack of diversity in superhero consumption led to his feeling of ignorance, and how it now makes him appreciate the need for diversity in all aspects of his life.

This student is unapologetically himself in this essay, which is ultimately why this unorthodox topic is able to work. He committed to his passion for Marvel by sharing analytical takes on characters and demonstrating how the franchise was so important to his identity that it momentarily threatened a friendship. The inclusion of humor through his personal voice—e.g., referring to the argument as a professional debate and telling us that the friendship lived on—contributes to the essay feeling deeply personal.

Choosing an unconventional topic for a diversity essay requires extra care and attention to ensure that you are still addressing the core of the prompt. That being said, if you accomplish it successfully, it makes for an incredibly memorable essay that could easily set you apart!

While this is a great essay as is, the idea of diversity could have been addressed a little bit earlier in the piece to make it absolutely clear the student is writing about his diverse perspective. He positions Marvel and DC as two behemoths in the superhero movie industry, but in the event that his reader is unfamiliar with these two brands, there is little context about the cultural impact each has on its fans.

To this student, Marvel is more than just a movie franchise; it’s a crucial part of his identity, just as someone’s race or religion might be. In order for the reader to fully understand the weight of his perspective, there should be further elaboration—towards the beginning—on how important Marvel is to this student.

Leadership was thrust upon me at a young age. When I was six years old, my abusive father abandoned my family, leaving me to step up as the “man” of the house. From having to watch over my little sister to cooking dinner three nights a week, I never lived an ideal suburban life. I didn’t enjoy the luxuries of joining after-school activities, getting driven to school or friends’ houses, or taking weekend trips to the movies or bowling alley. Instead, I spent my childhood navigating legal hurdles, shouldering family responsibilities, and begrudgingly attending court-mandated therapy sessions.

At the same time, I tried to get decent grades and maintain my Colombian roots and Spanish fluency enough to at least partially communicate with my grandparents, both of whom speak little English. Although my childhood had its bright and joyful moments, much of it was weighty and would have been exhausting for any child to bear. In short, I grew up fast. However, the responsibilities I took on at home prepared me to be a leader and to work diligently, setting me up to use these skills later in life.

I didn’t have much time to explore my interests until high school, where I developed my knack for government and for serving others. Being cast in a lead role in my school’s fall production as a freshman was the first thing to give me the confidence I needed to pursue other activities: namely, student government. Shortly after being cast, I was elected Freshman Vice-President, a role that put me in charge of promoting events, delegating daily office tasks, collaborating with the administration on new school initiatives, and planning trips and fundraisers.

While my new position demanded a significant amount of responsibility, my childhood of helping my mom manage our household prepared me to be successful in the role. When I saw the happy faces of my classmates after a big event, I felt proud to know that I had made even a small difference to them. Seeing projects through to a successful outcome was thrilling. I enjoyed my time and responsibilities so much that I served all four years of high school, going on to become Executive Vice-President.

As I found success in high school, my mother and grandparents began speaking more about the life they faced prior to emigrating from Colombia. To better connect with them, I took a series of Spanish language classes to regain my fluency. After a practice run through my presentation on Bendíceme, Ultima ( Bless me, Ultima ) by Rudolofo Anaya, with my grandmother, she squeezed my hand and told me the story of how my family was forced from their home in order to live free of religious persecution. Though my grandparents have often expressed how much better their lives and their children’s lives have been in America, I have often struggled with my identity. I felt that much of it was erased with my loss of our native language.

In elementary school, I learned English best because in class I was surrounded by it. Spanish was more difficult to grasp without a formal education, and my family urged me to become fluent in English so I could be of better help to them in places as disparate as government agencies and grocery stores. When I was old enough to recognize the large part of my identity still rooted in being Colombian, it was challenging to connect these two sides of who I was.

Over time I have been able to reconcile the two in the context of my aspirations. I found purpose and fulfillment through student council, and I knew that I could help other families like my own if I worked in local government. By working through city offices that address housing, education, and support for survivors of childhood abuse, I could give others the same liberties and opportunities my family has enjoyed in this country. Doing so would also help me honor my roots as a first-generation American.

I have been a leader my entire life. Both at Harvard and after graduation, I want to continue that trend. I hope to volunteer with organizations that share my goals. I want to advise policy-making politicians on ways to make children and new immigrants safer and more secure. When my family was at their worst, my community gave back. I hope to give that gift to future generations. A career in local, city-based public service is not a rashly made decision; it is a reflection of where I’ve already been in life, and where I want to be in the future.

Although this essay begins on a somber note, it goes on to show this student’s determination and the joy he found. Importantly, it also ends with a positive, forward-looking perspective. This is a great example of how including your hardship can bolster an essay as long as it is not the essay’s main focus.

Explaining the challenges this student faced from a young age—becoming the man of the house, dealing with legal matters, maintaining good grades, etc.—builds sympathy for his situation. However, the first paragraph is even more impactful because he explains the emotional toll these actions had on him. We understand how he lost the innocence of his childhood and how he struggled to remain connected to his Colombian heritage with all his other responsibilities. Including these details truly allows the reader to see this student’s struggle, making us all the more joyful when he comes out stronger in the end.

Pivoting to discuss positive experiences with student government and Spanish classes for the rest of the essay demonstrates that this student has a positive approach to life and is willing to push through challenges. The tone of the essay shifts from heavy to uplifting. He explains the joy he got out of helping his classmates and connecting with his grandparents, once again providing emotional reflection to make the reader care more.

Overall, this essay does a nice job of demonstrating how this student approaches challenges and negative experiences. Admitting that the responsibilities of his childhood had a silver lining shows his maturity and how he will be able to succeed in government one day. The essay strikes a healthy balance between challenge and hope, leaving us with a positive view of a student with such emotional maturity.

Although the content of this essay is very strong, it struggles with redundancy and disorganized information. He mentions his passion for government at the beginning of the student government paragraph, then again addresses government in the paragraph focused on his Colombian heritage, and concludes by talking about how he wants to get into government once more. Similarly, in the first paragraph, he discusses the struggle of maintaining his Colombian identity and then fully delves into that topic in the third paragraph.

The repetition of ideas and lack of a streamlined organization of this student’s thoughts diminishes some of the emotional impact of the story. The reader is left trying to piece together a swirling mass of information on their own, rather than having a focused, sequential order to follow.

This could be fixed if the student rearranged details to make each paragraph focused on a singular idea. For example, the first paragraph could be about his childhood. The second could be about how student government sparked his interest in government and what he hopes to do one day. The third could be about how he reconnected with his Colombian roots through his Spanish classes, after years of struggling with his identity. And the final paragraph could tie everything together by explaining how everything led to him wanting to pursue a future serving others, particularly immigrants like his family.

Alternatively, the essay could follow a sequential order that would start with his childhood, then explain his struggle with his identity, then show how student government and Spanish classes helped him find himself, and finally, conclude with what he hopes to accomplish by pursuing government.

I never understood the power of community until I left home to join seven strangers in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Although we flew in from distant corners of the U.S., we shared a common purpose: immersing ourselves in our passion for protecting the natural world.

Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns. My classmates debated the feasibility of Trump’s wall, not the deteriorating state of our planet. Contrastingly, these seven strangers delighted in bird-watching, brightened at the mention of medicinal tree sap, and understood why I once ran across a four-lane highway to retrieve discarded beer cans.

Their histories barely resembled mine, yet our values aligned intimately. We did not hesitate to joke about bullet ants, gush about the versatility of tree bark, or discuss the destructive consequences of materialism. Together, we let our inner tree-huggers run free.

In the short life of our little community, we did what we thought was impossible. By feeding on each other’s infectious tenacity, we cultivated an atmosphere that deepened our commitment to our values and empowered us to speak out on behalf of the environment. After a week of stimulating conversations and introspective revelations about engaging people from our hometowns in environmental advocacy, we developed a shared determination to devote our lives to this cause.

As we shared a goodbye hug, my new friend whispered, “The world needs saving. Someone’s gotta do it.” For the first time, I believed that that someone could be me.

This student is expressing their diversity through their involvement in a particular community—another nice approach if you don’t want to write about culture or ethnicity. We all have unique things that we geek out over. This student expresses the joy that they derived from finding a community where they could express their love for the environment. Passion is fundamental to university life and generally finds its way into any successful application.

The essay finds strength in the fact that readers feel for the student. We get a little bit of backstory about where they come from and how they felt silenced— “Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns” —so it’s easy to feel joy for them when they get set free and finally find their community.

This student displays clear values: community, ecoconsciousness, dedication, and compassion. An admissions officer who reads a diversity essay is looking for students with strong values who will enrich the university community with their unique perspective—that sounds just like this student!

One area of weakness in this essay is the introduction. The opening line— “I never understood the power of community until I left home to join seven strangers in the Ecuadorian rainforest” —is a bit clichéd. Introductions should be captivating and build excitement and suspense for what is to come. Simply telling the reader about how your experience made you understand the power of community reveals the main takeaway of your essay without the reader needing to go any further.

Instead of starting this essay with a summary of what the essay is about, the student should have made their hook part of the story. Whether that looks like them being exasperated with comments their classmates made about politics, or them looking around apprehensively at the seven strangers in their program as they all boarded their flight, the student should start off in the action.

India holds a permanent place in my heart and ears. Whenever I returned on a trip or vacation, I would show my grandmother how to play Monopoly and she would let me tie her sari. I would teach my grandfather English idioms—which he would repeat to random people and fishmongers on the streets—and he would teach me Telugu phrases.

It was a curious exchange of worlds that I am reminded of every time I listen to Indian music. It was these tunes that helped me reconnect with my heritage and ground my meandering identity. Indian music, unlike the stereotype I’d long been imbued with, was not just a one-and-done Bollywood dance number! Each region and language was like an island with its own unique sonic identity. I’m grateful for my discovery of Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil tunes, for these discoveries have opened me up to the incredible smorgasbord of diversity, depth, and complexity within the subcontinent I was born in.

Here’s an entirely-different sonic identity for you: Texan slang. “Couldya pass the Mango seltzer, please, hon?” asked my Houstonian neighbor, Rae Ann—her syllables melding together like the sticky cake batter we were making.

Rae Ann and her twang were real curiosities to me. Once, she invited my family to a traditional Texan barbecue with the rest of our neighbors. As Hindus, we didn’t eat beef, so we showed up with chicken kebabs, instead. Rather than looking at us bizarrely, she gladly accepted the dish, lining it up beside grilled loins and hamburger patties.

Her gesture was a small but very well-accepted one and I quickly became convinced she was the human manifestation of “Southern hospitality”—something reflected in each of her viscous, honey-dripping phrases. “Watch out for the skeeters!” was an excellent example. It was always funny at first, but conveyed a simple message: We’ve got each other’s backs and together, we can overcome the blood-sucking mosquitoes of the Houstonian summer! I began to see how her words built bridges, not boundaries.

I believe that sounds—whether it’s music or accents—can make a difference in the ways we perceive and accept individuals from other backgrounds. But sound is about listening too. In Rice’s residential college, I would be the type of person to strike up a conversation with an international student and ask for one of their Airpods (you’d be surprised how many different genres and languages of music I’ve picked up in this way!).

As both an international student and Houstonian at heart, I hope to bridge the gap between Rice’s domestic and international populations. Whether it’s organizing cultural events or simply taking the time to get to know a student whose first language isn’t English, I look forward to listening to the stories that only a fellow wanderer can tell.

This essay does an excellent job of addressing two aspects of this student’s identity. Looking at diversity through sound is a very creative way to descriptively depict their Indian and Texan cultures. Essays are always more successful when they stimulate the senses, so framing the entire response around sound automatically opens the door for vivid imagery.

The quotes from this student’s quirky neighbor bring a sense of realism to the essay. We can feel ourselves at the barbecue and hear her thick Texan accent coming through. The way people communicate is a huge part of their culture and identity, so the way that this student perfectly captures the essence of their Texan identity with accented phrases is skillfully done.

This essay does such a great job of making the sounds of Texas jump off the page, so it is a bit disappointing that it wasn’t able to accomplish the same for India. The student describes the different Indian languages and music styles, but doesn’t bring them to life with quotes or onomatopoeia in the manner that they did for the sounds of Texas.

They could have described the buzz of the sitar or the lyrical pattern of the Telugu phrases their grandfather taught them. Telling us about the diversity of sounds in Indian music is fine, but if the reader can’t appreciate what those sounds resemble, it makes it harder to understand the Indian half of the author’s identity. Especially since this student emulated the sounds and essence of Texas so well, it’s important that India is given the same treatment so we can fully appreciate both sides of this essay.

More Supplemental Essay Tips

How to Write a Stellar “Why This College?” Essay + Examples

How to Write a Stellar Extracurricular Activity College Essay

Do you want feedback on your diversity essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Cultural Diversity Essay & Community Essay Examples

If you’ve started to research college application requirements for the schools on your list, you might have come across the “cultural diversity essay.” In this guide, we’ll explore the cultural diversity essay in depth. We will compare the cultural diversity essay to the community essay and discuss how to approach these kinds of supplements. We’ll also provide examples of diversity essays and community essay examples. But first, let’s discuss exactly what a cultural diversity essay is.

The purpose of the cultural diversity essay in college applications is to show the admissions committee what makes you unique. The cultural diversity essay also lets you describe what type of “ diversity ” you would bring to campus.

We’ll also highlight a diversity essay sample for three college applications. These include the Georgetown application essay , Rice application essay , and Williams application essay . We’ll provide examples of diversity essays for each college. Then, for each of these college essays that worked, we will analyze their strengths to help you craft your own essays.

Finally, we’ll give you some tips on how to write a cultural diversity essay that will make your applications shine.

But first, let’s explore the types of college essays you might encounter on your college applications.

Types of College Essays

College application requirements will differ among schools. However, you’ll submit one piece of writing to nearly every school on your list—the personal statement . A strong personal statement can help you stand out in the admissions process.

So, how do you know what to write about? That depends on the type of college essay included in your college application requirements.

There are a few main types of college essays that you might encounter in the college admissions process. Theese include the “Why School ” essay, the “Why Major ” essay, and the extracurricular activity essay. This also includes the type of essay we will focus on in this guide—the cultural diversity essay.

“Why School” essay

The “Why School ” essay is exactly what it sounds like. For this type of college essay, you’ll need to underscore why you want to go to this particular school.

However, don’t make the mistake of just listing off what you like about the school. Additionally, don’t just reiterate information you can find on their admissions website. Instead, you’ll want to make connections between what the school offers and how you are a great fit for that college community.

“Why Major” essay

The idea behind the “Why Major ” essay is similar to that of the “Why School ” essay above. However, instead of writing about the school at large, this essay should highlight why you plan to study your chosen major.

There are plenty of directions you could take with this type of essay. For instance, you might describe how you chose this major, what career you plan to pursue upon graduation, or other details.

Extracurricular Activity essay

The extracurricular activity essay asks you to elaborate on one of the activities that you participated in outside of the classroom.

For this type of college essay, you’ll need to select an extracurricular activity that you pursued while you were in high school. Bonus points if you can tie your extracurricular activity into your future major, career goals, or other extracurricular activities for college. Overall, your extracurricular activity essay should go beyond your activities list. In doing so, it should highlight why your chosen activity matters to you.

Cultural Diversity essay

The cultural diversity essay is your chance to expound upon diversity in all its forms. Before you write your cultural diversity essay, you should ask yourself some key questions. These questions can include: How will you bring diversity to your future college campus? What unique perspective do you bring to the table?

Another sub-category of the cultural diversity essay is the gender diversity essay. As its name suggests, this essay would center around the author’s gender. This essay would highlight how gender shapes the way the writer understands the world around them.

Later, we’ll look at examples of diversity essays and other college essays that worked. But before we do, let’s figure out how to identify a cultural diversity essay in the first place.

How to identify a ‘cultural diversity’ essay

So, you’re wondering how you’ll be able to identify a cultural diversity essay as you review your college application requirements.

Aside from the major giveaway of having the word “diversity” in the prompt, a cultural diversity essay will ask you to describe what makes you different from other applicants. In other words, what aspects of your unique culture(s) have influenced your perspective and shaped you into who you are today?

Diversity can refer to race, ethnicity, first-generation status, gender, or anything in between. You can write about a myriad of things in a cultural diversity essay. For instance, you might discuss your personal background, identity, values, experiences, or how you’ve overcome challenges in your life.

However, don’t feel limited in what you can address in a cultural diversity essay. The words “culture” and “diversity” mean different things to different people. Above all, you’ll want your diversity essays for college to be personal and sincere.

How is a ‘community’ essay different?

A community essay can also be considered a cultural diversity essay. In fact, you can think of the community essay as a subcategory of the cultural diversity essay. However, there is a key difference between a community essay and a cultural diversity essay, which we will illustrate below.

You might have already seen some community essay examples while you were researching college application requirements. But how exactly is a community essay different from a cultural diversity essay?

One way to tell the difference between community essay examples and cultural diversity essay examples is by the prompt. A community essay will highlight, well, community . This means it will focus on how your identity will shape your interactions on campus—not just how it informs your own experiences.

Two common forms to look out for

Community essay examples can take two forms. First, you’ll find community essay examples about your past experiences. These let you show the admissions team how you have positively influenced your own community.

Other community essay examples, however, will focus on the future. These community essay examples will ask you to detail how you will contribute to your future college community. We refer to these as college community essay examples.

In college community essay examples, you’ll see applicants detail how they might interact with their fellow students. These essays may also discuss how students plan to positively contribute to the campus community.

As we mentioned above, the community essay, along with community essay examples and college community essay examples, fit into the larger category of the cultural diversity essay. Although we do not have specific community essay examples or college community essay examples in this guide, we will continue to highlight the subtle differences between the two.

Before we continue the discussion of community essay examples and college community essay examples, let’s start with some examples of cultural diversity essay prompts. For each of the cultural diversity essay prompts, we’ll name the institutions that include these diversity essays for college as part of their college application requirements.

What are some examples of ‘cultural diversity’ essays?

Now, you have a better understanding of the similarities and differences between the cultural diversity essay and the community essay. So, next, let’s look at some examples of cultural diversity essay prompts.

The prompts below are from the Georgetown application, Rice application, and Williams application, respectively. As we discuss the similarities and differences between prompts, remember the framework we provided above for what constitutes a cultural diversity essay and a community essay.

Later in this guide, we’ll provide real examples of diversity essays, including Georgetown essay examples, Rice University essay examples, and Williams supplemental essays examples. These are all considered college essays that worked—meaning that the author was accepted into that particular institution.

Georgetown Supplementals Essays

Later, we’ll look at Georgetown supplemental essay examples. Diversity essays for Georgetown are a product of this prompt:

As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.

You might have noticed two keywords in this prompt right away: “diverse” and “community.” These buzzwords indicate that this prompt is a cultural diversity essay. You could even argue that responses to this prompt would result in college community essay examples. After all, the prompt refers to the Georgetown community.

For this prompt, you’ll want to produce a diversity essay sample that highlights who you are. In order to do that successfully, you’ll need to self-reflect before putting pen to paper. What aspects of your background, personality, or values best describe who you are? How might your presence at Georgetown influence or contribute to their diverse community?

Additionally, this cultural diversity essay can be personal or creative. So, you have more flexibility with the Georgetown supplemental essays than with other similar diversity essay prompts. Depending on the direction you go, your response to this prompt could be considered a cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or a college community essay.

Rice University Essays

The current Rice acceptance rate is just 9% , making it a highly selective school. Because the Rice acceptance rate is so low, your personal statement and supplemental essays can make a huge difference.

The Rice University essay examples we’ll provide below are based on this prompt:

The quality of Rice’s academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice?

Breaking down the prompt.

Like the prompt above, this cultural diversity essay asks about your “life experiences,” “cultural traditions,” and personal “perspectives.” These phrases indicate a cultural diversity essay. Keep in mind this may not be the exact prompt you’ll have to answer in your own Rice application. However, future Rice prompts will likely follow a similar framework as this diversity essay sample.

Although this prompt is not as flexible as the Georgetown prompt, it does let you discuss aspects of Rice’s academic life and Residential College System that appeal to you. You can also highlight how your experiences have influenced your personal perspective.

The prompt also asks about how you would contribute to life at Rice. So, your response could also fall in line with college community essay examples. Remember, college community essay examples are another sub-category of community essay examples. Successful college community essay examples will illustrate the ways in which students would contribute to their future campus community.

Williams Supplemental Essays

Like the Rice acceptance rate, the Williams acceptance rate is also 9% . Because the Williams acceptance rate is so low, you’ll want to pay close attention to the Williams supplemental essays examples as you begin the writing process.

The Williams supplemental essays examples below are based on this prompt:

Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry – a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives, and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an Entry? What perspective would you add to the conversation with your peer(s)?

Reflecting on the prompt.

Immediately, words like “diverse,” “backgrounds,” “perspectives,” “interests,” and “differentiate” should stand out to you. These keywords highlight the fact that this is a cultural diversity essay. Similar to the Rice essay, this may not be the exact prompt you’ll face on your Williams application. However, we can still learn from it.

Like the Georgetown essay, this prompt requires you to put in some self-reflection before you start writing. What aspects of your background differentiate you from other people? How would these differences impact your interactions with peers?

This prompt also touches on the “student community” and how you would “add to the conversation with your peer(s).” By extension, any strong responses to this prompt could also be considered as college community essay examples.

Community Essays

All of the prompts above mention campus community. So, you could argue that they are also examples of community essays.

Like we mentioned above, you can think of community essays as a subcategory of the cultural diversity essay. If the prompt alludes to the campus community, or if your response is centered on how you would interact within that community, your essay likely falls into the world of college community essay examples.

Regardless of what you would classify the essay as, all successful essays will be thoughtful, personal, and rich with details. We’ll show you examples of this in our “college essays that worked” section below.

Which schools require a cultural diversity or community essay?

Besides Georgetown, Rice, and Williams, many other college applications require a cultural diversity essay or community essay. In fact, from the Ivy League to HBCUs and state schools, the cultural diversity essay is a staple across college applications.

Although we will not provide a diversity essay sample for each of the colleges below, it is helpful to read the prompts. This will build your familiarity with other college applications that require a cultural diversity essay or community essay. Some schools that require a cultural diversity essay or community essay include New York University , Duke University , Harvard University , Johns Hopkins University , and University of Michigan .

New York University

NYU listed a cultural diversity essay as part of its 2022-2023 college application requirements. Here is the prompt:

NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience. We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community.

Duke university.

Duke is well-known for its community essay:

What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well.

A top-ranked Ivy League institution, Harvard University also has a cultural diversity essay as part of its college application requirements:

Harvard has long recognized the importance of student body diversity of all kinds. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, personal development, or the intellectual interests you might bring to your Harvard classmates.

Johns hopkins university.

The Johns Hopkins supplement is another example of a cultural diversity essay:

Founded in the spirit of exploration and discovery, Johns Hopkins University encourages students to share their perspectives, develop their interests, and pursue new experiences. Use this space to share something you’d like the admissions committee to know about you (your interests, your background, your identity, or your community), and how it has shaped what you want to get out of your college experience at Hopkins.

University of michigan.

The University of Michigan requires a community essay for its application:

Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong and describe that community and your place within it.

Community essay examples.

The Duke and Michigan prompts are perfect illustrations of community essay examples. However, they have some critical differences. So, if you apply to both of these schools, you’ll have to change the way you approach either of these community essays.

The Duke prompt asks you to highlight why you are a good match for the Duke community. You’ll also see this prompt in other community essay examples. To write a successful response to this prompt, you’ll need to reference offerings specific to Duke (or whichever college requires this essay). In order to know what to reference, you’ll need to do your research before you start writing.

Consider the following questions as you write your diversity essay sample if the prompt is similar to Duke University’s

What values does this college community have?
How do these tie in with what you value?
Is there something that this college offers that matches your interests, personality, or background?

On the other hand, the Michigan essay prompt asks you to describe a community that you belong to as well as your place within that community. This is another variation of the prompt for community essay examples.

To write a successful response to this prompt, you’ll need to identify a community that you belong to. Then, you’ll need to think critically about how you interact with that community.

Below are some questions to consider as you write your diversity essay sample for colleges like Michigan:

Out of all the communities you belong to, which can you highlight in your response?
How have you impacted this community?
How has this community impacted you?

Now, in the next few sections, we’ll dive into the Georgetown supplemental essay examples, the Rice university essay examples, and the Williams supplemental essays examples. After each diversity essay sample, we’ll include a breakdown of why these are considered college essays that worked.

Georgetown Essay Examples

As a reminder, the Georgetown essay examples respond to this prompt:

As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.

Here is the excerpt of the diversity essay sample from our Georgetown essay examples:

Georgetown University Essay Example

The best thing I ever did was skip eight days of school in a row. Despite the protests of teachers over missed class time, I told them that the world is my classroom. The lessons I remember most are those that took place during my annual family vacation to coastal Maine. That rural world is the most authentic and incredible classroom where learning simply happens and becomes exponential.

Years ago, as I hunted through the rocks and seaweed for seaglass and mussels, I befriended a Maine local hauling her battered kayak on the shore. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I had found a kindred spirit in Jeanne. Jeanne is a year-round resident who is more than the hard working, rugged Mainer that meets the eye; reserved and humble in nature, she is a wealth of knowledge and is self-taught through necessity. With thoughtful attention to detail, I engineered a primitive ramp made of driftwood and a pulley system to haul her kayak up the cliff. We diligently figured out complex problems and developed solutions through trial and error.

After running out of conventional materials, I recycled and reimagined items that had washed ashore. We expected to succeed, but were not afraid to fail. Working with Jeanne has been the best classroom in the world; without textbooks or technology, she has made a difference in my life. Whether building a basic irrigation system for her organic garden or installing solar panels to harness the sun’s energy, every project has shown me the value of taking action and making an impact. Each year brings a different project with new excitement and unique challenges. My resourcefulness, problem solving ability, and innovative thinking have advanced under her tutelage.

While exploring the rocky coast of Maine, I embrace every experience as an unparalleled educational opportunity that transcends any classroom environment. I discovered that firsthand experience and real-world application of science are my best teachers. In school, applications of complex calculations and abstract theories are sometimes obscured by grades and structure. In Maine, I expand my love of science and renourish my curious spirit. I am a highly independent, frugal, resilient Mainer living as a southern girl in NC.

Why this essay worked

This is one of the Georgetown supplemental essay examples that works, and here’s why. The author starts the essay with an interesting hook, which makes the reader want to learn more about this person and their perspective.

Throughout the essay, the author illustrates their intellectual curiosity. From befriending Jeanne and creating a pulley system to engineering other projects on the rocky coast of Maine, the author demonstrates how they welcome challenges and work to solve problems.

Further, the author mentions values that matter to them—taking action and making an impact. Both facets are also part of Georgetown’s core values . By making these connections in their essay, the author shows the admissions committee exactly how they would be a great fit for the Georgetown community.

Finally, the author uses their experience in Maine to showcase their love of science, which is likely the field they will study at Georgetown. Like this writer, you should try to include most important parts of your identity into your essay. This includes things like life experiences, passions, majors, extracurricular activities for college, and more.

Rice University Essay Examples

The Rice University essay examples are from this prompt:

The quality of Rice’s academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice? (500-word limit)

Rice university essay example.

Like every applicant, I also have a story to share. A story that makes me who I am and consists of chapters about my life experiences and adventures. Having been born in a different country, my journey to America was one of the most difficult things I had ever experienced. Everything felt different. The atmosphere, the places, the food, and especially the people. Everywhere I looked, I saw something new. Although it was a bit overwhelming, one thing had not changed.

The caring nature of the people was still prevalent in everyday interactions. I was overwhelmed by how supportive and understanding people were of one another. Whether it is race, religion, or culture, everyone was accepted and appreciated. I knew that I could be whoever I wanted to be and that the only limitation was my imagination. Through hard work and persistence I put my all in everything that I did. I get this work ethic from my father since he is living proof that anything can be accomplished with continued determination. Listening to the childhood stories he told me, my dad would reminisce about how he was born in an impoverished area in a third world country during a turbulent and unpredictable time.

Even with a passion for learning, he had to work a laborious job in an attempt to help his parents make ends meet. He talked about how he would study under the street lights when the power went out at home. His parents wanted something better for him, as did he. Not living in America changed nothing about their work ethic. His parents continued to work hard daily, in an attempt to provide for their son. My dad worked and studied countless hours, paying his way through school with jobs and scholarships. His efforts paid off when he finally moved to America and opened his own business. None of it would have been possible without tremendous effort and dedication needed for a better life, values that are instilled within me as well, and this is the perspective that I wish to bring to Rice.

This diversity essay sample references the author’s unique life experiences and personal perspective, which makes it one example of college essays that worked. The author begins the essay by alluding to their unique story—they were born in a different country and then came to America. Instead of facing this change as a challenge, the author shows how this new experience helped them to feel comfortable with all kinds of people. They also highlight how their diversity was accepted and appreciated.

Additionally, the author incorporates information about their father’s story, which helps to frame their own values and where those values came from. The values that they chose to highlight also fall in line with the values of the Rice community.

Williams Supplemental Essay Examples

Let’s read the prompt that inspired so many strong Williams supplemental essays examples again:

Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry—a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an entry? What perspective(s) would you add to the conversation with your peers?

Williams college essay example.

Through the flow in my head

See you clad in red

But not just the clothes

It’s your whole being

Covering in this sickening blanket

Of heat and pain

Are you in agony, I wonder?

Is this the hell they told me about?

Have we been condemned?

Reduced to nothing but pain

At least we have each other

In our envelopes of crimson

I try in vain

“Take my hands” I shriek

“Let’s protect each other,

You and me, through this hell”

My body contorts

And deforms into nothingness

You remain the same

Clad in red

With faraway eyes

You, like a statue

Your eyes fixed somewhere else

You never see me

Just the red briefcase in your heart

We aren’t together

It’s always been me alone

While you stand there, aloof, with the briefcase in your heart.

I wrote this poem the day my prayer request for the Uighur Muslims got denied at school. At the time, I was stunned. I was taught to have empathy for those around me. Yet, that empathy disappears when told to extend it to someone different. I can’t comprehend this contradiction and I refuse to.

At Williams, I hope to become a Community Engagement Fellow at the Davis Center. I hope to use Williams’ support for social justice and advocacy to educate my fellow classmates on social issues around the world. Williams students are not just scholars but also leaders and changemakers. Together, we can strive to better the world through advocacy.

Human’s capability for love is endless. We just need to open our hearts to everyone.

It’s time to let the briefcase go and look at those around us with our real human eyes.

We see you now. Please forgive us.

As we mentioned above, the Williams acceptance rate is incredibly low. This makes the supplemental essay that much more important.

This diversity essay sample works because it is personal and memorable. The author chooses to start the essay off with a poem. Which, if done right, will immediately grab the reader’s attention.

Further, the author contextualizes the poem by explaining the circumstances surrounding it—they wrote it in response to a prayer request that was denied at school. In doing so, they also highlight their own values of empathy and embracing diversity.

Finally, the author ends their cultural diversity essay by describing what excites them about Williams. They also discuss how they see themselves interacting within the Williams community. This is a key piece of the essay, as it helps the reader understand how the author would be a good fit for Williams.

The examples provided within this essay also touch on issues that are important to the author, which provides a glimpse into the type of student the author would be on campus. Additionally, this response shows what potential extracurricular activities for college the author might be interested in pursuing while at Williams.

How to Write a Cultural Diversity Essay

You want your diversity essay to stand out from any other diversity essay sample. But how do you write a successful cultural diversity essay?

First, consider what pieces of your identity you want to highlight in your essay. Of course, race and ethnicity are important facets of diversity. However, there are plenty of other factors to consider.

As you brainstorm, think outside the box to figure out what aspects of your identity help make up who you are. Because identity and diversity fall on a spectrum, there is no right or wrong answer here.

Fit your ideas to the specific school

Once you’ve decided on what you want to represent in your cultural diversity essay, think about how that fits into the college of your choice. Use your cultural diversity essay to make connections to the school. If your college has specific values or programs that align with your identity, then include them in your cultural diversity essay!

Above all, you should write about something that is important to you. Your cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or community essay will succeed if you are passionate about your topic and willing to get personal.

Additional Tips for Community & Cultural Diversity Essays

1. start early.

In order to create the strongest diversity essay possible, you’ll want to start early. Filling out college applications is already a time-consuming process. So, you can cut back on additional stress and anxiety by writing your cultural diversity essay as early as possible.

2. Brainstorm

Writing a cultural diversity essay or community essay is a personal process. To set yourself up for success, take time to brainstorm and reflect on your topic. Overall, you want your cultural diversity essay to be a good indication of who you are and what makes you a unique applicant.

3. Proofread

We can’t stress this final tip enough. Be sure to proofread your cultural diversity essay before you hit the submit button. Additionally, you can read your essay aloud to hear how it flows. You can also can ask someone you trust, like your college advisor or a teacher, to help proofread your essay as well.

Other CollegeAdvisor Essay Resources to Explore

Looking for additional resources on supplemental essays for the colleges we mentioned above? Do you need help with incorporating extracurricular activities for college into your essays or crafting a strong diversity essay sample? We’ve got you covered.

Our how to get into Georgetown guide covers additional tips on how to approach the supplemental diversity essay. If you’re wondering how to write about community in your essay, check out our campus community article for an insider’s perspective on Williams College.

Want to learn strategies for writing compelling cultural diversity essays? Check out this Q&A webinar, featuring a former Georgetown admissions officer. And, if you’re still unsure of what to highlight in your community essay, try getting inspiration from a virtual college tour .

Cultural Diversity Essay & Community Essay Examples – Final Thoughts

Your supplemental essays are an important piece of the college application puzzle. With colleges becoming more competitive than ever, you’ll want to do everything you can to create a strong candidate profile. This includes writing well-crafted responses for a cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or community essay.

We hope our cultural diversity essay guide helped you learn more about this common type of supplemental essay. As you are writing your own cultural diversity essay or community essay, use the essay examples from Georgetown, Rice, and Williams above as your guide.

Getting into top schools takes a lot more than a strong resume. Writing specific, thoughtful, and personal responses for a cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or community essay will put you one step closer to maximizing your chances of admission. Good luck!

CollegeAdvisor.com is here to help you with every aspect of the college admissions process. From taking a gap year to completing enrollment , we’re here to help. Register today to receive one-on-one support from an admissions expert as you begin your college application journey.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a diversity essay.

In addition to your main college essay , some schools and scholarships may ask for a supplementary essay focused on an aspect of your identity or background. This is sometimes called a diversity essay .

Frequently asked questions: College admissions essays

When writing your Common App essay , choose a prompt that sparks your interest and that you can connect to a unique personal story.

No matter which prompt you choose, admissions officers are more interested in your ability to demonstrate personal development , insight, or motivation for a certain area of study.

The Common App essay is your primary writing sample within the Common Application, a college application portal accepted by more than 900 schools. All your prospective schools that accept the Common App will read this essay to understand your character, background, and value as a potential student.

Since this essay is read by many colleges, avoid mentioning any college names or programs; instead, save tailored answers for the supplementary school-specific essays within the Common App.

Most importantly, your essay should be about you , not another person or thing. An insightful college admissions essay requires deep self-reflection, authenticity, and a balance between confidence and vulnerability.

Your essay shouldn’t be a résumé of your experiences but instead should tell a story that demonstrates your most important values and qualities.

When revising your college essay , first check for big-picture issues regarding your message and content. Then, check for flow, tone, style , and clarity. Finally, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors .

If your college essay goes over the word count limit , cut any sentences with tangents or irrelevant details. Delete unnecessary words that clutter your essay.

If you’re struggling to reach the word count for your college essay, add vivid personal stories or share your feelings and insight to give your essay more depth and authenticity.

If you’ve got to write your college essay fast , don’t panic. First, set yourself deadlines: you should spend about 10% of your remaining time on brainstorming, 10% on outlining, 40% writing, 30% revising, and 10% taking breaks in between stages.

Second, brainstorm stories and values based on your essay prompt.

Third, outline your essay based on the montage or narrative essay structure .

Fourth, write specific, personal, and unique stories that would be hard for other students to replicate.

Fifth, revise your essay and make sure it’s clearly written.

Last, if possible, get feedback from an essay coach . Scribbr essay editors can help you revise your essay in 12 hours or less.

Avoid swearing in a college essay , since admissions officers’ opinions of profanity will vary. In some cases, it might be okay to use a vulgar word, such as in dialogue or quotes that make an important point in your essay. However, it’s safest to try to make the same point without swearing.

If you have bad grades on your transcript, you may want to use your college admissions essay to explain the challenging circumstances that led to them. Make sure to avoid dwelling on the negative aspects and highlight how you overcame the situation or learned an important lesson.

However, some college applications offer an additional information section where you can explain your bad grades, allowing you to choose another meaningful topic for your college essay.

Here’s a brief list of college essay topics that may be considered cliché:

Extracurriculars, especially sports
Role models
Dealing with a personal tragedy or death in the family
Struggling with new life situations (immigrant stories, moving homes, parents’ divorce)
Becoming a better person after community service, traveling, or summer camp
Overcoming a difficult class
Using a common object as an extended metaphor

It’s easier to write a standout essay with a unique topic. However, it’s possible to make a common topic compelling with interesting story arcs, uncommon connections, and an advanced writing style.

Yes. The college application essay is less formal than other academic writing —though of course it’s not mandatory to use contractions in your essay.

In a college essay , you can be creative with your language . When writing about the past, you can use the present tense to make the reader feel as if they were there in the moment with you. But make sure to maintain consistency and when in doubt, default to the correct verb tense according to the time you’re writing about.

The college admissions essay gives admissions officers a different perspective on you beyond your academic achievements, test scores, and extracurriculars. It’s your chance to stand out from other applicants with similar academic profiles by telling a unique, personal, and specific story.

Use a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial to avoid distracting the reader from your college essay’s content.

A college application essay is less formal than most academic writing . Instead of citing sources formally with in-text citations and a reference list, you can cite them informally in your text.

For example, “In her research paper on genetics, Quinn Roberts explores …”

There is no set number of paragraphs in a college admissions essay . College admissions essays can diverge from the traditional five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in English class. Just make sure to stay under the specified word count .

Most topics are acceptable for college essays if you can use them to demonstrate personal growth or a lesson learned. However, there are a few difficult topics for college essays that should be avoided. Avoid topics that are:

Overly personal (e.g. graphic details of illness or injury, romantic or sexual relationships)
Not personal enough (e.g. broad solutions to world problems, inspiring people or things)
Too negative (e.g. an in-depth look at your flaws, put-downs of others, criticizing the need for a college essay)
Too boring (e.g. a resume of your academic achievements and extracurriculars)
Inappropriate for a college essay (e.g. illegal activities, offensive humor, false accounts of yourself, bragging about privilege)

To write an effective diversity essay , include vulnerable, authentic stories about your unique identity, background, or perspective. Provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your outlook, activities, and goals. If relevant, you should also mention how your background has led you to apply for this university and why you’re a good fit.

Many universities believe a student body composed of different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community, which is why they assign a diversity essay .

You can use humor in a college essay , but carefully consider its purpose and use it wisely. An effective use of humor involves unexpected, keen observations of the everyday, or speaks to a deeper theme. Humor shouldn’t be the main focus of the essay, but rather a tool to improve your storytelling.

Get a second opinion from a teacher, counselor, or essay coach on whether your essay’s humor is appropriate.

Though admissions officers are interested in hearing your story, they’re also interested in how you tell it. An exceptionally written essay will differentiate you from other applicants, meaning that admissions officers will spend more time reading it.

You can use literary devices to catch your reader’s attention and enrich your storytelling; however, focus on using just a few devices well, rather than trying to use as many as possible.

To decide on a good college essay topic , spend time thoughtfully answering brainstorming questions. If you still have trouble identifying topics, try the following two strategies:

Identify your qualities → Brainstorm stories that demonstrate these qualities
Identify memorable stories → Connect your qualities to these stories

You can also ask family, friends, or mentors to help you brainstorm topics, give feedback on your potential essay topics, or recall key stories that showcase your qualities.

Yes—admissions officers don’t expect everyone to have a totally unique college essay topic . But you must differentiate your essay from others by having a surprising story arc, an interesting insight, and/or an advanced writing style .

There are no foolproof college essay topics —whatever your topic, the key is to write about it effectively. However, a good topic

Is meaningful, specific, and personal to you
Focuses on you and your experiences
Reveals something beyond your test scores, grades, and extracurriculars
Is creative and original

Unlike a five-paragraph essay, your admissions essay should not end by summarizing the points you’ve already made. It’s better to be creative and aim for a strong final impression.

You should also avoid stating the obvious (for example, saying that you hope to be accepted).

There are a few strategies you can use for a memorable ending to your college essay :

Return to the beginning with a “full circle” structure
Reveal the main point or insight in your story
Look to the future
End on an action

The best technique will depend on your topic choice, essay outline, and writing style. You can write several endings using different techniques to see which works best.

College deadlines vary depending on the schools you’re applying to and your application plan:

For early action applications and the first round of early decision applications, the deadline is on November 1 or 15. Decisions are released by mid-December.
For the second round of early decision applications, the deadline is January 1 or 15. Decisions are released in January or February.
Regular decision deadlines usually fall between late November and mid-March, and decisions are released in March or April.
Rolling admission deadlines run from July to April, and decisions are released around four to eight weeks after submission.

Depending on your prospective schools’ requirements, you may need to submit scores for the SAT or ACT as part of your college application .

Some schools now no longer require students to submit test scores; however, you should still take the SAT or ACT and aim to get a high score to strengthen your application package.

Aim to take the SAT or ACT in the spring of your junior year to give yourself enough time to retake it in the fall of your senior year if necessary.

Apply early for federal student aid and application fee waivers. You can also look for scholarships from schools, corporations, and charitable foundations.

To maximize your options, you should aim to apply to about eight schools:

Two reach schools that might be difficult to get into
Four match schools that you have a good chance of getting into
Two safety schools that you feel confident you’ll get into

The college admissions essay accounts for roughly 25% of the weight of your application .

At highly selective schools, there are four qualified candidates for every spot. While your academic achievements are important, your college admissions essay can help you stand out from other applicants with similar profiles.

In general, for your college application you will need to submit all of the following:

Your personal information
List of extracurriculars and awards
College application essays
Transcripts
Standardized test scores
Recommendation letters.

Different colleges may have specific requirements, so make sure you check exactly what’s expected in the application guidance.

You should start thinking about your college applications the summer before your junior year to give you sufficient time for college visits, taking standardized tests, applying for financial aid , writing essays, and collecting application material.

Yes, but make sure your essay directly addresses the prompt, respects the word count , and demonstrates the organization’s values.

If you plan ahead, you can save time by writing one scholarship essay for multiple prompts with similar questions. In a scholarship tracker spreadsheet, you can group or color-code overlapping essay prompts; then, write a single essay for multiple scholarships. Sometimes, you can even reuse or adapt your main college essay .

You can start applying for scholarships as early as your junior year. Continue applying throughout your senior year.

Invest time in applying for various scholarships , especially local ones with small dollar amounts, which are likely easier to win and more reflective of your background and interests. It will be easier for you to write an authentic and compelling essay if the scholarship topic is meaningful to you.

You can find scholarships through your school counselor, community network, or an internet search.

A scholarship essay requires you to demonstrate your values and qualities while answering the prompt’s specific question.

After researching the scholarship organization, identify a personal experience that embodies its values and exemplifies how you will be a successful student.

A standout college essay has several key ingredients:

A unique, personally meaningful topic
A memorable introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook
Specific stories and language that show instead of telling
Vulnerability that’s authentic but not aimed at soliciting sympathy
Clear writing in an appropriate style and tone
A conclusion that offers deep insight or a creative ending

While timelines will differ depending on the student, plan on spending at least 1–3 weeks brainstorming and writing the first draft of your college admissions essay , and at least 2–4 weeks revising across multiple drafts. Don’t forget to save enough time for breaks between each writing and editing stage.

You should already begin thinking about your essay the summer before your senior year so that you have plenty of time to try out different topics and get feedback on what works.

Your college essay accounts for about 25% of your application’s weight. It may be the deciding factor in whether you’re accepted, especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurricular track records.

In most cases, quoting other people isn’t a good way to start your college essay . Admissions officers want to hear your thoughts about yourself, and quotes often don’t achieve that. Unless a quote truly adds something important to your essay that it otherwise wouldn’t have, you probably shouldn’t include it.

Cliché openers in a college essay introduction are usually general and applicable to many students and situations. Most successful introductions are specific: they only work for the unique essay that follows.

The key to a strong college essay introduction is not to give too much away. Try to start with a surprising statement or image that raises questions and compels the reader to find out more.

The introduction of your college essay is the first thing admissions officers will read and therefore your most important opportunity to stand out. An excellent introduction will keep admissions officers reading, allowing you to tell them what you want them to know.

You can speed up this process by shortening and smoothing your writing with a paraphrasing tool . After that, you can use the summarizer to shorten it even more.

If you’re struggling to reach the word count for your college essay, add vivid personal stories or share your feelings and insight to give your essay more depth and authenticity.

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit to write a developed and thoughtful essay.

You should aim to stay under the specified word count limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely. However, don’t write too little, as it may seem like you are unwilling or unable to write a detailed and insightful narrative about yourself.

If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words.

In your application essay , admissions officers are looking for particular features : they want to see context on your background, positive traits that you could bring to campus, and examples of you demonstrating those qualities.

Colleges want to be able to differentiate students who seem similar on paper. In the college application essay , they’re looking for a way to understand each applicant’s unique personality and experiences.

You don’t need a title for your college admissions essay , but you can include one if you think it adds something important.

Your college essay’s format should be as simple as possible:

Use a standard, readable font
Use 1.5 or double spacing
If attaching a file, save it as a PDF
Stick to the word count
Avoid unusual formatting and unnecessary decorative touches

There are no set rules for how to structure a college application essay , but these are two common structures that work:

A montage structure, a series of vignettes with a common theme.
A narrative structure, a single story that shows your personal growth or how you overcame a challenge.

Avoid the five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in high school.

Campus visits are always helpful, but if you can’t make it in person, the college website will have plenty of information for you to explore. You should look through the course catalog and even reach out to current faculty with any questions about the school.

Colleges set a “Why this college?” essay because they want to see that you’ve done your research. You must prove that you know what makes the school unique and can connect that to your own personal goals and academic interests.

Depending on your writing, you may go through several rounds of revision . Make sure to put aside your essay for a little while after each editing stage to return with a fresh perspective.

Teachers and guidance counselors can help you check your language, tone, and content . Ask for their help at least one to two months before the submission deadline, as many other students will also want their help.

Friends and family are a good resource to check for authenticity. It’s best to seek help from family members with a strong writing or English educational background, or from older siblings and cousins who have been through the college admissions process.

If possible, get help from an essay coach or editor ; they’ll have specialized knowledge of college admissions essays and be able to give objective expert feedback.

When revising your college essay , first check for big-picture issues regarding message, flow, tone, style , and clarity. Then, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors.

Include specific, personal details and use your authentic voice to shed a new perspective on a common human experience.

Through specific stories, you can weave your achievements and qualities into your essay so that it doesn’t seem like you’re bragging from a resume.

When writing about yourself , including difficult experiences or failures can be a great way to show vulnerability and authenticity, but be careful not to overshare, and focus on showing how you matured from the experience.

First, spend time reflecting on your core values and character . You can start with these questions:

What are three words your friends or family would use to describe you, and why would they choose them?
Whom do you admire most and why?
What are you most proud of? Ashamed of?

However, you should do a comprehensive brainstorming session to fully understand your values. Also consider how your values and goals match your prospective university’s program and culture. Then, brainstorm stories that illustrate the fit between the two.

In a college application essay , you can occasionally bend grammatical rules if doing so adds value to the storytelling process and the essay maintains clarity.

However, use standard language rules if your stylistic choices would otherwise distract the reader from your overall narrative or could be easily interpreted as unintentional errors.

Write concisely and use the active voice to maintain a quick pace throughout your essay and make sure it’s the right length . Avoid adding definitions unless they provide necessary explanation.

Use first-person “I” statements to speak from your perspective . Use appropriate word choices that show off your vocabulary but don’t sound like you used a thesaurus. Avoid using idioms or cliché expressions by rewriting them in a creative, original way.

If you’re an international student applying to a US college and you’re comfortable using American idioms or cultural references , you can. But instead of potentially using them incorrectly, don’t be afraid to write in detail about yourself within your own culture.

Provide context for any words, customs, or places that an American admissions officer might be unfamiliar with.

College application essays are less formal than other kinds of academic writing . Use a conversational yet respectful tone , as if speaking with a teacher or mentor. Be vulnerable about your feelings, thoughts, and experiences to connect with the reader.

Aim to write in your authentic voice , with a style that sounds natural and genuine. You can be creative with your word choice, but don’t use elaborate vocabulary to impress admissions officers.

Admissions officers use college admissions essays to evaluate your character, writing skills , and ability to self-reflect . The essay is your chance to show what you will add to the academic community.

The college essay may be the deciding factor in your application , especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurriculars.

Some colleges also require supplemental essays about specific topics, such as why you chose that specific college . Scholarship essays are often required to obtain financial aid .

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4 Business school, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

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The data has been sent to the SZABIST center of research in Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, 79 Clifton Road, Karachi 75600, Pakistan. To obtain the archive, should use the main author's name followed by the year 2021, "Ali Turi / Khastoori - 2021. Data set, the contact information for the SZABIST center of research is: Tel: (021) 358-21538-42 (EXT # 407) Fax: (021) 35830446 Email: kp.ude.tsibazs@ofni .

The current research examines the impact of four independent diversity variables, gender, age, educational background, and ethnicity, on the moderating role of diversity beliefs and the mediating role of leadership expertise to measure organisational performance in Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire using a 6-point Likert scale approach was adopted to collect the responses from 176 employees. Quantitative analysis was done using SPSS, and SMART-PLS3 were used for was used to comprehend the objectives of the research. The findings indicate that age diversity, diversity beliefs, and leadership expertise have a statistically significant impact on organisational performance. Moreover, moderating variable diversity belief did not affect organisational performance, but leadership expertise plays a significant mediating role in organisational performance. Our study provides critical theoretical contributions to research diversity and organisational performance in Pakistan and examines the impact of workforce diversity on organisational performance with leadership expertise as mediator and diversity beliefs as a moderator.

1. Introduction

Diversity has many meanings, applications, and implications. Some organisations see it as an asset from which innovation and competitive advantages can springboard, while others see it as a hindrance, constrain, and biases. Traditionally, diversity included religion, language, age, gender, ethnicity, education, cultural and personality orientation [ 1 ]. Today, the concept of diversity has evolved to encompass strategic targets to improve organisational performance and effectiveness [ 2 ]. Therefore, organisations promote workforce diversity to bolster organisational performance [ 3 ]. However, many studies suggest that diversity exists in different forms with different intensities. If not managed properly, it has the potential to harm morale, intensify turnover and result in substantial communication problems.

The lack of diversity training and understanding of diversity beliefs, especially in developing countries with rigid social and cultural bonds, leads to organisational bias. To overcome these organisational biases, E-Vahdati et al. [ 4 ] recommended that firms should emphasise corporate governance, accountability, ethics, trust, and diversity. Moreover, organisations also need diversity for rational decision-making and promoting a conducive environment, where everyone’s beliefs are respected, leading to employees self-reflecting on the positive benefits [ 5 , 6 ]. However, if workforce diversity is mismanaged, this could lead to emotional conflicts, perceived organisational politics, miscommunication, power struggle, and higher employee turnover. As a result, having a diverse workforce would become an inhibitor for organisational development [ 7 , 8 ].

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, believed that diversity management involves four key concepts. One is democratisation which would guarantee cooperation amongst its citizens. Two, consistent social equity and equivalence through egalitarian Islamic values. Three, stringent laws with no room for bias or discrimination. Four, protectionism for minorities, women, and other disadvantaged groups [ 9 ]. Despite this, Pakistan is among the lowest-ranked diverse countries in the world. It ranked in the 22nd percentile for gender diversity and female economic activity in emerging economies due to its religious and cultural norms. Additionally, Pakistan’s sectoral diversity falls in the bottom five [ 10 ].

Previous studies on diversity focused on culture and ethnicity, but elements such as age, gender, and education have not been fully explored. Therefore, there is a need to examine different elements of diversity in different settings to understand its applications and managerial implications for sustainable organisational performance [ 11 – 13 ]. However, the subjective nature of diversity has left many practitioners ill-equipped to manage diversity effectively or determine which components play a role in diversity management and diversity-related issues [ 14 ].

The contradictory research results on diversity need to be further examined to increase our comprehension and better explain this phenomenon. Previous research has considered various diversity dimensions to identify their impact on organisational performance. For example, García-Granero et al. [ 15 ] and Georgakakis [ 16 ] explored the relationship between top management team functional diversity and the firm’s performance with the moderating role of top management (CEO) attributes. Other studies have used negative descriptors such as discrimination and racial prejudice to explore diversity.

However, no studies have examined the projectized environments or considered the role of leadership expertise and diversity beliefs. This research’s main queries are to determine how leadership expertise adds to organisational performance, value diversity beliefs, and organisational performance? Therefore, our contribution to the diversity literature will help us better understand and assess the impact of diversity on organizational performance by examining leadership expertise as a mediating variable and determining the extent to which diversity and organizational performance are related, using diversity beliefs as a moderating variable within Pakistan.

2. Literature review and hypotheses

Diversity is considering, recognising, and respecting others’ opinions and differences irrespective of their culture, gender, age, social status, race, physical capability, and so on [ 7 , 17 ]. It is used to find opportunities, face challenges, and explore new avenues [ 18 ]. Furthermore, diversity can be used to enhance knowledge and skill levels, help to understand behaviour, conflicts and fill the gaps within the organisation [ 7 , 19 ]. While there are many facets to diversity, this research aims to look more especially at gender, age, ethnicity, and educational diversity.

2.1 Gender diversity

Gender diversity represents the gender identities of men and women. It describes the emotional difference and experience publicly and culturally attached to men and women within any firm [ 20 ]. Research has found that a moderate level of gender diversity boosts the competitive edge, whereas greater levels of gender diversity reduce organizational performance. Other studies have shown that organisational success depends upon gender equality and equity [ 21 , 22 ];. Although western organisations have been moving closer to gender equality, Pakistan is way behind [ 21 ]. The gender-oriented inequities within the Pakistani workplace are reinforced by personal biases and stereotypes, referring that the status of men is perceived as superior to women. Many organisations prefer hiring male employees because they perceive men as better performers [ 23 ].

2.2 Age diversity

Age diversity is the ability of an organisation to accept different age groups. The business environment can only grow and succeed when various age groups within an organisation come with diverse experiences [ 24 – 26 ]. Recently, age diversity issues have gained significance because professionals are choosing to work past retirement age, and young adults are working part-timers while completing their studies [ 27 – 29 ]. Many organisations are welcoming this trend because they need skilled employees with experience and young talent with an innovative mindset for new ventures better organisational performance [ 30 , 31 ]. However, In Pakistan, young people face more discrimination in the labour market than old workers [ 32 ], as cultural norms are founded on respect for their elders.

2.3 Ethnic diversity

Ethnic diversity refers to differences in religion, language, and cultural background. Employees from different backgrounds working in the same organisation represent different lifestyles, cultures, beliefs, and skills that can improve strategic decisions [ 14 ]. Due to these perceived attributes and globalisation, organisations are focusing on multiplicity diversity building, but many companies struggle to produce and implement policies that reduce ethnic discrimination, which negatively impacts organisational performance [ 32 – 35 ]. Pakistani laws espouse that all citizens are equal irrespective of their religion, language, gender, or caste, but for minorities in Pakistan, this is a farfetched dream. According to EEOC data, ethnic diversity violations cost companies $112.7 million per annum due to ethnic diversity violations [ 3 ].

2.4 Educational diversity

Educational diversity denotes differences in knowledge, training, skills, experience, and qualification [ 18 , 36 ]. Some organisations refuse to employ highly qualified workers because they do not believe highly educated individuals are better performers, while others see employees with less education, skills, and training underperform [ 22 ]. The lowest level of education affects the earnings of rural workers in Pakistan, but old earners who receive more education earn more in urban areas. Organisations use educational diversity to have a mix of soft and hard-tech skills [ 37 ], and employees consider having educational diversity to significantly increase their ability in obtaining desirable jobs [ 38 , 39 ]. Age, gender, ethnicity, and educational diversity add to the synergetic pragmatism of the projects and organisation [ 30 , 40 ]. These findings lead us to the stance that H1 : Diversity has a significant positive impact on project performance .

2.5 Leadership expertise

Leadership expertise plays a crucial role in organisational performance, as it creates new directions, new philosophies, optimism, boost enthusiasm and cooperation among employees, and devises appropriate visions and strategies. Furthermore, leadership expertise considers diversity an organisational strength and promotes inclusion and diversity using various leadership styles as one leadership style may not work in diverse teams. The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory explains this approach best. It is a relationship-based approach with a dyadic relationship between the leader and their employees [ 41 ].

According to LMX [ 41 ], a leader uses a specific leadership style for each team member based on their mindset. The leaders share more knowledge and information, delegate responsibilities, and encourage participation in decision-making with some members and not others. LXM theory allows leaders to develop in-groups and spend more resources on the members they expect to perform better. This relationship between a leader and members gradually develops and reaches a high degree of dependence, mutual trust, and support. As a result, productivity increases. That eventually enhances employee retention, loyalty, and sustainable organisational growth.

Previous results maintain that effective diversity management at the workplace adds to both organisational and organisational performance [ 7 , 40 ]. Diversity, which has become an integral part of every organisation and project in this unified world, needs better leadership expertise to manage it at the micro and macro levels [ 34 , 42 ]. Research supports that a leader’s expertise, i.e., leading employees with respect regardless of their caste and creed, leading them with self-assurance, positively shaping their behaviour, results in enhanced employee performance, which eventually reflects increased organisational performance [ 43 ]. The findings lead us to H2 : Diversity with leadership expertise has a positive impact on organisational performance .

2.6 Role of diversity beliefs as a moderating variable

Diversity beliefs mean understanding that everyone is unique, and there is a need to recognise individual differences. These differences include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies [ 11 ]. Today, globalisation is one of the driving forces of diversity within organisations. However, accommodating diversity beliefs in terms of spiritual, cultural, and political views sometimes challenges a diverse organisation [ 12 , 25 ]. Staff needs to be reminded that they should not impose their opinions on others as their personal and ethnic beliefs are independent of their work obligations [ 27 , 44 ]. The employment practices linked with unbiased diversity beliefs can lead to constructive organisational results [ 11 , 26 ].

These diversity beliefs can be polarised perceptions or preferences towards homogeneity or heterogeneity [ 7 , 17 ]. A leader’s diversity beliefs may be one of the factors influencing organisational performance. Manoharan and Singal [ 42 ] found diversity positively affects organisational performance when supported by positive beliefs and values. Kundu and Mor [ 45 ] concluded that a generally positive view of workforce diversity could positively impact organisational and new venture (project) performance. Additionally, the perception of employees about workforce diversity is positively linked with organisational performance [ 46 ], and employees perceive their organisation more favourably when diversity management is perceived as positive [ 18 ]. However, due to organisational variations and cultural settings, diversity needs to be managed differently [ 14 , 47 ]. As such, we hypothesise that H3 : Diversity beliefs moderates the relationship between leadership expertise and organisational performance .

Furthermore, organisations bring people from different cultures to boost creativity, knowledge, and rational problem-solving approaches. Consequently, the leaders in this 21 st century have become highly alarmed with diversity management in organisations [ 48 ]. It is believed that diversity at the workplace positively impacts organisational performance, and the leadership expertise mediates this relationship. According to prior research [ 8 , 49 ], organisational leaders play a vital role in forming and promoting the workplace culture, free of prejudice and personal biases. The workforce mainly follows leaders to set the perspective wherein they would work in an organisational setting. Thus, forming such an environment that imitates respect, ethical behaviour, understanding, and encouraging cross-cultural values improves organisational performance. However, this relationship is moderated by the diversity beliefs. Everyone in the organisation does not hold the same values and beliefs. Still, a true leader who can determine the varied beliefs of employees and manage diversity in a way that is convincing for each team member can help organisations reach new heights [ 50 ]. The research findings lead to the hypothesis that H4 : Diversity significantly impacts organisational performance with the mediation of leadership expertise and moderation of diversity beliefs .

The Conceptual Model ( Fig 1 ) was developed based on the relationship between four dimensions of diversity most relevant to the Pakistani context, the leadership expertise, diversity beliefs, and organisational performance. This conceptual framework indicates the impact of workforce diversity on organisational performance in the presence of leadership expertise as mediating variable and diversity beliefs as moderating variable in the services sector and projectized organisations in Pakistan’s major cities.

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3. Methodology

A quantitative approach using a correlational study was undertaken to determine the extent of a relationship constructs under investigation. A structured questionnaire was adopted from previous studies [ 51 , 52 ] to collect primary data using a survey, keeping in mind the objectives of the studies. The study used a 6-point Likert scale for grading the responses with the scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = partially disagree, 4 = partially agree, 5 = agree, 6 = strongly agree). The target population of the study was the project management professionals, working in the major cities of Pakistan. These cities were selected because many of the national and international developmental projects take place here. Organizations were selected from the services sector. The questionnaires were self-administered.

Additionally, a muti-level sampling procedure was adopted to make the respondent selection process more accurate and precise. In the first phase, stratified random sampling was applied to select the strata of the potential respondents. In the second phase, the quota sampling technique was applied to select the qualifying organizations, and in the third phase, convenient sampling was used to collect data. A total of 550 questionnaires were distributed, and 482 were returned. Questionnaires were assessed and screened for completeness. A total of 17 questionnaires were discarded as more than 10% of the values were missing. A further 12 were removed because of outliers. The remaining 451 were analysed using SPSS and Smart PLS.

4. Results and findings

4.1 participant demographics.

Table 1 contains the demographic details of the respondents. Among 176 respondents, 97 were male, and 79 were female. Most of the respondents were aged 30–35, had more than 5years’ experience working for their organisation, and held a bachelor’s degree or higher. This indicates that the participants were well educated and possessed sufficient skills and knowledge to answer all the survey questions proficiently.


30–35	214	47.45	1–5 years	182	40.35
36–40	140	31.04	5–10 years	160	35.47
41-above	97	21.50	>10 years	109	24.16

Bachelor	244	54.10	Male	240	53.21
Master	168	37.25	Female	211	46.78
PhD	39	8.64

4.2 Instrument validity

Table 2 indicates the loading factors for all the items are in the acceptable range of greater than 0.70. The average variance extracted (AVE) falls between 0.612–0.678 for the constructs, indicating a high-reliability level. Moreover, the composite reliability (CR) values range from 0.862 to 0.947 and are highly consistent and satisfy the convergent validity criteria. Furthermore, predictive accuracy, effect size, and predictive relevance were conducted for the goodness of fit, and their values fell in an acceptable range.

Constructs	Item No	Factor Loading**	AVE	CR	Goodness of Fit Indices
Constructs	Item No	Factor Loading**	AVE	CR	X /df	Q	R	F
OL	3	.738 - .911	.678	.911	1.171	0.244	0.452	0.294
AD	4	.754 - .926	.671	.932	2.692	0.171	0.437	0.202
ED	5	.833 - .855	.753	.927	1.273	0.204	0.445	0.083
GD	4	.837- .840	.764	.947	1.114	0.365	0.476	0.381
EDD	7	.826 - .839	.784	.937	2.925	0.272	0.229	0.021
LE	4	.744 - .840	.612	.862	1.817	0.293	0.427	0.201
DB	3	.714 - .869	.674	.884	2.903	0.213	0.341	0.217

*OL = Organisational Leadership; AD = Age Diversity; ED = Ethnic Diversity; GD = Gender Diversity; EDD = Educational Diversity LE = Leadership Expertise; DB = Diversity Beliefs.

4.3 Discriminant validity: Fornell-Larcker Criterion

Discriminant validity of the constructs was checked using Fornell-Larcker Criterion. Discriminant validity confirms correlation among constructs if the values do not exceed 0.85 and the square root of AVEs is greater than the correlation of other constructs. Table 3 maintains that all values are less than 0.85, and their square root of AVEs was greater than their constructs’ off-diagonal values. These details satisfy the discriminant validity requirements.

Constructs	AD	DB	ED	EDD	GD	LE	OP
AD	0.759
DB	0.593	0.844
ED	0.650	0.543	0.777
EDD	0.596	0.591	0.571	0.758
GD	0.638	0.412	0.448	0.575	0.820
LE	0.730	0.690	0.653	0.623	0.564	0.837
OP	0.726	0.706	0.608	0.602	0.546	0.833	0.847

*AD = Age Diversity; DB = Diversity Beliefs; ED = Ethnic Diversity; EDD = Educational Diversity GD = Gender Diversity; LE = Leadership Expertise; OP = Organisational Performance.

4.4 Discriminant validity: HTMT Criterion

HTMT refers to the average of the correlations of indicators between different constructs relative to the average of the correlations of indicators within the same construct. It measures the discriminant validity between the construct of the instrument. While conservative cut-off values are 0.9 is advocated a more stringent ratio of 0.85 as it offers the best criterion compared to all other methods of assessing discriminant validity [ 53 ]. Thus, any inter-construct ratio greater than 0.85 would be considered as having poor discriminant validity. The HTMT ratios obtained in this study, as shown in Table 3 , indicate no discriminant validity problems between the constructs.

4.5 Hypothesis testing

The path estimation or hypothetical relations was performed to observe the significant relationship in the inner path model. The entire hypothetical path in the framework was examined through the regression coefficient (β). Using the PLS Bootstrap technique, the value of β was checked to observe the proposed hypotheses in the structural model. Table 4 demonstrates the path coefficient assessment result where out of 10 direct hypotheses, six were supported, and four were not supported. The supported hypotheses were significant at least at the level of 0.05, have expected positive sign directions, and consist of a path coefficient value (β) ranging from 0.181 to 0.515.

Constructs	AD	DB	ED	EDD	GD	LE
AD
DB	0.762
ED	0.792	0.634
EDD	0.759	0.723	0.671
GD	0.806	0.504	0.512	0.701
LE	0.834	0.834	0.739	0.734	0.657
OP	0.811	0.809	0.710	0.734	0.658	0.789

Additionally, Table 5 shows that all six direct relationships were significant as the p-value is less than 0.05 and the t-value is higher than 1.96, depicted in Fig 2 . However, the other four hypotheses were unsupported because the p-value was higher than 0.05, and the t-values were less than 1.96.

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Hypotheses	OS	SM	SD	T	P Values	Decision
AD -> LE	0.401	0.396	0.082	4.865	0.000	Significant
AD -> OP	0.181	0.187	0.091	1.992	0.007	Significant
DB -> OP	0.212	0.217	0.079	2.674	0.008	Significant
ED -> LE	0.242	0.247	0.077	3.165	0.002	Significant
ED -> OP	0.013	0.013	0.087	0.151	0.880	Not Significant
EDD -> LE	0.195	0.191	0.078	2.521	0.001	Significant
EDD -> OP	0.021	0.017	0.062	0.331	0.741	Not Significant
GD -> LE	0.087	0.096	0.089	0.976	0.330	Not Significant
GD -> OP	0.037	0.039	0.066	0.568	0.570	Not Significant
LE -> OP	0.515	0.508	0.087	5.952	0.000	Significant
LE -> OP	-0.005	-0.005	0.027	0.186	0.853	Not Significant

In the case of moderating hypothesis, DB does not moderate the relationship between LE and OP. Therefore, it confirms that DB does not play any significant moderating role in the relationship between LE and OP.

4.6 Mediation hypothesis

For the mediating analysis, the bootstrapping technique was applied [ 54 ]. The mediation analysis results are presented in Table 6 and in Fig 3 , where among the four mediating hypotheses, three were supported, and one was not supported. The mediating path AD -> LE -> OP, ED -> LE -> OP, and EDD -> LE -> OP was significant as p < .005 and the values of LL and UL do not have zero (0) in between, which confirmed a mediating effect. However, the other mediating path GD -> LE -> OP was not significant as p < .005, and the zero (0) exists between LL and UL. In addition, among the three hypotheses, the AD -> LE -> OP path was partially mediated as the direct hypothesis was significant. However, the other two significant paths were fully mediated as their direct relationships were not significant.

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Hypothesis	OS (Beta)	95% Confidence Interval		T	P	Decision	Mediation
Hypothesis	OS (Beta)	LL	UL	T	P	Decision	Mediation
AD -> LE -> OP	0.206	0.122	0.345	3.743	0.000	Significant	Partial Mediation
ED -> LE -> OP	0.125	0.055	0.222	2.964	0.003	Significant	Full Mediation
EDD -> LE -> OP	0.101	0.025	0.210	2.226	0.001	Significant	Full Mediation
GD -> LE -> OP	0.045	-0.034	0.150	0.973	0.331	Not Significant	No Mediation

5. Discussion

After many years of research on workplace diversity, there is considerable misperception over what diversity is. The broad definitions state that diversity seeks inclusion but does not identify the difference between social diversity where individuals of different races, ethnicity, religious beliefs, socio-economic status, language, geographical origin, gender, and/or sexual orientation bring their different knowledge, background, experience, and interest to increase organisational performance. Similarly, functional diversity where individuals with a variety of educational and training backgrounds are not examined. As a result, organisations are left confused about how to manage diversity to maximise organisational performance [ 55 – 58 ].

The present research provides a better understanding of the prevailing diversity scenario in Pakistan’s service sector and projectized organisations. The research indicates that three diversity variables, ethnic, gender, and education, do not significantly impact organisational performance. In contrast, age diversity has a significant impact on organisational performance.

The moderating hypothesis indicates that diversity beliefs play no significant role in improving organisational performance. This study challenges previous findings in the literature review sections, which proclaims that diversity and diversity beliefs significantly affect organisational performance. Therefore, organisations prefer to engage the workforce with diverse social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, bringing multi-facet experiences, learning, tacit and explicit knowledge to the organisation, boom effectiveness, and efficiencies, face challenges, and accept future challenges. This may be due to regional and cultural factors, that diversity beliefs are not promoting organisational performance, which may be explored in the future. Moreover, this study indicates that leadership expertise plays a significant mediating role, and diversity beliefs play a significant moderating role in organisational performance.

5.1 Theoretical implications

Our study provides critical theoretical contributions to research diversity and organisational performance. There is a gap in the current literature on the impact of workforce diversity on organisational performance, with leadership expertise as mediating variable and diversity beliefs as moderating variable in the services sector and projectized organisations in Pakistan. Specifically, we determined that leadership expertise mediates age, ethnicity, and educational diversity, and organisational.

Second, we contribute to research on the effective path by which diversity influences organisational performance by exploring the mediating role of leadership expertise. That is, our study not only examined that leadership expertise positively influences organisational performance. Building on these studies, our research uses leader-member exchange theory as an effective path and organisational performance as a goal. Drawing on the leader-member exchange theory, we determine that leadership expertise can impact diversity and enhance organisational performance. Our results suggest that leadership expertise is a crucial mechanism for diversity management and improving organisational performance in Pakistan.

Finally, our research explored the value of incorporating the moderator, diversity beliefs, and the mediator leadership expertise into a single theoretical model helps us better to understand the relationship between diversity and organisational performance. Our study showed that diversity beliefs do not moderate the relationship between leadership expertise and organisational performance. However, there were direct relationships between age diversity and leadership expertise, age diversity and organisational performance, diversity beliefs and organisational performance, and ethnic diversity and leadership expertise. Additionally, this study also found that there is partial and no mediation between age diversity, gender diversity, and organizational performance.

5.2 Practical implications

In addition to the theoretical contributions, our research informs practitioners in several ways. First, our results show that age, ethnicity, and educational diversity directly contributes to organisational performance via leadership expertise. There was also a direct relationship between age and ethnic diversity and leadership expertise. These findings emphasise the relevance of diversity management in light of globalisation.

Leaders should employ leader-member exchange procedures to help sustain organisational performance in an increasingly diverse workforce. That is, leadership styles need to change based on the mindset of the various groups within the organisation. The leaders share more knowledge and information, delegate responsibilities, and encourage participation in decision-making with some members and not others. LXM theory allows leaders to develop in-groups and spend more resources on the members they expect to perform better. However, this study added to the body of knowledge, that leadership expertise may not contribute to well managed and effective group development, due to social, religious, and cultural limitations of the locality/respondents.

5.3 Limitations and future research directions

This study has several limitations. First, it focused on age, gender, ethnic, and education diversity management and did not take into account other demographic diversity practices implemented within the organisations. Previous research recognises that a broad spectrum of demographic diversity influences organisational performance [ 55 ]. Future research should investigate a broader range of demographic diversity to understand better what constitutes a comprehensive approach to diversity management. Second, the research is quantitative, and its moderate response rate may limit the generalisability of the results [ 59 ]. Future research could combine qualitative and quantitative methods to leverage both structured and unstructured data to enhance the depth of insights and provide more specific practical outcomes [ 60 ]. Third, the generalisability of findings should be interpreted with caution. Every society has its own culture, norms, and social values, and previous research has identified that organisational culture may influence the findings related to diversity management [ 61 ].

6. Conclusions

Workplace diversity is becoming one of the most popular ways to evaluate organisational performance. Thus, conducting training and creating awareness regarding diversity will lead to value generation, better productivity, and vitality. Managing diversity at the workplace considers leveraging and respecting cultural differences in employees’ competencies, ideas, and innovativeness to persuade them to contribute towards a common goal and do it in a way that gives a competitive edge to organisations. Hence, it is recommended to encourage a more diversified workforce and create awareness to increase organisational performance. In addition, this research has focused on diversity beliefs as a moderating variable. However, future research can be conducted that how leadership expertise can mediate between age and gender diversity and organizational performance. Additionally, organisational justice as a moderator between diversity dimensions and organisational performance needs to be explored. Moreover, in the current paper, the social traits of diversity have been studied, providing opportunities or gaps to study functional diversity traits in the future.

Ethical consent

The study was approved by the ethical committee of the SZABIST Larkana Campus. The consent was informed, and the information was collected through an approved structured questionnaire. Moreover, the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Data Availability

PLoS One. 2022; 17(7): e0270813.

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16 Dec 2021

PONE-D-21-09151Diversity Impact on Organizational performance: Moderating and Mediating role of Diversity Beliefs and Leadership ExpertisePLOS ONE

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Reviewer #1: The study is interesting, and the results are useful for diversity related research. However, the manuscript needs to be thoroughly checked for language including grammar. Detailed review comments are attached.

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You get a minor revision, make a revision immediately, pay attention to the marked reviews, the introduction is quite clear but there are some things that need to be improved, the methods, data processing and others are quite good

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Submitted filename: PLOS Review_2021.docx

Submitted filename: PS Paper-01.docx

Author response to Decision Letter 0

24 Jan 2022

General: The whole paper was revisited and the help of the expert/native speaker was also incorporated. Additionally, some technical quality improvements are also considered.

Suggestion accepted and incorporated . Thanks for your appreciation, the whole paper was revisited and the suggestions were incorporated

Reviewer #2: You get a minor revision, make a revision immediately, pay attention to the marked reviews, the introduction is quite clear but there are some things that need to be improved, the methods, data processing and others are quite good

Suggestion accepted and incorporated. Thanks for your appreciation, the whole paper was revisited and the suggestions were incorporated

Submitted filename: reviewers comments and responses.docx

Decision Letter 1

21 Jun 2022

Diversity Impact on Organisational Performance:

Moderating and Mediating Role of Diversity Beliefs and Leadership Expertise in Pakistan

PONE-D-21-09151R1

Dear Dr. Shahryar Sorooshian,

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Acceptance letter

15 Jul 2022

Diversity Impact on Organizational performance: Moderating and Mediating role of Diversity Beliefs and Leadership Expertise

Dear Dr. Sorooshian:

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department.

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What is diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Rainbow colored spheres hanging on strings

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. If diversity is another word for variety, how can it enhance or flavor the world?

Get to know and directly engage with senior McKinsey experts on diversity, equity, and inclusion

Bob Sternfels is McKinsey’s global managing partner and is based in the Bay Area office. Tiffany Burns and Sara Prince are senior partners in McKinsey’s Atlanta office; Michael Chui is a partner in the Bay Area office, where Alexis Krivkovich and Lareina Yee are senior partners, and where James Manyika is a senior partner emeritus; Maurice Obeid , Shelley Stewart , and Jill Zucker are senior partners in the New York office; and Jonathan Woetzel is director of the McKinsey Global Institute and a senior partner in the Shanghai office.

Diversity—through the lenses of race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, and beyond—can help to strengthen organizations, as studies have shown time and again. Quite simply, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is used to describe three values that many organizations today strive to embody to help meet the needs of people from all walks of life. While concepts such as biodiversity are important offshoots of the core idea of diversity, this article focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion in business and society rather than in other contexts.

Companies that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive are better able to respond to challenges, win top talent, and meet the needs of different customer bases. With DEI in mind, companies are considering how to better support employees. Over the past few years, many organizations have taken strides to build diversity, equity, and inclusion into their policies and hiring practices.

What are the differences between diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are often grouped together because they are interconnected and it is only in combination that their true impact emerges. Some organizations include related concepts, such as belonging, in their DEI strategies. But all of these terms are also easily misunderstood. It’s important to grasp the individual meanings and implications of each of these terms:

Diversity refers to who is represented in the workforce. Some examples of diversity in workplaces include:

Gender diversity: What makes up the composition of men, women, and nonbinary people in a given population?
Age diversity: Are people in a group from mostly one generation, or is there a mix of ages?
Ethnic diversity: Do people in a group share common national or cultural traditions, or do they represent different backgrounds?
Physical ability and neurodiversity: Are the perspectives of people with disabilities, whether apparent or not, accounted for?

These are a few of the most common examples, but what is considered diverse can range widely. Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler touches on this in an interview with McKinsey on debiasing the corporation. “There’s lots of talk about diversity these days,” says Thaler. “We tend to think about that in terms of things like racial diversity and gender diversity and ethnic diversity. Those things are all important. But it’s also important to have diversity in how people think.”

Equity refers to fair treatment for all people, so that the norms, practices, and policies in place ensure identity is not predictive of opportunities or workplace outcomes. Equity differs from equality in a subtle but important way. While equality assumes that all people should be treated the same, equity takes into consideration a person’s unique circumstances, adjusting treatment accordingly so that the end result is equal. In an episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast on the inclusive workplace, McKinsey senior partner and talent expert Bill Schaninger offers a view on the implications of equity when sourcing talent: “There’s a real difference between equal and equitable. Suppose we said, ‘All interns are created equal. We pay them nothing.’ The people who can afford an entire summer without getting paid are likely already coming from a position of privilege.”
Inclusion refers to how the workforce experiences the workplace and the degree to which organizations embrace all employees and enable them to make meaningful contributions. Companies that are intent on recruiting a diverse workforce must also strive to develop a sufficiently inclusive culture, such that all employees feel their voices will be heard—critical if organizations want to retain their talent and unlock the power of their diverse workforce. In an episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast on the inclusive workplace, McKinsey partner and DEI expert Diana Ellsworth shared an example of how a lack of inclusion can manifest in workplace culture: “The LGBTQ+ community is underrepresented in the workplace, especially at more senior levels. As a result, many feel like an “only” at work and are more likely to experience microaggressions ; they might feel unable to talk openly and comfortably about themselves, for example, or need constantly to correct assumptions about their personal lives.”

Learn more about our People & Organizational Performance and Strategy & Corporate Finance practices.

Why is diversity in the workplace important?

A series of three McKinsey reports shows the impact of diverse workplaces: Why diversity matters (2015), Delivering through diversity (2018), and Diversity wins: How inclusion matters (2020). The latest findings draw from a data set that encompasses 15 countries and more than 1,000 large companies, as well as research on employee sentiment, and the results show a correlative relationship between business performance and diversity. It’s worth noting that greater access to talent and increased employee engagement contribute to this performance effect. The business case for diversity is robust, and the relationship between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has gotten stronger over time. And the results have been replicated in further research, for instance, in Latin America and Central Europe .

Some of the key findings from the latest Diversity wins report include the following:

Most employees support diversity, with overall sentiment on diversity 52 percent positive and 31 percent negative.
There are clear correlations between diversity and business performance. Analysis of 2019 data shows that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity within executive teams were 25 percent more likely than companies in the fourth quartile to have above-average profitability (up from 21 percent in 2017 and 15 percent in 2014).
The greater the representation of gender diversity, the higher the likelihood of outperformance. For instance, companies where more than 30 percent of the executives are women were more likely to outperform companies where this percentage ranged from only 10 to 30. The most gender-diverse companies see a substantial differential likelihood of outperformance—48 percent—over the least gender-diverse companies.
The business case for ethnic and cultural diversity is also strong: in 2019, companies in the top quartile bested those in the fourth quartile by 36 percent in profitability. Notably, the likelihood of outperformance continues to be higher for diversity in ethnicity than in gender.
Progress in building diverse workforces remains stubbornly slow.
Despite employees’ support of diversity, there are high levels of negative sentiment on inclusion—namely, equality, openness, and belonging—particularly around equality and fairness of opportunity.

Circular, white maze filled with white semicircles.

Looking for direct answers to other complex questions?

Even during a crisis, when leaders might be tempted to shelve DEI efforts to ensure the company’s financial survival, there is value to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the words of McKinsey’s Bryan Hancock from McKinsey Talks Talent : “D&I is good business. It doesn’t have to be at the expense of financial outcomes. . . . This isn’t an issue where leaders can say, ‘We can’t do diversity right now, because we’re under a lot of pressure.’ Diversity is one of the things you’ve got to be mindful of in every context.”

What other benefits can organizations realize from inclusion and diversity?

In addition to profitability, there are five key domains in which inclusion and diversity can significantly affect an organization’s overall performance:

Winning talent: Organizations that monitor the demographic profile of their workforces are better able to retain top performers while making sure that diverse talent isn’t lost.
Improving the quality of decision making: Diversity brings multiple perspectives to the table during times when enhanced problem-solving skills and vision are needed.
Increasing customer insight and innovation: Diverse teams are typically more innovative and better at anticipating shifts.
Driving employee motivation and satisfaction: Research in Latin America showed that companies that are committed to diversity are 75 percent more likely to report a pro-teamwork culture.
Improving a company’s global image and license to operate: Companies that can maintain or increase their focus on inclusion and diversity during crises are poised to avoid consequences such as struggling to attract talent or losing customers and government support.

How can organizations foster an inclusive workplace?

For companies looking to bolster inclusion and step up their DEI efforts more broadly, five areas of action stand out :

Ensure that diverse talent is well represented.
Strengthen leadership accountability and capabilities.
Be fair and transparent, enabling equality of opportunity.
Promote openness and tackle microaggressions, bias, and discrimination.
Foster belonging through unequivocal support for all the ways diversity manifests.

A McKinsey survey about inclusion at work and how to address organizational barriers to it offers unique insight at a more granular level. The research finds that respondents of all backgrounds encounter barriers to feeling included—and that women, respondents who are ethnic and racial minorities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ encounter additional challenges.

A few key data points from the survey add nuance about the lived experiences of employees in workplaces, inclusive and otherwise:

Employee engagement is strongly linked with a sense of inclusion. Those who feel very included are more likely than others to say they feel excited by and committed to their organizations.
Nearly 40 percent of respondents say they have turned down or chosen not to pursue a job because of a perceived lack of inclusion at the organization.
Over a third of respondents say their organizations don’t put enough effort into creating a diverse, inclusive environment (while only 6 percent say too much is being done).
A resounding 84 percent of respondents say they have experienced microaggressions at work. More than one in four say they have needed to correct others’ assumptions about their personal lives, for example. High levels of respondents have experienced everyday slights rooted in bias, such as not receiving credit for their ideas, being asked to speak as a representative for a group of people like themselves, or being coached to communicate in a way that feels inauthentic.
Looking only at LGBTQ+ respondents, 37 percent say they have had an uncomfortable experience coming out to colleagues in the preceding month.
Among respondents who identified as racial or ethnic minorities, 40 percent of those who indicated they have discussed identity-related issues at work in the preceding month say they have felt at least slightly uncomfortable in those situations.

To serve these workers better, organizations can pay attention to four main factors associated with employees’ inclusion:

Diverse, inclusive leadership: The presence of diverse leaders at an organization, as well as an organization’s focus on inclusive leadership, are correlated with individuals feeling more included.
Meritocracy and initiatives to increase fairness in performance evaluations: A meritocratic company culture is strongly associated with a sense of inclusion.
Sponsorship: Respondents who say colleagues at their organization have gone out of their way to create professional-advancement opportunities for them are also more likely than others to feel a strong sense of inclusion.
Substantive access to senior leaders: More than half of all respondents say that meaningful interactions with senior leaders have aided their career advancement.

Learn more about our People & Organizational Performance practice.

What is intersectionality?

Intersectionality, a term coined by Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 , refers to the ways different parts of one’s identity intersect or overlap with one another. For instance, gender is one aspect of a person’s identity, but so are sexual orientation and race. A Black woman who is queer, or a White woman who has a disability, may take a perspective that acknowledges how those different aspects of their identity overlap or intersect. McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2021 report , for instance, found that LGBTQ+ women, as well as women with disabilities, are much more likely than women overall to experience microaggressions on the job.

Acknowledging intersectional identities can strengthen companies and communities more broadly. “Everyone deserves to feel empowered across all aspects of who they are,” says McKinsey senior partner Guangyu Li . “It shouldn’t be left to any individual community to defend itself. It’s in our collective interest to show up for each other with concrete action and to come together in solidarity.”

Allyship is a concept that is closely related to intersectionality. An ally aligns with people in the minority to help foster equitable and inclusive opportunities for all. In corporate America, White women, for instance, may take allyship actions such as mentoring women of color, advocating for new opportunities for them, and actively confronting any discrimination they might face. However, there is a notable disconnect between the allyship actions that women of color say are most meaningful and the actions that White employees prioritize—suggesting opportunities for recentering efforts around the experience of women of color and other marginalized groups.

What issues are important to women in the workplace?

Women’s representation in the corporate world has largely increased in recent years, but the pandemic has affected their participation in the workforce. It is worth noting that dynamics of gender in the workplace may be regionally specific. While much of McKinsey’s work offers insight into women in corporate America, you can explore additional material on global gender equality , as well as gender diversity in Africa , Canada , Central Europe , France , Japan , the Middle East , and other regions.

The largest study of women in corporate America is Women in the Workplace , conducted by McKinsey in partnership with LeanIn.Org. The latest research, now in its seventh year, reflects information from 423 organizations that employ 12 million people, and includes responses from more than 65,000 people surveyed on their workplace experience, as well as in-depth interviews with women of diverse identities.

Findings from the Women in the Workplace 2021 report include the following:

Women’s representation in the corporate pipeline (that is, the journey an employee might take from starting as an entry-level worker to advancing to a spot in the C-suite) has increased since 2016. But women—and women of color in particular—remain significantly underrepresented in leadership.
At every step in the career ladder, women of color lose ground to White women and men of color.
The “broken rung” problem remains a challenge for women, particularly those seeking their first step up from entry level to manager. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 86 women are promoted.
Burnout, stress, and exhaustion continue to affect women more than men. In the past year, one in three women considered leaving the workforce or downshifting their career, a notable increase from levels seen early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women leaders are doing considerable work to support DEI efforts and employee well-being more broadly, but they’re not necessarily being recognized for it. For instance, employees with women managers are more likely than others to say that their manager has supported and helped them in the past year; women leaders also spend more time than men on DEI work that’s outside their formal job responsibilities. Less than a quarter of companies, though, recognize this work in performance reviews, for example.

To support women in the workplace, companies need to invest deeply in all aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Although there are no quick fixes, there are some steps companies should take to empower women at work :

Companies should put more practices in place to ensure that promotions are equitable. Beyond reducing potential bias in the hiring process, companies need to extend similar rigor to performance reviews.
Organizations need to track representation and hiring and promotion outcomes more fully. A company may track representation for women overall, but does it break those numbers down to look at representation for women on color in particular?
Companies need to double their efforts when it comes to accountability. Only two-thirds of companies hold senior leaders accountable for progress on diversity goals, and less than half consider progress on diversity metrics in performance reviews.
To create a culture that embraces and leverages diversity, companies need to promote senior-level sponsorship, with top leaders fully and publicly supporting DEI efforts, modeling inclusive leadership, and actively participating in training and events.
Spurring high employee engagement will also be crucial. Raising awareness of the barriers that many women face can help, and further training (on bias, antiracism, and allyship) can take employees from awareness to action.
Burnout is on the rise, and investing in solutions to help address this problem will remain a crucial issue for many organizations. In addition to expanding on successful established policies and trying new approaches, companies can track symptoms and establish new norms to improve the everyday experience of employees.

What do we know about advancing racial equity for Black Americans in the US private sector and across society?

Black Americans in the workforce are at a disadvantage; the median annual wage for Black workers is approximately 30 percent, or $10,000, lower than that of White workers, with serious implications for economic security, consumption, and the ability to build generational wealth. They are underrepresented in higher-wage industries and executive roles, and they face lower odds for advancement. Clear racial patterns exist across the US labor force, with nearly half of Black workers concentrated in low-paying healthcare, retail, food services, and accommodations roles.

There are many benefits to righting historical wrongs and realizing the full potential of Black American talent: addressing wage disparities alone, for instance, could propel two million Black Americans into the middle class for the first time.

Doing so will take effort on many levels. Research from the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility suggests some jumping-off points:

Consumer-facing companies that pursue broader racial-equity goals can better serve Black consumers .
Harnessing the power of retail can drive demand for Black-owned brands .
Addressing racial disparities in farming could generate billions in value for the agriculture industry.
Increasing financial inclusion to broaden services for Black Americans could yield $2 billion in potential revenue, and changes in three key areas can help companies make more progress toward racial equity in financial services .
Supporting historically Black colleges and universities can accelerate Black economic mobility .
Understanding Black representation in film and TV could help drive greater diversity.
Building supportive ecosystems for Black-owned business could add $290 billion in business equity.
Emphasizing health equity can activate meaningful change or even help retain talent .

The stories of Black leaders’ journeys can offer inspiration and hope for personal and professional development. Get insight from Jason Wright (president of the National Football League’s Washington Commanders), Stephanie Hill (an executive vice president at Lockheed Martin), and Barry Lawson Williams (the founder of Williams Pacific Ventures).

What issues are important to Latinos in the workplace?

In the United States, Latinos make up 18.4 percent of the population and 17.3 percent of the labor force, and that share is projected to rise to more than 30 percent by 2060. This community faces challenges, and US- and foreign-born Latinos alike remain far from equal with non-Latino White Americans, with Latino Americans earning just 73 cents for every dollar earned by White Americans. They face discrimination in securing financing to start and scale businesses, and they face challenges accessing food, housing, and other essentials.

McKinsey research on the economic state of Latinos in America finds that they are underpaid, collectively, by $288 billion a year. At full parity, though, Latinos could spend an extra $660 billion annually, and Latino businesses could generate trillions in revenue and support millions of new jobs, while also creating new flows of generational wealth. Addressing barriers faced by Latinos in America could make the economy more robust for all.

How can we empower Asian Americans at work?

Asian Americans have contributed to the US economy since the 1800s, yet they have historically been overlooked. This group as a whole is often perceived as the “model minority,” a term that diminishes the unique issues faced by their diverse community. Recently, given the rise in racially motivated attacks on Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, historically unaddressed challenges faced by this group are coming to light , offering a fresh reminder of the need to support and include Asian Americans at work.

In corporate America, Asian Americans are underrepresented in senior leadership roles (as are Black, Hispanic, and Latino Americans). What might help? Recognizing where in the corporate pipeline Asian Americans are underrepresented, mitigating implicit and unconscious bias during promotion and performance evaluations, fostering sponsorship for Asian American employees, and expanding workplace flexibility and support such as paid sick leave.

Learn more about our Public & Social Sector practice.

What does research show about the experiences of LGBTQ+ employees in the workplace?

For LGBTQ+ employees , many workplaces today fall short of full inclusion, even if there is visible corporate support for LGBTQ+ communities. For example, LGBTQ+ women are more underrepresented than women generally in America’s largest corporations. Just four LGBTQ+ CEOs head these corporations—only one woman, and none identifies as transgender. An episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast considers the latest research on the LGBTQ+ experience in the workplace and highlights practical steps for all employees to signal support and boost progress for this community.

Transgender employees face a unique set of challenges. They earn 32 percent less money than cisgender employees ( cisgender refers to people whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth). More than half of transgender employees say they are not comfortable at work, and they report feeling less supported by managers. These strong feelings of exclusion have significant economic implications: greater transgender inclusion in the workforce through wage equity and increased employment could boost annual consumer spending by $12 billion a year. To help address the issues, companies can be intentional in recruiting (for example, by asking applicants what pronouns or names they prefer to use) or offer trans-affirming benefits, among other actions.

How do different industries approach diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Different industries may well need to take different approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion, depending on the composition of their workforces. Several articles offer insight into those industry-specific dynamics, especially with regard to gender diversity:

Companies can repair the broken rung on the career ladder for women in technical industries and roles .
Organizations can work to close gender and race gaps in the US financial-services sector .
Voices from the fashion industry on diversity offer insight on what actions might be most meaningful for creating more inclusive workplaces.
Organizations can make traveling in cities safer and more comfortable for at-risk groups .
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the education space hard; as the recovery continues, ensuring that education is equitable and inclusive will be vital.
In the public and social sectors , women are increasingly represented, but they are also feeling burned out—a few actions can bend the curve.
Consumers are expecting more from brands than ever before— here’s what retailers can do to meet DEI needs .
Private equity can help catalyze DEI efforts to transform the global business community and improve returns.
In media and entertainment , women remain locked out of top roles.
While women in healthcare and life sciences have made progress, they remain underrepresented at senior levels.
Research from the oil and gas industry suggests actions for the sector to consider to help attract and retain women.
Women are leaving the mining industry . Here’s why—and what companies can do about it.

Learn more about our Technology, Media & Telecommunications , Financial Services , Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure , Education , Public & Social Sector , and Healthcare Systems & Services practices.

For more in-depth exploration of these topics, see McKinsey’s collection of insights on diversity and inclusion . Learn more about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion consulting at McKinsey—and check out DEI-related job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced include:

“ Being transgender at work ,” November 10, 2021, David Baboolall, Sarah Greenberg, Maurice Obeid , and Jill Zucker
“ Women in the Workplace 2021 ,” September 27, 2021, Tiffany Burns , Jess Huang, Alexis Krivkovich , Ishanaa Rambachan , Tijana Trkulja, and Lareina Yee
“ The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be ,” June 17, 2021, Shelley Stewart III , Michael Chui , James Manyika , JP Julien , Vivian Hunt, Bob Sternfels , Jonathan Woetzel, and Haiyang Zhang
“ COVID-19’s impact on Asian American workers: Six key insights ,” May 6, 2021, Grace Hua, Jess Huang, Samuel Huang, Lareina Yee
“ The elusive inclusive workplace ,” March 23, 2021, Bryan Hancock and Bill Schaninger
“ Diversity wins: how inclusion matters ,” May 19, 2020, Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle , Kevin Dolan, Vivian Hunt, and Sara Prince

Want to know more about diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Diversity wins: How inclusion matters

The elusive inclusive workplace

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: thesis proposal: are we losing textual diversity to natural language processing.

Abstract: This thesis argues that the currently widely used Natural Language Processing algorithms possibly have various limitations related to the properties of the texts they handle and produce. With the wide adoption of these tools in rapid progress, we must ask what these limitations are and what are the possible implications of integrating such tools even more deeply into our daily lives. As a testbed, we have chosen the task of Neural Machine Translation (NMT). Nevertheless, we aim for general insights and outcomes, applicable even to current Large Language Models (LLMs). We ask whether the algorithms used in NMT have inherent inductive biases that are beneficial for most types of inputs but might harm the processing of untypical texts. To explore this hypothesis, we define a set of measures to quantify text diversity based on its statistical properties, like uniformity or rhythmicity of word-level surprisal, on multiple scales (sentence, discourse, language). We then conduct a series of experiments to investigate whether NMT systems struggle with maintaining the diversity of such texts, potentially reducing the richness of the language generated by these systems, compared to human translators. We search for potential causes of these limitations rooted in training objectives and decoding algorithms. Our ultimate goal is to develop alternatives that do not enforce uniformity in the distribution of statistical properties in the output and that allow for better global planning of the translation, taking into account the intrinsic ambiguity of the translation task.

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Significance of the Study 5 Definition of Terms 7 Review of Literatures 7 IV. Research Methodology 17 V. Limitation/Delimitation 21 VI Data Analysis: 21 VII Data Verification: 24 VIII Summary and Conclusions: 25

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Finished Chapters 1, 2, 3 ABSTRACT TOC TABLES FOR FIGURES AND TABLES ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AB Assembly Bill CA California CCHSWC California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation DIR Department of Industrial Relations DIV Division of Workers’ Compensation

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COMMENTS

Common Elements
Diversity Thesis. The Diversity Thesis is nothing more than the observation that not everybody agrees what the most important values are, or what obligations humans have to one another, or what actions are forbidden by moral law, etc. In other words, the Diversity Thesis merely affirms that different people believe different things about morality.
How to Write a Diversity Essay
Tell a story about how your background, identity, or experience has impacted you. While you can briefly mention another person's experience to provide context, be sure to keep the essay focused on you. Admissions officers are mostly interested in learning about your lived experience, not anyone else's. Example.
How to Write the Diversity Essay
Include a thesis: Diversity essays follow more general conventions of personal statement writing. That means you should tell a story about yourself, but also make it double as an argumentative piece of writing. Including a thesis in the first paragraph can clearly signal the argumentative hook of the essay for your reader.
How to Write an Excellent Diversity Essay
How to write about your diversity. Your answer to a school's diversity essay question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective. The school might ask how you think of diversity or how you will bring or add to the diversity of the ...
Summary of Cultural Relativism
The thesis of diversity is descriptive; it describes the way things are. Moral beliefs, rules, and practices, in fact, depend upon facets of culture like social, political, religious, and economic institutions. By contrast the thesis of dependency is prescriptive; it describes how things ought to be.
Louis Pojman destroys relativism
P1. Beliefs about what is right and wrong differ across cultures (the Diversity thesis). P2. What is right and wrong is dependent upon, or relative to, culture (the Dependency thesis). — C1. Thus, there is no objective right and wrong. Pojman recognizes that this is a valid argument. As such, IF the premises are true, the
How to write an effective diversity statement (essay)
Here are seven additional suggestions to consider as you write your diversity statement. Tell your story. If you have overcome obstacles to get to where you are, point those out. If, in contrast, you are privileged, acknowledge that. If you grew up walking uphill to school carrying two 20-pound sacks of rice on your back, by all means, tell ...
Ethical Relativism
The diversity thesis makes a claim about people's moral opinions—about what they think is right or wrong. It simply says there is a wide diversity of human opinion about morality. Taken by itself, that claim is pretty harmless and indeed uncontroversial. The diversity thesis itself does not make any value judgments about this diversity of ...
6 Diversity College Essay Examples
What's Covered: How to Write the Diversity Essay After the End of Affirmative Action. Essay #1: Jewish Identity. Essay #2: Being Bangladeshi-American. Essay #3: Marvel vs DC. Essay #4: Leadership as a First-Gen American. Essay #5: Protecting the Earth. Essay #6: Music and Accents. Where to Get Your Diversity Essays Edited.
Introduction to Philosophy: Overhead
Introduction to Philosophy: Overhead. ethical relativism. (1) a diversity thesis, which specifies what is considered morally right and wrong varies from society to society, so that there there are no moral principles accepted by all societies, and. (2) a dependency thesis, which specifies that all moral principles derive their validity from ...
How to Answer the Diversity (and Other Related) Supplemental Essay
Analysis: This opening illustrates what screenwriters sometimes call the Inciting Incident (i.e., the moment that started it all)—in this case, it was the moment that inspired the author to take action. Notice how the author shares a) what they witnessed, b) how it impacted them, c) why it impacted them, and d) a statement of resolve (decision to do something about it).
The Effectiveness of a Diversity and Inclusion Intervention in Higher
diversity through the promotion of workplace inclusion. For example, the optimistic . contact hypothesis. suggests that contact in the workplace could give different groups the opportunity to find common ground and establish more positive relationships with one another. In other words, the contact hypothesis proposes that when the in-group and the
How to Write a Thesis Statement
Step 2: Write your initial answer. After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process. The internet has had more of a positive than a negative effect on education.
Cultural Diversity Essay & Community Essay Examples
The cultural diversity essay also lets you describe what type of " diversity " you would bring to campus. We'll also highlight a diversity essay sample for three college applications. These include the Georgetown application essay, Rice application essay, and Williams application essay. We'll provide examples of diversity essays for ...
Literature Review on Diversity and Inclusion at Workplace, 2010-2017
A literature review analysis was commissioned to focus on diversity and inclusion at workplace and its research trends from 2010 to 2017. The varied meanings and interpretations of the terms 'diversity and inclusion' make it ripe for examining the literature on diversity and that of inclusion to offer a deeper and nuanced understanding of their meanings and conceptualizations.
What is a diversity essay?
Thesis Dissertation College admission essay APA editing Personal statement ... To write an effective diversity essay, include vulnerable, authentic stories about your unique identity, background, or perspective. Provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your outlook, activities, and goals.
Understanding Cultural Diversity and Diverse Identities
Understanding Cultural Diversity and Diverse Identities 3. life as a synonym of ethnic pluralism, but most. times it is used in philosophy, politics, and educa-. tion as a theory, a policy, and a ...
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PROGRAMS WITHIN ...
Unawareness of the true meaning of diversity, and what an inclusive work environment looks. like, is also a main contributing factor. Properly implemented diversity and inclusion programs. can elevate a business' financial performance, decision-making capabilities, and increase. market share.
Diversity impact on organizational performance: Moderating and
These diversity beliefs can be polarised perceptions or preferences towards homogeneity or heterogeneity [7,17]. A leader's diversity beliefs may be one of the factors influencing organisational performance. Manoharan and Singal found diversity positively affects organisational performance when supported by positive beliefs and values.
Commitment of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education
This thesis offers a new perspective on organizational culture and commitment in post-secondary institutions to diversity, equity, and inclusion through quantitative and qualitative analyses. Drawing upon institutional theories, I will provide a unique viewpoint on the intersection of diversity, inclusion, and equity themes and
What is diversity, equity, and inclusion?
Diversity—through the lenses of race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, and beyond—can help to strengthen organizations, as studies have shown time and again. Quite simply, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is used to describe three values that many organizations today strive to embody to help meet the ...
PDF The Effect of Multicultural Education in Public Schools Within
A thesis submitted to The Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Liberal Arts Baltimore, Maryland ... cultural diversity has been steadily increasing with the arrival of immigrants and their cultural backgrounds, while entrenching them within today's existing society. ...
[2409.09568] Thesis proposal: Are We Losing Textual Diversity to
This thesis argues that the currently widely used Natural Language Processing algorithms possibly have various limitations related to the properties of the texts they handle and produce. With the wide adoption of these tools in rapid progress, we must ask what these limitations are and what are the possible implications of integrating such tools even more deeply into our daily lives. As a ...
Diversity Thesis Examples That Really Inspire
Diversity Theses Samples For Students. 28 samples of this type. If you're seeking a workable method to streamline writing a Thesis about Diversity, WowEssays.com paper writing service just might be able to help you out. For starters, you should skim our vast catalog of free samples that cover most diverse Diversity Thesis topics and showcase ...

How to Write the Diversity Essay – With Examples

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Defining the Genre

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Sharing a Story

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Describing Contribution

Please describe how your unique experiences, challenges overcome, or skills acquired would contribute to our distinctive University community. (250 words)

Diversity College Essay Examples of Prompts – Navigating Difference

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Tips for Writing

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Tips for Writing (Cont.)

How to Write a Diversity Essay – Diversity Essay Examples

Diversity Essay Examples Continued – Example One

Diversity Essay Examples Continued – Example Two

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Louis Pojman destroys relativism

Louis Pojman: Against Relativism and For Objectivism

I. Philosophical arguments aspire to the form of deductive validity.

II. Pojman’s Strategy Against the Argument for relativism:

III. Pojman’s Stage One Argument

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IV. The Case Against P2 or the Strong Dependency Thesis

V. Stage Two: Establishing the Truth of Moral Objectivism

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Cultural Diversity Essay & Community Essay Examples

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Two common forms to look out for

What are some examples of ‘cultural diversity’ essays?

Georgetown Supplementals Essays

As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.

Rice University Essays

The quality of Rice’s academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice?

Williams Supplemental Essays

Community Essays

Which schools require a cultural diversity or community essay?

New York University

What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well.

Harvard has long recognized the importance of student body diversity of all kinds. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, personal development, or the intellectual interests you might bring to your Harvard classmates.

Consider the following questions as you write your diversity essay sample if the prompt is similar to Duke University’s

Below are some questions to consider as you write your diversity essay sample for colleges like Michigan:

Georgetown Essay Examples

As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.

Georgetown University Essay Example

Why this essay worked

Rice University Essay Examples

The quality of Rice’s academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice? (500-word limit)

Williams Supplemental Essay Examples

How to Write a Cultural Diversity Essay