Gender mix, equal opportunities, parity, equality

We ran a LinkedIn survey asking “What does diversity mean to you?” And every answer was right! Most people’s knee-jerk reaction to the word “diversity” is the idea of gender balance, but the meaning of diversity has shifted in recent years, shaped by political and social changes. Let’s take a closer look.

When diversity means “ethnic differences”

In the 1950s and 1960s, diversity is largely about race. Meanwhile, another challenge rages: booming economies need more workers. Immigration is encouraged, but while employers need immigrants to keep factories running, a society whose minds are not entirely decolonized cling to ideas of national identity. Postcolonial literature reveals, however, that words alone aren’t enough to erase deep-seated issues.

Diversity is promoted as a way to foster peace, open-mindedness, and cultural enrichment. The intentional approach championing diversity in this way correlates to a political position on integration, even assimilation of immigrant populations. It’s something of a paradox, because by claiming to erase the cultural markers from people with immigrant backgrounds and dissolve them into the conventions of the host country, integration becomes the opposite of diversity. By pushing immigrants to conform, societies are actually undermining the very diversity they claimed to value.

The shift to “social diversity”

After the first oil crisis in the 1970s and the string of economic struggles in the 1980s and 1990s, social inequalities become impossible to ignore. The sociogeographic segregation that can be seen in urban planning and housing as well as in education facilities, gaps in access to employment, the collapse of the “social ladder” and the impoverishment of the middle classes, the increase in wealth inequalities, and the socio-cultural fractures within society, all highlight the widening gap between rich and poor. The term “diversity” takes on a new meaning: equal opportunities.

Schools are expected to bridge these gaps, ensuring pupils from all backgrounds have the same access to success. Policies are questioned and elite institutions that mainly attracted children from wealthy families are asked to open their doors to the underprivileged in the name of social diversity. Meanwhile, gentrification pushes working-class families out of city centers. Public policies promise to curb these phenomena of division and segregation by promoting social diversity. Companies begin using diversity goals to as a convenient excuse when they can’t find the right candidates to fill certain positions.

It’s finally time for “gender diversity”

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the word “diversity” begins to mean differences in gender. The feminist movement had long preferred the term “equality”, because “diversity” didn’t necessarily guarantee the same rights, pay or opportunities. Parity through quotas is seen as a more direct solution, first in politics and then spreading to the business world. Gender diversity focuses on representation: if workers, leaders, and caregivers have no inherent gender, why should they be dominated by one or the other? Diversity is now an easier entry point for conversations about equality. It becomes clear that bringing more women into male-dominated fields means challenging stereotypes and reshaping workplace culture. In parallel, attracting men to traditionally female professions requires addressing declining pay and prestige for teachers, judges and doctors: roles that have lost social status as more women take them on.

A time for diversity in all its forms

By the 2010s, diversity has evolved into a business strategy. Companies finally link it to performance, arguing that teams with diverse perspectives—not just in gender, but age, culture and cognitive abilities—drive innovation and success.

The idea of diversity comes full circle, returning to its Latin root mixtus, to mix. True diversity isn’t just about sharing spaces or ticking boxes, it’s about fostering an inclusive culture where differences aren’t just tolerated but valued!

Marie Donzel, for the EVE web magazine. Translated from French by Ruth Simpson