Isn't it exciting when a place is home to lots of different people? Wouldn't life be boring if we were all the same? Diverse populations can help to shape the character of places across the world. As well as simply stopping things from getting boring, diversity is also an important way to measure development and is an essential part of achieving social justice. Demographic diversity can be different from place to place and can focus on different factors and characteristics.
Demographic diversity definition
When we talk about demographics, we are talking about the ways that a population can be divided into smaller groups, such as by gender, age, class, ethnicity and population density. Therefore, demographic diversity relates to differences within a population. Demographic diversity is important in geography because it can be a key indicator of a country's development and socioeconomic circumstances. A more diverse demographic is often found in more developed places. Let's think about London: the population of London is incredibly diverse, representing people of different genders, ages, classes, religions and ethnicities.
A diverse population is a group of people who differ in terms of one of more characteristics, such as by gender, age, class and ethnicity.
Often, where you hear the word 'diversity', you will also hear the term 'inclusion'. While you might hear these words together, it is important to remember that they actually mean different things! One key way to remember the difference between the two is through this quote:
Diversity is about inviting everyone to the party. Inclusion is about encouraging everyone to dance. - Vernā Myers
Let's think about what this quote is actually saying. While a population may represent different genders, ages, classes and ethnicities and therefore be deemed diverse, it may not be inclusive. This could be because certain members of that diverse population may not be given the same opportunities as other members or may be restricted from certain spaces that others aren't.
Some people cannot fully participate in society because of their gender, race, age or class. Women in the UK won the right to vote in 1928- the population was not inclusive as they could not fully participate in society. In the same way, racial segregation movements (e.g. the apartheid in South Africa) are examples of populations being diverse but not inclusive.
Types of demographic diversity
There are 4 types of demographic diversity: internal, external, organisational and worldview. Our diverse population definition mainly focused on internal demographic diversity, but it is important to consider all 4 types:
- Internal diversity refers to differences in natural characteristics/factors, e.g. gender, ethnicity, age, and nationality at birth.
- External diversity also refers to differences in people's characteristics, but ones that can be controlled and changed. Examples of external diversity include religious beliefs, socioeconomic status and education.
- Organisational diversity refers to differences in characteristics that are given to people by organisations. This can be things like employment status, how high up you are in a company or even where you work.
- Worldview diversity literally refers to differences in people's views of the world. These views can change over time, and as a result of and in response to many different factors. An example of worldview diversity is differences in political beliefs.
From this, it is clear that there are many ways in which a population can be classified as a diverse population. When we divide a population up in different ways to look at the demographics, we can see this diversity.
If you want to refer to the different types of demographic diversity in an exam, you might want to look at census data. The data recorded in a census divides the population by certain internal, external and organisational factors.
What causes demographic diversity?
There are many different factors which can contribute to or even reduce the diversity of a population, including:
Fig. 1 - The Mexican diaspora celebrating El Día de México in Germany, Jurgen/ Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-2.0
Migration
The movement and resettling of people within and between countries is a key driver of changes in demographic diversity. Our article on Migration explains that people move for many reasons. One type of migration is economic migration. This involves the movement of people to allow them to take economic opportunities, like new jobs. If lots of people move from one country to another to look for work, this impacts the demographic diversity of both the origin country and the host (or new) country. This is because the original country might lose a significant part of their economically active, adult population, whereas the host country may gain many economically active people of different beliefs, religions and ethnicities.
Birth rates and death rates
As you probably know, birth rates and death rates significantly affect the size of a population. What might be less obvious is that these rates can also influence demographic diversity. If the birth rate is low and the death rate is high, the population can be classed as an ageing population. Eventually, this will reduce the demographic diversity of that population in terms of age.
Many countries, such as Japan, Italy and France, have ageing populations. Although all 3 of these countries can be argued to have diverse populations in some respects, it is looking like the demographic diversity of each (in terms of age) is at risk if the birth rate does not increase.
Development
When a country undergoes development, it often develops greater demographic diversity. Development encourages migration, a wider variety of job titles, differing educational opportunities and disposable income to allow for changes in socioeconomic circumstances. As we discussed earlier, differences between people related to all of these factors result in diversity. Therefore, the development of a country often coincides with increased demographic diversity.
Globalisation
The world is becoming increasingly interconnected because of the globalisation process. The increased flows of people (by migration) are encouraging the emergence of a 'world village', in which cultures are becoming connected. While this increases demographic diversity across the world, some would argue that globalisation could also be causing a reduction in demographic diversity. Why? Globalisation is responsible for creating uniformity across the world. Cultural erosion is seen to be a common side effect of a globalising world as people begin to adopt global cultural norms. Therefore, globalisation can be argued to both increase and decrease demographic diversity depending on which metrics/factors are being considered.
You can read all about globalisation, its causes and its implications in our Globalising World article.
Fig. 2 - Globalisation increases the interconnectedness of the world
Workforce demographics and diversity
While in geography we tend to focus on the study of the demographic diversity of places, the diverse demographics of workforces can also be studied. Diverse demographics in the workplace are important to encourage innovation, creativity and adequate representation of the wider population. This is important in making sure that companies perform to the best of their ability. Nowadays, there is more public pressure to have a diverse workforce demographic. If you take a look at most companies, there are policies in place to ensure that people of different genders, races, sexual orientations and classes are included in the workforce.
In most countries, it is now illegal to deny somebody employment or a promotion because of any of the 'protected characteristics' (a series of characteristics that are frequently and historically discriminated against, like gender and race). It is also illegal to deny or end employment based on pregnancy status too. This is a legal measure taken to encourage a diverse workforce and prevent discrimination.
Diversity - Key takeaways
- Diversity in a population refers to the presence of differences in internal, external, organisational and worldview factors.
- Where diversity involves the representation of different characteristics, inclusion allows all people to participate fully in society.
- Demographic diversity is influenced by many factors, including migration, birth and death rates, development and globalisation.
- As well as within places, diversity is important in the populations of workforces to encourage innovation, creativity and adequate representation of wider populations.
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