Questions of diversity go back a very long way, and have been highlighted by recent headlines around the BLM protests, and gender and ethnic representation in positions of power.
It is necessarily wrapped up with questions of inclusion, exclusion and rights which arguably goes to the core of our societies, how we live our lives and treat each other. There are few areas that are not directly or indirectly touched by the issues raised.
Matthew Syed is a British author, journalist and commentator and this is his most recent publication. It is a book about diversity and about the power of bringing people together who think differently from one another. There are many different types of diversity and Syed focuses on cognitive diversity; differences in perspectives, insights, experiences and thinking styles.
As Syed points out, there is often (but not always) an overlap between that concept and that of demographic diversity which is differences in gender, race, age and religion. Taking this holistic approach to things that we do, especially when those things relate to and affect the whole community, will allow us to develop what Syed refers to as collective intelligence; acknowledging that many problems are too complex for any one person to tackle alone.
There are many such issues that relate to entire communities, such as climate change, poverty, pandemics. The way in which our data are being used and manipulated raises urgent questions for us as individuals and as societies. We need, collectively, to understand more, engage more and influence more if the processing of all that data is going to be done with a moral and ethical underpinning.
Syed’s ideas translate brilliantly to any (and all) sectors and in the context of data protection reminds us again that this is not an issue which is the sole preserve of regulators or lawyers, it is an issue for everyone. We need to understand this simple but often ignored truth if we want our future to be one where the voices of all the whole community are heard and respected. “Reaching out to outsiders for new ideas is not an act of disloyalty but the most enlightened form of solidarity.”
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