Why Diversity Matters

Today in church, we were talking about individual worth and our divine nature. We'd talked about how to see everyone as having worth, and also about how comparing yourself isn't fair, things you'd expect to come up in such a discussion. And then the question was asked, "How can we improve our own sense of individual worth?"

As I pondered this, I was reminded of when I first moved to my current job. It had a different dress code than my last job in a couple of ways. First, because it is a religious institution, there is a standard that is a little more modest than other institutions, but also, I had to wear dresses or skirts every day*. I'd go to work and see all these people wearing really cute clothes and I felt like I had no fashion sense at all.

I never had that experience at my previous job. Yes, we all dressed professionally, but that varied a lot depending on who you talked to. I didn't compare myself to everyone else because given my religious values, I had a different standard than they did. I wasn't looking down on them, I just didn't compare myself because it made no sense to. I did look at their styles as things to explore, though. "Oh, maybe I should try that cut of pants" or whatever.

So, I'm thinking about all of this while in church today, and it occurred to me that diversity helps me recognize my own worth. If I'm one of 10 piano players, I am definitely not going to be the best one and will try my darndest to defer piano playing to someone else. When everyone around me has a skill or ability or trait that I have, I am way more likely to think they are all better than me. But when I'm in a group with a diverse set of abilities, the things I'm good at stand out more. I'd never realized that before, but I think our perception of our worth diminishes when we are all the same.*

Basically, what I learned is that diversity isn't just about benefiting everyone else's worth. It increases my sense of self-worth, too. Who'da thunk it?


*This has since changed and pants are now allowed for women. However, they changed the policy in July, when it was close to 100 degrees outside every day, which is not when you want to wear pants. Come winter, though, it's going to be very nice. 
**Of course, there are some things we should all strive to be good at: loving one another, being respectful, being unselfish. And in that case, being around people who are better at it than me can help me find a role model and provide examples of how to be like that. But I think if that same person was better than me at everything, I'd probably just really not like them instead of trying to be like them.