A Closer Look at the Business Case for Diversity: The Tangled Web of Equity and Epistemic Benefits

Abstract

This article examines the business case for diversity (BCD), according to which diversity should be promoted because diverse groups outperform nondiverse groups. Philosophers who defend BCD usually propose that diversity’s positive effects are contingent on equitable background conditions that promote respectful and open discourse, suggesting that efforts to promote equity and to reap the benefits of diversity go hand-in-hand. Yet we explain how epistemic benefits of diversity can depend on inequities, including inequalities of intellectual authority along the lines of social identity. Consequently, we propose a more complete account of the complex relationship between equity and epistemic benefits of diversity.