Quotes about diversity
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Mark Manson photo
Jorge Majfud photo
Nathalie Cabrol photo
Annie Besant photo

“A man who is a spiritual man--a religious teacher--regards the universe from the standpoint of the Spirit from which everything is seen as coming from the One. When he stands, as it were, in the centre, and he looks from the centre to the circumference, he stands at the point whence the force proceeds, and he judges of the force from that point of radiation and he sees it as one in its multitudinous workings, and knows the force is One; he sees it in its many divergencies, and he recognises it as one and the same thing throughout. Standing in the centre, in the Spirit, and looking outwards to the universe, he judges everything from the standpoint of the Divine Unity and sees every separate phenomenon, not as separate from the One but as the external expression of the one and the only Life. But science looks at the thing from the surface. It goes to the circumference of the universe and it sees a multiplicity of phenomena. It studies these separated things and studies them one by one. It takes up a manifestation and judges it; it judges it apart; it looks at the many, not at the One; it looks at the diversity, not at the Unity, and sees everything from outside and not from within: it sees the external difference and the superficial portion while it sees not the One from which every thing proceeds.”

Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator

Source: Essays and Addresses, Vol. III- Evolution and Occultism (1913)

Amanda Gorman photo
Vladimir Lenin photo

“Without an alliance with non-Communists in the most diverse spheres of activity there can be no question of any successful communist construction.”

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution

“On the Significance of Militant Materialism” https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1922/mar/12.htm, (12 March 1922)
1920s

Chris Walas photo
Jason Tanamor photo
Egils Levits photo
Justine Greening photo

“You can't pick & choose on human rights and equality. Children should understand a modern and diverse Britain they're growing up in.”

Justine Greening (1969) British politician

Tory leadership contest: Iain Duncan Smith warns of 'chaos' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48458370 BBC News (30 May 2019)
2019

Michelle Yeoh photo

“Don't speak about diversity and just have us there because you want to make it look like it's diverse. Meaningful representation, that's what it's all about, where the characters have real hopes and dreams and lives and it's very sincere to the culture.”

Michelle Yeoh (1962) Malaysian-born actress of Chinese ethnicity

"Michelle Yeoh Hopes Crazy Rich Asians Will Turn the Trickle of Diversity in Hollywood "Into a Stream" " in Harper's Bazaar (27 August 2018) https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a22794930/michelle-yeoh-crazy-rich-asians-interview/

Tadeusz Mazowiecki photo

“We all desire to live with dignity in a sovereign, democratic, and law-abiding state, one that everybody - regardless of their worldviews and ideological and political diversity - can consider their own.”

Tadeusz Mazowiecki (1927–2013) Polish politician and prime minister

"Inaugural address of Premier Tadeusz Mazowiecki" https://polishfreedom.pl/en/document/statement-inaugural-address-of-the-prime-minister-tadeusz-mazowiecki-delivered-at-the-seym-session-on-12th-september-1989 (12 September 1989)

“What I found was worse than diversity—it was insanity.”

Source: The Heritage Universe, Transcendence (1992), Chapter 17 (p. 188)

“[I]t would be unfortunate if, for all the talk of celebrating differences and diversity, we ultimately came to insist that justice requires sameness.”

Source: Not Biology or Culture Alone: Response to El-Hout et al. (2021) (with Lewis G. Halsey; 2021), p. 5

Daniel Dae Kim photo

“It's one thing to talk about lack of diversity and lack of representation. But that doesn't matter if you're not good at what you're supposed to be doing.”

Daniel Dae Kim (1968) American actor

"Is There Anything 'Insurgent' Star Daniel Dae Kim Can't Do?" in NBC Asian America (24 March 2015) https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/ddk-diversity-media-america-n320081

Lulu Wang photo

“There's so little representation of people who look like me behind the camera that it makes you want to say yes to any opportunity out of desperation. It puts you in a situation where you can't make your best work. Diversity for cheap.”

Lulu Wang (1983) Asian-American filmmaker

As quoted in "Lulu Wang Spots the Lie The director of the Sundance sensation The Farewell has made the kind of movie Hollywood never makes." in Vulture (1 July 2019) https://www.vulture.com/2019/07/lulu-wang-the-farewell-profile.html

Albert Einstein photo

“A theory is the more impressive, the greater the simplicity of its premises, the more diverse things it connects, and the wider its scope”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

1940s, "Autobiographical Notes" (1949)
Original: (de) Eine Theorie ist desto eindrucksvoller, je größer die Einfachheit ihrer Prämissen ist, je verschiedenartigere Dinge sie verknüpft, und je weiter ihr Anwendungsbereich ist.

Moon So-ri photo

“Right now, the industry might have gotten bigger. More people may be watching films. Those are positive aspects. But diversity in Korean cinema has decreased a lot since then. There are more female film students in schools.”

Moon So-ri (1974) South Korean actress

On highlighting the need for diversity in Korean film industry in "Now a director and scriptwriter, actress Moon So-ri speaks about her film" in The Korea Herald (6 Septmeber 2017) http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170906000677

Michael Nielsen photo

“We have to overthrow the idea that it's a diversion from "real" work when scientists conduct high-quality research in the open. Publicly funded science should be open science.”

Michael Nielsen (1974) Australian and Canadian physicist and writer (b.1974)

The New Einsteins Will Be Scientists Who Share https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204644504576653573191370088. In The Wall Street Journal. October 29, 2011.

“I will contribute who I am. I deeply believe in the beauty of the Church of Montreal, of its diversity, of its expressions, and of its culture. It is our mission to strive for reconciliation and peace. I believe that that's what the people need.”

Alain Faubert (1965) Canadian religious servant and auxiliary bishop

Inside the Heart of a Bishop https://www.diocesemontreal.org/en/news-and-info/latest-news/inside-heart-bishop (April 27, 2016)

“Again, irrationality can hurt, and here we have evidence that a particular form of it is widespread. The people accused around hurt, and the clients—be they children or grown adults—are hurt. Irrationality is not simply an amusing diversion provided by tarot cards or Ouija boards.”

Robyn Dawes (1936–2010) American psychologist

Source: Everyday Irrationality: How Pseudo-Scientists, Lunatics, and the Rest of Us Systematically Fail to Think Rationally (2001), Chapter 9, “Sexual Abuse Hysteria” (p. 179)

Emilio Insolera photo

“Our diversity is our superpower.”

Emilio Insolera (1979) Actor and film producer

Source: As quoted in https://www.signgene.com(April 26, 2017)

Cyrus the Great photo

“Diversity in counsel, unity in command.”

Cyrus the Great (-600–-530 BC) King and founder of the Achaemenid Empire

Source: Attributed to Cyrus the Great, in Strategic Management : A New View of Policy and Planning, by Charles W. Hofer (1979), p. 163. Hofer does not cite any particular source, but this quote is frequently cited in literature written by and for American businessmen.

“When we include and listen to diverse ways of thinking, we make the impossible, possible.”

Bob Swan (1960) American business executive

citation needed

Isaac Herzog photo

“I think that it is very important to protect our Israeli and Jewish identity. It's not simple. We live in a very diverse world, but part of a person's ability to develop is having an identity that you believe in and belong to.”

Isaac Herzog (1960) Israeli politician

Source: Isaac Herzog (2021) cited in " Israel’s president to Palo Alto students: Check out Hebrew TikTok https://www.jweekly.com/2021/12/20/israels-president-to-palo-alto-students-check-out-hebrew-tiktok/" on The Jewish News of Northern California, 20 December 2021.

Mikheil Saakashvili photo

“Georgia's character - now and forever - celebrates tolerance, embraces diversity, relishes lively and open debate, and above all, respects liberty and human dignity. Georgia is a democracy, because above all - its national identity is rooted in the traditions of democracy.”

Mikheil Saakashvili (1967) Georgian-Ukrainian politician, President of Georgia and Governor of Odessa

Remarks to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2005)
Source: As quoted in "Remarks of the President of Georgia H.E. Mikheil Saakashvili to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe" https://reliefweb.int/report/georgia/remarks-president-georgia-he-mikheil-saakashvili-parliamentary-assembly-council (26 January 2005), ReliefWeb

Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne photo

“The country is very diverse, geographically, ethnically, so the reality that the bishops have on the coast, in the mountains, or in the jungle is very different.”

Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne (1943) Catholic cardinal

Source: Pope Francis will see a lively faith in Peru and Chile, Lima's cardinal says https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/37324/pope-francis-will-see-a-lively-faith-in-peru-and-chile-limas-cardinal-says (5 December 2017)

Jay Samit photo

“Company mentoring programs are also a key tool in promoting diversity at the workplace.”

Jay Samit (1961) American businessman

Future Proofing You (2021)

Gary Zukav photo

“Hindu mythology is virtually a large scale projection into the psychological realm of microscopic scientific discoveries." "The Wu Li Masters know that physicists are doing more than discovering the endless diversity of nature.'”

They are dancing with Kali, the Divine Mother of Hindu mythology."
The Dancing Wu Li Masters (1979)
Source: Zukav, Gary The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics Bantam (September 1, 1984)ASIN 0553249142 as quoted in Londhe, S. (2008). A tribute to Hinduism: Thoughts and wisdom spanning continents and time about India and her culture https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Tribute_to_Hinduism.html?id=G3AMAQAAMAAJ

Luciano Suriani photo
Fala Chen photo

“America has taken small baby steps of progress towards having more inclusion and diversity in Hollywood. It's optimistic. I'm hopeful, but there is so much more work that needs to be done.”

Fala Chen (1982) Hong Kong actress

"Fala Chen Is Bringing Her Excellence to Hollywood" in Town & Country https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a37223279/fala-chen-jiang-li-shang-chi-marvel-interview/ (1 September 2021)

Roy Hattersley photo

“Diversity was the encouragement of people to live together in harmony despite their differences and rejoice in the differences rather than deplore them.”

Roy Hattersley (1932) British Labour Party politician, published author and journalist

Interview for " Rivers of Blood http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Rivers_of_Blood", BBC2 (8 March 2008), at 23:21

Gary Locke photo

“The strength of America is our diversity of people, ethnicities, cultures, languages, religions — this is the secret sauce of our dynamism and resilience.”

Gary Locke (1950) American politician

"Gary Locke keynotes anti-hate summit" in Northwest Asian Weekly https://nwasianweekly.com/2021/10/gary-locke-keynotes-anti-hate-summit/ (29 October 2021)

Gary Locke photo

“We are always open to new ideas. The incredible diversity from around the world, and that constant infusion of new ideas, cultures and perspectives, is what really makes our region so dynamic and exciting.”

Gary Locke (1950) American politician

"Interview with Former Governor Gary Locke" https://greater-seattle.com/en/2020/06/11/interview-with-former-governor-gary-locke/ (11 June 2020)

“The Church works for the proclamation and the complaint, in order to live in peace. This task begins in the family, which is the first school, and where there should be no violence. We must be agents of life, respectful of people, diversity and the environment.”

Héctor Epalza Quintero (1940–2021) priest

The Bishop of Buenaventura: "Solving the problem of violence with social investment" http://www.fides.org/en/news/33074-AMERICA_COLOMBIA_The_Bishop_of_Buenaventura_Solving_the_problem_of_violence_with_social_investment (17 January 2013)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali photo
Elizabeth Martinez photo

“The real concern of anti-diversity warriors is not with the introduction of politics but with the wrong kind of politics. They want literature to serve a very political function indeed: to sustain, not criticize, the status quo.”

Elizabeth Martinez (1925) American community organizer, activist, author, and educator

De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century (2017)

Bounnhang Vorachit photo

“Cooperation for development has now become the major trend of our contemporary world. We have clearly witnessed that diverse forms and scope of cooperation have taken place within and among the regions thus providing a strong boost to the world economic growth.”

Bounnhang Vorachit (1937) former General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (2016-2021)

"Keynote Address by H.E. Mr. Bounnhang Vorachith Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic" https://asean.org/keynote-address-by-h-e-mr-bounnhang-vorachith-prime-minister-of-the-lao-peoples-democratic-republic-2/ (26 July 2005)