#BattleFest2017: Diversity - does it matter?

Diversity is widely celebrated in contemporary society. Big employers have adopted elaborate strategies to recruit more diverse workforces. On the world stage, diversity is posited as a progressive antidote to ‘backward forces’ clinging to outdated national cultures. But has diversity become an illiberal orthodoxy? When Google engineer James Damore notoriously inquired whether diversity was an incontestable virtue, he lost his job. Do diversity policies invite a permanent war of cultures, resulting in a society increasingly segmented along the lines of identity? Can we achieve fair treatment and equal access to jobs without creating discriminatory and divisive hiring practices?

SPEAKERS

JOSIE APPLETON director, civil liberties group, Manifesto Club; author, Officious: rise of the busybody state; blogs at notesonfreedom.com

AMALI DE ALWIS CEO, Code First: Girls; chair, BIMA Diversity panel; fellow, RSA

DREDA SAY MITCHELL author, journalist, broadcaster and campaigner; winner, CWA’s John Creasey Dagger for debut novel, Running Hot; latest novel, Blood Daughter

CATHY YOUNG US journalist and commentator; weekly columnist, Newsday; author, Ceasefire!