Does diversity matter? Evidence from a survey of political science faculty

Does diversity in political science departments matter? In addressing the question, this article helps assess the value of increasing diversity in the discipline overall. Members of gender, race, and sexual orientation minority groups remain underrepresented in political science departments. What effects does underrepresentation have? To answer this question we rely upon a 2009 American Political Science Association (APSA)-sponsored survey of all faculty in U.S. political science departments. We study responses to questions about the number of female; racial minority; and lesbian, gay, or bisexual faculty members in political science departments. We test hypotheses about the relationship between the degree of departmental diversity and the friendliness, collegiality, and productivity of the associated faculty. We find that diversity, significantly affects intra-departmental relations, productivity, and perceptions of the treatment of female and racial/ethnic minorities. For both attitudes toward racial minorities and attitudes toward sexual minorities, greater diversity is generally associated with more positive attitudes. Women and racial/sexual minorities perceive their departments as less “friendly” than men and non-minorities. The presence of five or more women triggers a rise in the unfriendliness of a given department; this pattern does not appear for racial/sexual minorities.