Description
Abstract:
The politics of diversity and inclusion have led to meaningful outcomes. Today, there is a noticeable increase in the representation of individuals from minority populations in global politics and positions of power across various governments worldwide. This progress underscores the effectiveness of diversity initiatives in creating more inclusive political and governance structures. While commendable, this quantitative representation has seldom addressed historical inequalities, rarely disrupted conventional thinking, and yet to significantly enhance the political and institutional power needed to meaningfully improve the lives of minority groups. This paper utilizes data from key appointments and policies enacted by the UK Conservative government from 2022 to 2024 to explore the outcomes of their diversity and inclusion strategies in achieving both quantitative and qualitative representation for minority groups. This paper addresses the following questions: Who constitutes the included minority groups? What are the underlying reasons for their inclusion? What are the intended outcomes of such inclusion? How have the policies overseen by these representatives contributed to enhancing the institutional and political power of minority groups? By exploring the identities, locations, and positions of those included and analyzing the policies they championed through content and discursive analysis, the paper aims to determine whether, and how their inclusion achieves quantitative, qualitative, or both quantitative and qualitative representation.
Keywords: Inclusion; Quantitative representation; Qualitative representation; Minority appointments; Global Politics; Inequalities
