JARET RIDDICK
There are many challenges facing the United States today that threaten the country’s global leadership and economic power. One of the most significant strategic challenges can be summed up as the Great Power Competition, where Russia represents an acute threat, and China, the premier pacing threat. Amidst these real-world challenges, the United States continues to have a special tool critical to its national security, and indeed, global leadership — the diversity of its people. The urgency that current threats pose requires U.S. policymakers to resist being drawn into self-defeating divisive politics. Instead, American diversity should be valued not only as an inherent good, but as a strategic asset.
The Great Power Competition is shaping up to be a race for technological dominance, and talent will be key to winning this race. America’s diverse untapped talent from populations typically underrepresented in technical fields presents a valuable asset that should not go unnoticed.
Historically, diverse communities have served as a core asset in advancing American dynamism and shaping American values. Decades of research shows that diverse teams build better products, diverse and inclusive companies deliver a stronger bottom line, and diverse militaries perform better on the battlefield. Indeed, uniting diverse, disparate communities as stakeholders, with shared destiny, is among the great triumphs of American culture. But persistent divisions and disparities have also left a great many communities among these same diverse populations — whether urban, rural, or tribal — vulnerable, lacking in resilience.
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