Book Review: The Difference

By Elizabeth Macanufo 

January 2010

In the final chapter of his book The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools and Societies, Scott E. Page debates a univeristy admissions decision. Francesca scored 1470 on her SAT; Leslee scored 1340. Francesa identifies as white' Leslee is mixed race. Francesca comes from a weathly suburb; Leslee's family is poor. Page advocates for admitting Leslee over Francesca.

Insight into Page advocating for the seemingly weaker candidate becomes clear during an interview with the New York Times. “I myself am an affirmative action child. I got into the University of Michigan in the 1980s on a program. I’m from a rural part of Michigan. No calculus in high school. So I was given bonus points toward undergraduate admissions. If the policy had been to consider mainly grades and SATs and not to make room for some geographic diversity, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten in.” Now a professor of complex systems, political science and economics at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Scott has devoted his academic research to proving that diversity does make a difference.

Not content with simple conjecture, Page bases his opinions on mathematical proofs. Using diverse perspectives, heuristics, interpretations and predictive models, the book is filled with formulas to prove his theory. As he states, “The whole point of this book has been to move beyond metaphor and mysticism and place claims of diversity’s benefits on solid foundations.” Page’s main thesis is simple: diversity leads to better outcomes. Page’s use of the term diversity includes not just cultural differences but also unique backgrounds, trainings and experiences.

Page uses his thesis to defend divisive practices, such as diversity-driven workplace hiring and affirmative action. He has observed that corporations are striving to hire a more diverse work force. “Over the past few decades, business leaders have moved in the direction of pro-diversity. Two fundamental changes have led to this directional shift: the business world has become more global (and therefore more aware of ethnic diversity), and the practice of work has become more team-focused. The homogenous hierarchy has given way to the diverse team.”

Admitting that companies will not see overnight changes by hiring a diverse staff, he urges corporations to remain committed to the end results. “In an organization or an economy, a 2 to 5 percent increase in productivity would be a cause for celebration…permanent modest increases can have a huge effect.” One such effect is greater innovation initiatives. As Page says, “Studies…show that management teams with greater training and experiential diversity typically introduce more innovations. Based on this evidence, organizational scholars generally agree that cognitive diversity improves rates of innovation.”