Author

Meena Poudel

Year

2022 Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

Publisher

Gender Justice in Nepal Issues and Perspectives, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

DOI/Link

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Abstract

There has been much interest in studying diversity in recent years. In fact, it has gained a pivotal space not only in academia and policy discourses but also in the governmental, non-governmental and the private sectors. The work carried out by scholars like Phillips (2005, 2008), Yuval‐Davis (2006b), Siim (2009), Faist (2009), Salzbrunn (2012), Vertovec (2012), and among others suggest that there are several reasons that led to the growing interest in diversity. Yet the most important role has been played by identity-oriented feminist movements who successfully raised the issues of African American women, LGBTIQ communities, aging populations, and people with disabilities. This discourse started around the late 1950s and early 1960s. Whilst social processes of differences and diversification have been discussed in academia for a long time back. It was only around 1978 when the term ‘diversity’ explicitly came to public attention in the US in relation to forming affirmative action against racial discrimination (Büharmann, 2014). Moreover, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, with the rise of liberal political processes, globalised economic opportunities, and then transnationalisation of social and civil rights, feminist movements started to include post-colonial and migration studies and the interest on diversity increased. Likewise, the expansion of social networks, driven by digitalised information contributed further to diversity campaigns helping better organise and advance at national, regional and global levels. These campaigns aimed at ending discrimination based on gender, class, sexuality, faith, race, age, nationalities and various forms of disabilities. An analysis of academic work from the last half of the century clearly indicates that diversity debates have gradually expanded in Europe and North America and contributed to many social movements in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world. Some examples are the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, indigenous movement in South America, post-colonial indigenous/Adivasi and Dalit movements in India, Dalit, Janajati and ethnic and indigenous rights movements in Nepal particularly after the political change of 1990.

Keywords

Gender and Media