Cultural Diversity Essay: Examples, Topics, &Tips

What did you eat for lunch today? On which holidays do you visit your parents? Which language do you speak? What is your religion? Answers to these questions can say more about what you could think. Culture made you the person you are now. It encompasses the shared beliefs, values, language, and behaviors that one generation inherits from another.

A cultural diversity essay covers the presence of several cultural groups in one society, their interaction, and convergence.

In this article, you will find:

• the meaning of globalization and multicultural society,
• 78 cultural diversity essay topics,
• a dozen of writing tips.

Our two cultural diversity essay examples will illustrate the best way to approach this subject matter.

🥗 Cultural Diversity Essay: What Is It About?

During your college life, you will be assigned many tasks on cultural diversity, especially if you study in the US (which is one of the most multicultural countries). They teach you to appreciate that society consists of many ethnic groups. Their interests, needs, and social skills differ. Moreover, their religious beliefs and sexual orientations can vary as well, and you should respect that.

Sociology, cultural studies, psychology, anthropology, and human geography deals with sociology and multiculturalism. You will write a cultural diversity essay for one of these subjects.

A multicultural society requires its members to have the following skills and behaviors:

• respect the differences;
• appreciate what other cultures offer and encourage their contributions;
• acknowledge the importance of various cultural expressions;
• empower ethnic minorities to reveal their maximum potential;
• be critical to one’s own biases and barriers;
• tolerate and celebrate the differences to create unity through diversity.

Cultural Diversity: Key Benefits

1. Learning to be open-minded. It teaches us to get rid of stereotypes and understand other people and their backgrounds. Education in a multicultural group gives you an excellent opportunity to learn outside the curriculum.
2. Opportunities to grow. It makes you more confident. You are not as afraid to leave your comfort zone as in a monocultural group.
3. Getting ready for the future. Most modern companies are multicultural. Studying at a culturally diverse institution prepares you for your future workplace.
4. Empathy and tolerance. Interactions with people whose beliefs and life experiences are different train you to “feel” their problems and needs. And although you will never understand what it is like to walk in their shoes, you learn to listen and understand.

Multiculturalism Theories

There are two theories of multiculturalism that describe how different cultures coexist in the same society. Their names are metaphoric.

• The Salad Bowl Theory
  Salad’s ingredients never merge. Still, their combination creates a single dish with its unique flavor. This theory claims that people of different cultures always retain some of their traditional characteristics. Chinatown and Little India in New York are the best examples of a salad bowl community.
  According to this theory, people should not reject their cultural heritage to become full-fledged members of the predominant population group. But this opinion has its negative side. Encouraging cultural differences divides the community and leads to discrimination.
• The Melting Pot Theory
  When iron and carbon are heated in a melting pot, they create a stronger metal. This theory states that cultures will “melt together” and abandon their traditions over time. They assimilate according to the rules of the dominant population. The best example is the life of immigrants in the United States. 
  This model also has its drawbacks. It disregards the wishes of ethnic minorities and has to be politically enforced. It also reduces diversity. Current globalization is an excellent example of the melting pot theory. Nations lose their traditional lifestyles and heritages to form a new homogenous society.

🗽 Cultural Diversity in the US

Kenneth Prewitt, the US Census Bureau senior advisor, once said that “we’re on our way to becoming the first country in history that is literally made up of every part of the world.” Indeed, the US is the most multicultural place on Earth.

But at a deeper level, if there is the first such country, there will be more. The US is a role model for many other nations in organizational practices of cultural identities. Almost everything that becomes a norm here will come to reality elsewhere.

Since the Europeans colonized it several centuries ago, millions of people immigrated and settled in the US. Their cultural backgrounds and ethnicities merged. Being the third-largest country in area and population, America has formed its subcultures. They are geographically distributed among the four regions.

💡 78 Cultural Diversity Essay Topics

We have prepared the most compelling list of topics for a cultural diversity essay of any length and subject. Combine them to generate your own ideas!

1. Family changes in American and African cultures.
2. How is cultural diversity related to multiculturalism?
3. Multicultural vs. citizenship education.
4. American culture reflection in sport.
5. Why is it important to support ancient traditions?
6. What Is cultural pluralism?
7. Describe the cultural diversity in your native country.
8. Education theories across cultures.
9. Cross-cultural management problems.
10. Why do we call America “the Land of Opportunity?”
11. South Korea: Culture, government, and development.
12. How does dialect influence the local culture?
13. Popular music in the modern culture.
14. Cultural competence in multicultural environment.
15. Why is it essential to preserve cultural diversity?
16. Canadian political culture.
17. Women in politics: Is multiculturalism bad for women?
18. The history of multiculturalism in China.
19. Anthropology: The culture of the people of the River Front.
20. The new ideas I learned from cultural diversity in my college.
21. Verbal and non-verbal communication in effective cross-cultural communication.
22. Novel professions in culturally diverse societies.
23. Culture, globalization, and intercultural adaptation.
24. Intercultural communication and staff in tourism.
25. What is multicultural awareness?
26. Feminism in the hip-hop culture.
27. Which theory of multiculturalism do you support?
28. Future American cultural, racial, ethnic diversity.
29. Differences between the Brazilian and American cultures.
30. How many multicultural metaphors do you know?
31. Multicultural psychology, its history and importance.
32. The concept of cultural diversity and its meanings.
33. Intercultural and nonverbal communication challenges.
34. The effects of diverse culture on a business in UAE.
35.  What is the effect of cultural diversity in schools: An essay.
36. Intercultural communication breakdown.
37. Teaching culturally and ethnically diverse learners in the science classroom.
38. Cultural exception: Culture is not a commercial product.
39. Impact of culture on the American family system and structure.
40. Multiculturally competent psychotherapy.
41. Compare cultural diversity in society to biodiversity in nature.
42. Culture, cultural identity and related phenomena.
43. Describe the ways of measuring cultural diversity.
44. Polygamy in the Muslim culture context.
45. Intercultural interactions: Verbal and non-verbal communication challenges.
46. Poverty is not cultural diversity.
47. Music, media and culture influence on behavior.
48. Unethical religious practices: A contribution to cultural diversity?
49. Cultural diversity and inclusion in society.
50. Culturally and linguistically diverse families.
51. How does the mass media ruin the individuality of cultures?
52. The challenges of contemporary cultural diversity in criminal justice.
53. Why are Western Balkan countries so diverse?
54. The Parisian culture: European and Islamic cultures.
55. Perspectives and attitudes of multicultural English language teachers.
56. Cultural footprints in my city.
57. Building cross cultural competence.
58. Does multiculturalism hinder social cohesion?
59. Foreignism, media, imperialism influence on culture.
60. Different cultural practices in healthcare.
61. The distinctive nature of cultural diversity in nursing: An essay.
62. Cultural relativism, its strengths and weaknesses.
63. How does homogenous culture ensure shared emotions of the population?
64. Hip-hop in Japan and cultural globalization.
65. James Banks and multicultural education.
66. The problem of a sense of belonging in a multicultural group.
67. Multiculturalism in forensic psychology practice.
68. Can we protect endangered languages?
69. Heritage and culture in African American literature.
70. Evangelism in a cross-cultural environment.
71. Can you see the reality through the eyes of another person?
72. Gender differences in communication.
73. Does multiculturalism favor gender equality?
74. Analysis of cultures: Deaf culture, white culture, and black culture.
75. Globalization, multiculturalism, and Muslims.
76. Different rites of different cultures: An essay.
77. Cross-cultural communication issues.
78. Customer relationship in a cross-cultural context.

Haven’t found anything suitable in the list above? Please use our free essay topic generator to get more ideas.

✍️ 10 Writing Tips for an Essay on Different Cultures

1. Choose a topic that has an emotional load for you. You are free to use one of the questions above or combine any of them to brainstorm your own topic. The main thing is to make sure that the problem raised there is engaging for you. To check it, ask yourself: would I enjoy discussing the issue with a friend over a cup of coffee? If yes, you’ve made the right choice.
2. Take a non-trivial point of view. Everybody argues that cultural diversity is a positive phenomenon. You can hardly invent something new here. Search for its drawbacks! Analyze the American culture as if it is homogenous (surprisingly, you will find traits typical of all Americans).
3. Write about things you know well. Do you like Mexican or Japanese cuisine? Describe cultural diversity in culinary art. Are you interested in philosophical issues? Compare the different worldviews of several cultures.
4. Use the available theoretical base. Is America a melting pot or a salad bowl? If you analyze a different country, which metaphor would best describe its multiculturalism? Browse the web for other theories and available research and construct your essay on their bases. It will add reliability to your writing.
5. Avoid using too much statistics. An essay should express your opinion on a problem. It is not a compilation of available knowledge on the topic. Make it slightly personal and not too academic.
6. Step aside from conflict issues. If your topic does not explicitly require you to argue your opinion about traditional family values in various cultures, it is better to choose another subject.
7. Be specific. An essay about cultural diversity in New York City would be more exciting than a paper about multiculturalism in America as a whole. Narrow down your research to add value to your work.
8. Don’t shy away from taking sides. Cultural diversity is a relatively new sphere of knowledge. Many of its findings are controversial. In cases where several opinions coexist, be sure to highlight the one you support.
9. Provide facts that are not evident. It is not a must, but following this advice will raise your reader’s interest. For example, which of the two sentences do you like better?

   1. We need to preserve cultural diversity because it teaches us to accept other people’s differences.

   1. Cultural diversity is essential in the modern world because without it, we would become the characters of Orwell’s 1984.
10. Use the samples below to understand what you should write.

Sometimes it is better to see how someone else does the work than to read dozens of pages of explanation. The two samples illustrate what is expected from you in a short persuasive or argumentative essay on cultural diversity.

📝 Cultural Diversity Essay Examples

Below you’ll find two short cultural diversity essay examples. Both follow a standard 5-paragraph essay structure. Use them for inspiration and reference!

Cultural Diversity in Nursing Essay

Everybody needs nurses, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Nurses are just a part of the population that helps other members recover after injuries, operations, and diseases. This essay intends to prove that cultural diversity in nursing is often more critical than bare professionalism.

First, nursing is about trust. The representatives of some cultures may show resistance to care due to their negative experiences with the field. But if such patients see that some of their nurses relate to the same culture, they will develop more trust in their actions.

Second, nursing should heal, not test the validity of patients’ words. Many people of color prefer addressing black physicians. Why so? Because a white doctor might think they are exaggerating their symptoms. Furthermore, black people often have to travel long distances to meet the specialist of their culture because of unpleasant experiences of mistrust they had in the past. But medical assistance is an urgent thing. People should feel free to address the nearest healthcare institution.

Third, culturally competent nurses are more stress-resistant. According to an NIH study, nurses that lack understanding of cultural differences experience frustration when working with culturally different patients more often than their culturally competent colleagues. And a stressed medical worker becomes inefficient and can make the wrong decisions.

In conclusion, I am sure that healthcare managers should intentionally employ caring and competent minority nurses. It would raise the trust for their institutions among patients of all cultures. Lack of cultural diversity in nursing can cost lives, as people seek someone capable of understanding them without judging. Finally, cultural competence in nurses is an enormous asset since the lack of it can cause unnecessary stress and lower their professionalism.

Cultural Diversity in Schools Essay

Teaching diversity prepares students to interact with different cultural and social groups. By doing so, they are expected to become better citizens. But are there any drawbacks of educating cultural diversity in people? This essay analyzes whether cultural awareness is beneficial or not in the classroom and in the long-term perspective.

Schools aim to raise empathy, open-mindedness, and tolerance in their students by teaching them cultural diversity. Indeed, promoting awareness and establishing personal connections with other cultures at school can prevent children from prejudices later in life. It shows them how to empathize with people who are different while they become aware of the problems other cultural groups face daily.

Cultural diversity also gives students a better understanding of themselves. Moreover, it brings them confidence and a feeling of safety. Each of us is different in such or another way. When we live in a multicultural society, we perceive such differences as a norm, not a sin.

Some people point out the downside of cultural diversity in schools: bullying and higher levels of stress. Students may unite in cultural groups and confront each other. But I believe that such confrontations make us stronger. They show that there is also a better option than the opposition.

The learning environment should illustrate cultural inclusion and diversity to all students with all cultural backgrounds. Even the problems that arise out of multiculturalism are temporary and will disappear in some decades. They make us stronger and more attentive to other people.

We hope that now writing a cultural diversity essay will be much easier for you. However, preparing a text in this field might require studying a large number of sources. If you want to do this quickly, try our summarizer. This tool is able to automatically condense any article or paper.

❓ Cultural Diversity FAQ

🔗 References

1. Cultural diversity – Unesco
2. World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
3. multiculturalism | Definition, Impact, Challenges, & Facts
4. Multiculturalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
5. Multicultural Education: Definition & Approaches – Study.com
6. Rethinking Multiculturalism: Toward a Balanced Approach – jstor
7. History of Cultural Diversity in the United States | Study.com