Answer:
Yes, the diversity of Congress(in terms of the race/ethnicity, gender, personal background, and/or experiences of its members) truly matters.
Yes, it affects the quality of representation that citizens enjoy.
Yes, Congress has become more diverse over time.
Explanation:
Currently, Congress has become the most racially diverse in history. But in comparison to the overall country, it’s still much of whites. This was found from a new analysis by the Pew Research Center.
The first good news is that about 22 percent of members of the House and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities — making this the most diverse Congress ever.
This kind of diversity truly matters because people’s backgrounds and life experiences can definitely influence their way of thinking and decision making.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is black, and he has spoken on several occasions about his ordeal with the police as he has been racially profiled by them.
In 2016, even as an elected official, he was stopped seven times by police officers in the course of one year.
The vast majority of the times he was stopped was nothing more than he was driving a new car in the wrong neighborhood or some other trivial reasons.
These experiences had helped to shape Scott’s views on policies regarding police and the criminal justice system, and it has led him to support and introduce certain reform in the system.
Also, the current Congress reflects gender diversity and equality. The percentage of female is about 23.7%.
Recent studies show that electing more women has a noticeable effect on how governments work.
