More Veterans Will Mean A Better And More Diverse Congress

Do you agree or disagree?

A recent article suggested Congress needs more diversity instead of veterans, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

In his recent article, “Congress Needs More Diversity, Not More Veterans,” Rob Irving wrote, “Unfortunately for the veteran movement, veterans are already overrepresented in Congress by a factor of two, while other important groups remain grossly underrepresented.”

Irving has presented a false choice, however, as veterans are actually increasing diversity in Congress. Moreover, in comparing previous military service to gender, religion, and ethnicity, Irving misses the essential difference between a politician’s qualifications for office and his or her demographic background, thereby undervaluing the tremendous benefits veterans can bring to public office.

Related: Congress needs more diversity, not more veterans.

Irving makes some great points about the organizational benefits of diversity, and asserts that he “never fully appreciated the immense value of diversity” until he left the Marine Corps to attend Harvard Business School, initially indicating that the latter was a more ethnically diverse environment. However, the fact that 76% of his fellow Harvard MBAs are white (versus only 71% of his fellow jarheads) indicates that Irving never fully appreciated how diverse the military is.