how could people simply existing as minorities make the workplace suffer?

• this insinuates that just by being a minority you are bringing down the workplace performance. diversity has countless benefits.
  for example, it leaves the option open for more perspectives on a wide range of issues since people will have far more different experiences and varying backgrounds.

• it is important to show younger generations of POC so they can have role models so they don't feel alienated and unable to partake in certain professions due to their race. there is a huge and unfair gap that needs to be bridged and the best way to do that is to allow opportunities for people who are qualified but rejected for reasons beyond their control to shine. there is a notorious issue with people being judged for their name and how ethnic it sounded, which is just an example of ways in which you are shunned if you are not white.

• by this logic we just shouldn't hire minorities altogether. this would then feed the hypcorisy and fuel the narrative that people of colour are lazy, while they are also blamed for taking jobs. the problem is not diversity which is much needed for more reasons than can be shared. the problem is and will always be racism.

It's true. In a similar way, racially monolithic communities often have lower crime. When people of different backgrounds are together, there is a >0% increase in potential conflicts. I would imagine that number is pretty low, though.

Regardless, that would simply be descriptive, not prescriptive. Is the world better segregated? Is your life better if you only interact with a bunch of clones of yourself? Productivity might be higher if everyone looks, acts, and thinks the same, but what of creativity?

If diversity harms raw productivity, then the way I see it, that hit to productivity is just the cost of making the world a better place.

The premisses of this question are silly.

It is true that differences can lead to conflict, and saying this does not mean that diversity itself is to blame.

Diversity in race and gender can negatively affect workplace performance when prejudiced individuals and systems are at play. A bigoted stance on this claim would invoke the claim:

"Having someone of the opposite sex/a different race is decreasing workplace productivity."

A more progressive viewpoint, on the contrary, would appear as follows:

"Employees with exclusionary and prejudiced perspectives are hampering collaboration and creating a negative workplace environment."

Diversity in race and gender could be having a negative impact in both scenarios, but whether we choose to assign causative blame to diversity or to racism and sexism is another question entirely.

• To answer that question, of course, one merely has to cite the numerous studies demonstrating the positive impacts of welcomed and celebrated diversity on workplace performance to show that, objectively, we should seek to welcome race and gender differences amongst employees.
• On ethical grounds, the cultivation of an equitable society in which all individuals are treated on the basis of controllable factors - i.e., skill as opposed to background or sex and gender - necessitates that we target prejudice as the culprit.

It is worth citing that there have been studies demonstrating nonlinear relationships between diversity and performance. Generally, however, the adoption of inclusive practices and policies complements diversity in the workplace, and we might validly anticipate improved productivity.