Kanthak, Kristin (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh)

The Diversity Paradox: Parties, Legislatures, and the Organizational Foundations of Representation in America Kanthak, Kristin (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh)

In this book, the authors assert that representative institutions such as legislatures face a 'diversity paradox': when the size of a minority group increases beyond mere 'tokenism' in representative institutions, it tends to create an unintended backlash toward the minority group's members that emanates from both majority and fellow minority group members. The inclusion of minority group voices in representative institutions is critical in a wide range of politicaldecisions, ranging from legislative gender quotas in the new Iraqi constitution to attempts in the U. S. to increase minority representation through redistricting.