Ubuntu, diversity and "bug 1"

(I realize a lot of people on my flist might not feel terribly connected to this, but it makes more sense here than as a REALLY LONG COMMENT in someone else's space.)

During Ubuntu Open Week, Mark Shuttleworth, founder (and funder) and leader of the project, made some statements that could be charitably described as "unfortunate":

(12:31:18 PM) akgraner: QUESTION how important is having a diverse group of contributors (women & minority folks) to solving Bug #1?
(12:31:38 PM) sabdfl: not especially, but it makes the project more interesting

This bit had steam coming out of my ears. There was an unfortunate followup that the questioner has apologized for; you can see the snippet at Geek Feminism or the whole log. I should also mention that I've had the luxury of several days to chew on this vs. Mark's thirty seconds or so, and he apparently does poorly with public speaking. Having given equal time to Not the Point, I proceed to The Point.
(Ubuntu Bug 1: "Microsoft has a majority market share")

Diversity is absolutely fundamental to fixing bug 1.( Why? )