Among other cast members, the long-running series featured the first woman "Star Trek" captain (Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew), a black Vulcan (Tuvok, played by Tim Russ), a Taiwanese-American human ensign (Harry Kim, portrayed by Garrett Wang) and a Klingon portrayed by a Hispanic woman (B'Elanna Torres, played by Roxann Dawson.) 

Many of the cast members reunited May 26 for a fundraiser to support struggling entertainment industry professionals (who were affected by set closedowns related to the novel coronavirus pandemic) on the YouTube channel "Stars in the House." Much of the stars' conversation centered on what "Star Trek" meant for promoting diversity.

When looking at the franchise even outside of the 1995 to 2001 "Voyager" series, diversity abounds to the present day – including the first openly gay doctor in the franchise during "Star Trek: Discovery", which premiered in 2017. The original series, which ran from 1966 to 1969, included the starring black actress Nichelle Nichols at a time when many black actors struggled to get any kind of work.

"I think what the fans will agree, what set 'Star Trek' apart from everything else ... was the inclusiveness," Jonathan Lapook, the chief medical correspondent for CBS News, said during the reunion show. He briefly joined the reunion as he has used "Star Trek" technology in his reporting to draw analogies with MRIs, displays of vital signs and other modern-day technologies doctors have enjoyed in the decades since the series debuted.