Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the progressive movement promote to supposedly bring about a more equitable and inclusive society, is on its back leg, if not headed toward a well-deserved death.
Like most progressive (socialist/communist) movements, DEI said one thing, while promoting practices that actually had the opposite effect. The unstated intent behind DEI is not to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, but rather to justify the discrimination against the class that is perceived to be behind all social injustices: white men.
Diversity
The objective of diversity has morphed from an ideal of being open to including different viewpoints to radical and ridiculous mandates that groups, be they boards, employees, or members, must meet fixed racial or gender quotas in order to be considered adequately diverse. Whether it is mandates that groups must be 50% women in order to reflect population statistics, or that there be a certain number of different racial groups based on racial population percentages, the end effect is discrimination against qualified individuals who do not fit into these buckets.
When there is only one opening on a progressive board, and a black/Latino/transgender/furry/quadriplegic is a candidate vs a white man, the man might as well not even apply. The result is tokenism, where unqualified candidates are promoted to positions that they would never be considered qualified for, if not for the fact that they ticked a quota box. Our latest Supreme Court justice is a case in point, while not being able to articulate what distinguishes men from women, is now in the position to adjudicate issues involving protections for women, such as Title IX.
Equity
Equity is another example of saying one thing while doing another. While the goal of equity should be to ensure equality of opportunity, instead, it is being used to remedy perceived past harms and injustices by mandating quotas and remedial measures that harm current or potential employees who are the wrong gender or race.
The result is reverse discrimination, where the best-qualified candidates are passed over for less-qualified persons in order to meet a DEI quota. This is illegal discrimination, which is just as illegal as discriminating on the basis of race or gender.
Inclusion
Finally, inclusion. Again, a great idea on paper – everyone should feel valued and able to contribute. However, trying to force this through mandatory training, monitoring, or metrics just induces the exact opposite, especially when coupled with other DEI measures. Training on microaggressions, the labeling of trigger words or concepts, and the promotion of safe spaces all end up producing an environment where people are afraid to speak up or contribute, the exact opposite of what an inclusive environment should be.
A return to common sense
The result of the efforts to force DEI down the throats of businesses and workers has been either silent and sullen acceptance (nobody says or does anything for fear of being accused of offending someone else) or rebellion, as the best and the brightest leave DEI-addled companies for less restrictive pastures. Thankfully, the tide appears to be turning as this Marxist groupthink straw man is exposed for what it really is and shut down.
Hiring the best person for the role, treating people fairly, and valuing people’s input is not a new or radical concept. It is called good management, and when applied without quotas, classes, or metrics, it is what makes for great companies and happy workers.
However, considering the attempts that are being made by companies and institutions to pretend that they no longer mandate DEI, while simply renaming the initiatives and continuing them anyway, just goes to show that ongoing vigilance is required to not only spot these attempts, but more importantly, remove those who are behind them from these organizations so that the rot they promote can be stopped.