Like many other social justice-related terms, “DEI” — which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—has been misinterpreted, twisted negatively, and employed intentionally as a fear-mongering buzzword.
Current politics have rebranded DEI initiatives, which have been commonplace in many workplaces since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, as “unnatural” and even discriminatory against white people. Right-wing politicians spin tales of the danger of “woke-ism,” “critical race theory,” “gender ideology,” and DEI as a rallying cry against the supposed sudden wave of leftism in the United States. Doing so willfully ignores the historical roots of DEI, affirmative action, and diversification of educational programs, a tree that was planted to remedy the effects of various forms of oppression.
Suddenly, we are meant to believe that companies place identity over merit while hiring and that anything remotely related to race or gender in workplace trainings is artificially implemented. It is naïve to believe that these claims are based in a genuine concern for a supposed lack of merit-based hiring or even acceptance rates into schools—they originate from a desire to uphold white supremacy within American institutions.
Within hours of President Trump’s inauguration, an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” was signed into place. As a result, all federal DEI staff were placed on paid leave by 5 pm Wednesday, January 22nd, leaving many dedicated government employees with the threat of eventual termination. On Trump’s second day as president, he signed “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which effectively killed a multitude of decades-old executive orders that focused on promoting equal opportunity and targeting discrimination.
Amongst a flurry of other sudden executive orders, which served to both shock the public and kick off his plan to make America “great,” Trump indicated that injustice is a thing of the past and that we have no current obligations to address the impacts of oppression.
By calling for the creation of a society that is “color-blind” and “merit-based,” Trump and his allies have told the world that they think those who benefit from DEI frameworks have done little to earn their positions or success. Claiming that a Black person was only hired because of their race—a claim made about Biden’s decision to appoint Harris as his vice president, despite her extensive political record—for example, invites the understanding that they are not capable nor qualified. However, in most situations, this could not be further from the truth.
In many cases, DEI policies simply encourage a diverse array of applicants and do not ensure their actual hiring. In order to garner more support for the demolition of DEI, the right must maintain that employers don’t care about a candidate’s resume and instead make a hiring decision based on race, gender, sexuality, or (dis)ability. Doing so perpetuates the disgraceful belief that marginalized groups are inherently ill-equipped to assume certain employment positions, especially authoritative ones. Beyond this blatant display of prejudice and outward exploitation of people’s inner biases, the campaign against DEI also wages a psychological war on the minds of many Americans.
By omitting the true contours, applications, and outcomes of DEI frameworks, the people who they are meant to serve become invisible, and their struggles are erased. Underrepresented groups often experience intense imposter syndrome as a result, therefore struggling with feelings of self-doubt as if one’s success is undeserved. In education in particular, many minority students in competitive academic spaces are left constantly wondering whether they deserve to be there, especially when they are surrounded by a lack of diversity.
It is shameful and frustrating that DEI is now not only seen as anti-merit, but also intensely racist, sexist, and ableist. What was originally created to address tangible and ongoing systemic discrimination has been rendered obsolete and unnecessary, a political strategy aimed at reinstating exclusion and encouraging bigotry.
With countless barriers to certain jobs and higher education already present despite the existence of DEI, its death will have serious, long-lasting consequences. The discrediting of marginalized employees and students ultimately erases their existence and important contributions to their organizations and fields of work/study. It’s time to openly call the current crusade against DEI, affirmative action, and the teaching of topics related to social justice what it really is: a concerted effort to uphold systems of oppression and lay ground for a far-right political future.
Therefore, it is imperative that we think critically when faced with the flood of misinformation and fearmongering around issues such as DEI that are sure to continue. It is clear that far-right, conservative politicians who now hold the majority of political power want to define America as a country of hate and brutal oppression, not one of acceptance and freedom. Therefore, we must be conscious in questioning, extremely intuitive, and fearlessly brave in our resistance against this treacherous campaign.