The Discourse of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Programs
By: Zi Yuan Wong
Since January, the newly sworn-in Trump administration has been hard at work, signing executive orders to steer American society toward a more conservative and isolationist direction.
One of their priorities is dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs—programs where American organizations strive to involve individuals from marginalized communities in their hiring practices and culture. DEI programs have been entrenched in American society for decades, but what exactly are they, and why is the Trump administration attempting to abolish them?
In a nutshell, DEI programs aim to be more inclusive by providing opportunities for individuals to succeed and thrive in organizations, regardless of their ethnic background. These programs can be explained through their terms:
● Diversity means bringing together people of different races, genders, political alignments, and cultural backgrounds in a shared environment.
● Equity means recognizing inequalities in society and ensuring that everyone, irrespective of background, is given the chance to be successful.
● Inclusion defines an environment where differences between people are celebrated and where minorities can belong.
As a nation of immigrants, the United States welcomes minorities worldwide who come for better opportunities. However, these groups may feel isolated after arriving in a mostly white society, feeling that they will never be accepted. DEI programs aim to help minorities integrate by providing them with job opportunities and a chance to succeed in the U.S. despite their background.
The main reason the United States has these programs is due to the country’s ugly history of racial discrimination when non-whites were looked down upon and denied opportunities to succeed solely because of their skin color. When the country attempted to move on from its dark past, something needed to be done to tackle and correct discriminatory policies that had already existed within organizations, and DEI initiatives were enacted to do that.
Despite the benefits of these programs, not everyone is pleased with them, leading to a large bipartisan debate on their merits, with some calling for their abolishment. Not to mention, they also became convenient scapegoats for politicians to handwave a string of incidents involving aircraft safety and bridge collapses.
In the current DEI discourse, opponents have ironically labeled the initiatives as racist and discriminatory towards the majority group, particularly white people. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had previously called university DEI programs “discriminatory” and “woke indoctrination,” having signed numerous bills to abolish them. Others, like billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, however, see the programs as beneficial, highlighting that a diverse workforce that represents a business’s stakeholders is instrumental to its success.
In a diverse nation like the U.S., programs that champion diversity, equity, and inclusion should be celebrated for bringing people of different backgrounds together. As we interact more with people globally, we need to show that diversity, not monotony, is the way forward. With every country watching us, we should demonstrate the country’s racial diversity by embracing our differences, displaying equity by giving everyone equal opportunities to succeed and promoting inclusion by respecting everyone’s opinions and perspectives.