According to Harvard Business Review, 61% of U.S. employees have experienced or witnessed discrimination based on age, race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI, is a structure that promotes equal participation of people in the workplace, particularly designed to uplift minority groups to the same level of opportunities as the majority. DEI is essential because it supports minority groups and advocates against discrimination. The purpose of DEI is to recognize that merit doesn’t look the same for everyone because opportunities and resources are not equally distributed or accessible. DEI exists to diminish systemic barriers and social discrimination among individuals and works to strengthen communities. AP Government and World History teacher Ms. Johnson explains, “DEI measures are important because it gives everyone the opportunity to contribute and have their voices heard in schools, the workplace, and our government. Ending DEI measures is a violation of civil rights and liberties and only serves to benefit the already wealthy and powerful at the expense of marginalized groups.”
DEI is currently being misconstrued in numerous ways, the most prevalent being that a hired minority did not earn their title or position and they’ve simply found themselves in said placement because of their race, gender identity, sexuality, or other such factors. President Trump’s recent executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” is only aiding these misconceptions with its confusing language that refers to DEI programs as “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences.” The name of the executive order itself reflects the misunderstanding of DEI’s definition. Additionally, the executive order titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing” labels DEI as “forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs.”
It is easy for those in higher societal standing to believe that DEI is a mechanism of hate solely because it does not cater to them. Their position of privilege in American society makes it easy for them to overlook the impact of DEI on minorities. Because of DEI policies, they think that minorities didn’t work for their positions and that they were just handed them because of their minority status, but this is far from the truth.
The overall miseducation surrounding DEI and the inaccurate rhetoric used in President Trump’s recent executive orders are not only harming the minority population but also writing a false narrative that pushes DEI programs under a negative light.
