DEI at a Crossroads - Examining Impact in 2024

An Introduction to DEI

DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – a framework which allows for organizations like schools and workplaces to attempt to address systemic inequalities with diversity and help to create fairer environments. DEI initiatives often start with noble goals – trying to help increase diversity and introduce opportunities for historically marginalized groups who have on average received less support and success in attaining jobs and attending prestigious universities. According to Pew Research Center, “by double digit margins, more say being a woman, being Black or Hispanic” ultimately makes it harder to “be successful where they work”. In fact, a majority of workers, 56%, say “focusing on DEI at work is a good thing” finding that increasing diversity has perks within the company’s successes. At its core, DEI is about making environments fairer for everyone, yet this is much often easier said than done.

A College Catastrophe

In college admission processes, race-conscious policies and racial quotas in applications aimed to address systemic inequities were designed to level the playing field for minority groups. Critics argue, however, that these policies can lead to high-performing minorities and qualified applications being overlooked, creating a lack of opportunity and resentment towards the system. For example, according to the TCU Repository, “Asian Americans are often misrepresented as a monolithic group and not classified as “underrepresented” in higher education today,” proving that not persons of color are adequately receiving the effects of DEI implementation in universities.

The Workplace DEI Dilemma

In the workplace, hiring practices sometimes use the process of blind recruitment, blocking out names and racial backgrounds to reduce implicit bias and create a more equal hiring process. However, other DEI initiatives have increasingly and “disproportionately benefited an upwardly mobile, professional class while neglecting the majority of workers, particularly those in frontline, blue collar, and low income professions” (Forbes). Though DEI practices claim to help those living on the edge of poverty, most DEI programs still fail to address issues like “wage gaps, job security, and career mobility for frontline and entry level workers” (Forbes). The stark reality remains that DEI functions to benefit those already in secure professional roles, “leaving behind the very people it claims to serve” (Forbes). 

Is DEI Helping or Hurtful?

There isn’t an easy answer to this question. Supporters say DEI is making progress untangling the deep-rooted inequality our society has long held at its core. Critics, however, argue it’s creating more harm than it helps. The honest truth? It all depends on how it's done. With the help of mentorship, increasing fair access, removing racial quotas, and comprehensively listening to all voices to create a holistic approach to solving (or reducing the impact of systemic injustices) is what will truly create the difference that is necessary. Rather than a simple corporate trend, DEI can and should “evolve into a force for lasting equity”. Demanding more than just surface-level gestures, the movement requires “bold, systematic transformation” (Forbes). 

This leaves us with the question: Can we ever create perfect equity without creating new forms of unfairness along the way - or is the result inevitable no matter what approach we take?