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On January 20th, the newly-inaugurated president issued an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” which called for the termination of all federal initiatives into DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility), and environmental justice. These federal initiatives, which Trump called “illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” must be terminated to the fullest extent of the law within 60 days.
What is DEI?
DEI serves as a framework working to promote the fair treatment of all employees without discriminating based on race, ethnicity, creed, gender, sexual orientation, etc. It seeks to address historical inequities: the Black population of America was forced to work without compensation; women were not legally permitted to work; immigrants and non-white populations were forced to work for very little pay. In the 1800s and 1900s, labor movements pushed for higher pay and the legal authorization to work. However, many populations of employees were still treated unjustly, which prompted “affirmative action” plans.
The term “affirmative action” was first used in John F. Kennedy’s Executive Order No. 10925. This order stated that government contractors must “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and [treated fairly during their employment] without regard to their race, creed color, or national origin.”
In Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 Executive Order No. 11246, he required that government employees be hired without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Barack Obama issued Executive Order No. 13583 in 2011, which concerned diversity and inclusion in the federal workplace. Section 1 of the policy states, “Our Nation derives strength from the diversity of its population and from its commitment to equal opportunity for all.” During Donald Trump’s first term, in 2019, Time stated that the DEI industry had exploded in size after the ascent of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements.
So, why is DEI so important?
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion” can be distilled into an even simpler phrase: “Anti-exclusion.” While its critics depict DEI as “shoving diversity down peoples’ throats” and forcing social inclusion, its proponents argue that DEI’s goal is much more straightforward: to reduce the exclusion of minority groups in the workplace.
Benefits and Drawbacks of DEI
According to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, DEI programs have the confirmed potential to increase sales revenue, customer base, and profits. They also have been proven to increase motivation, innovation, customer satisfaction, customer service, employee satisfaction and engagement, retention, and collaboration. Businesses and corporations do not exist in a vacuum, but in relation to a bigger picture, and therefore they cannot be separated from issues that exist in society.
Potential drawbacks of DEI initiatives include difficulties that corporations might find to accurately measure “fairness” or “equity.” DEI programs might also tokenize diversity, or portray white employees as “the bad guys.”
I’ll leave you with two quotes to consider. The first is Aristotle, who said that humans are naturally curious. Our innate desire to explore the world around us directly supports programs aimed at diversity and the exploration of different cultures.
The second is a famous line in a 1968 speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, inspired by Richard Parker: “We shall overcome because the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
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