As fake diversity and inclusion fade away, true diversity and equality can take their place. Thank You, Lord!

From David Heinemeier Hansson. The acronym for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion entered the common corporate lexicon with overwhelming force in 2020. Executives everywhere quickly learned they needed a passable position on DEI to stay employed, and a cottage industry of consultants sprung up to provide it. There were endless proclamations of “doing the work”, some employees were told to “be less white”, and sympathy statements for public protests abounded. It was a near total victory over existing corporate culture in America.

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The rout turned traditional concepts of meritocracy, color blindness, and equality of opportunity into something “problematic” and “toxic”. It spawned a constant churn of denunciations and cancelations. Both for transgressions against the new orthodoxy committed in the moment and for those in the distant past. An ideological inferno had been lit.

This stunning cultural conquest was enabled and accelerated by so many influences it’s difficult to list them all. The aftershock of Trump, the riots in the wake of George Floyd, the grand isolation experiment of the pandemic, the writings of D’Angelo and X. Kendi. To name just a few. All winds for a moment seemingly blowing in the same righteous direction. …

But since those heady days of 2020, things have changed. The DEI hegemony has gone from virtually unchallenged to come under severe stress. Let’s look at four reasons why.

First, the Supreme Court is poised to repeal affirmative action at American universities next year. This thanks to a lawsuit brought on by Asian-American students who’ve been discriminated against at Harvard in the service of preferential treatment for other races. It’s a case that goes to the heart of DEI ideology: That to correct wrongs of discrimination in the past, we must apply reverse discrimination today. …

Second, many of the ideological allies of the DEI movement, like the official Black Lives Matter organization, have been swallowed by scandals. …

Third, the DEI movement has lost control of Twitter, which served as the main instrument to run ideological enforcement in the corporate sphere. …

Fourth, and finally, is that tech workers – from whom the DEI movement drew its most active and engaged disciples – no longer hold as much power over their place of employment as they once did. … All the major tech companies are now either doing layoffs in mass numbers or have instituted hiring freezes. …

If these four factors do indeed bring forth the waning days of DEI dominance, I think it’s important to try to extract some good from the worthwhile aspirations of a misguided movement. Divorce the specific tactics, and especially the ideology, from the valiant drive to promote equal opportunities for all. You can sign on to that mission without even accepting the premise of DEI. …

It’s been a crazy couple of years in the throes of zealotry. Most companies and executives could well be excused for ducking their heads during that time, as previous principles of equality were being torched by a radical rebellion raging. But it’s now due for them to raise their heads again and simply say “I don’t believe that’s true, we’re not doing that”.

Are you thankful for the downfall of DEI? If so, share this article with your friends and family!

(Excerpt from David Heinemeier Hansson. Photo Credit: Canva)