DEI
The other day I was treated to this marketing fluff, I think on LinkedIn. I was irritated for reasons I could not quite put my finger on.
And then I saw that "Contact us today!" was code for "Send us lots of money right now hurry!"
DEI, or as I like to arrange it, DIE - needs to go away.
What is wrong with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion? Without assigning SJW values to them, there is nothing wrong with the words, or the ideas they represent. There are a couple of issues, though.
First, the stated intent of a DEI program in the messaging to the employees (and consumers) is not actually the stated intent. Remember, DEI is a business strategy.
Call me jaded, but this is what I see. Treat people like human beings instead of animals or property because that’s just the right thing to do. That’s the stated message. But the goal of a company is to maximize profits. Which I don’t have a problem with, in fact, I would say a company has a moral obligation to run a profit and continue providing a livelihood for their employees. (How much profit, and how to be good corporate citizens is a different topic.)
But, as noted in the marketing fluff, DEI is a business strategy.
So the message that DEI initiatives are for the good of the employees and consumers ultimately rings hollow. This is a fact that is simply ignored in the virtue signaling world in which we live.
The reality is that many that have been subjected to these programs don't believe the company actually cares - they feel that the company just wants everyone to believe they care. And the folks making these decisions think that the employees and buying public are fooled. Or, more likely, they agree to act like they think they are successfully fooling people while collecting their bonuses.
And anyone not falling in line is cancelled or otherwise shamed by useful idiots.
Second, the hollow promise of DEI will never be met, partly because of human nature and partly because the terms are in opposition.
What is the goal of DEI? In short, its stated goal is essentially to instantiate a paradise where all things are just wonderful everywhere all the time and there is no conflict.
That will never happen. Why? Part of the reason is that acronyms don’t solve problems. And in the last 40 years, as the same ideas get repackaged and re-presented as new and revolutionary, anyone older than 30 thinks, “Yeah, I’ve seen this before.” All these things, be they empowerment, engagement, 6 Sigma1 - they all follow the same timeline.
Introduce this “NEW and IMPROVED Revolutionary GAME CHANGING ™” product. The first full year is implementation. The second full year is trying to get everyone to play along. The third full year is tacit acceptance that the program is limping along. The fourth full year everyone just ignores the program. And the fifth or sixth year a new program begins and the cycle repeats. Not infrequently with the introduction of a new CEO or CHRO.
But the main reason DEI will not bring about heaven on earth (aside from this ain’t heaven) is, whatever the stated goals are, they are not achievable because the very association of these words together is nonsensical.
Diversity, as a noun means variety - the condition of having or being composed of different elements. Think fruit salad - there is a diversity of types of fruit. Or Legos, there is a variety of sizes and colors. It is descriptive of the state of something or some things, and there is no value judgment.
Equity is a word that derives from ‘equal’ meaning identical in amount, extent, or portion. The term ‘equity’ used to mean equal opportunity, but increasingly it is used to signify equal outcome. As in same or identical outcomes. Equal opportunity and equal outcome are two different things. I can have the opportunity to run a mile in 4 minutes and maybe I will and maybe I won't. (Ok, no way I will).
But Equity manifests as equal outcome in these mindless times. Meaning, at a certain level, I should be treated as though I had run a mile in four minutes simply because I wanted to. Or, more to the point, regardless of what I ran, it will be recorded as 4 minutes, just like everyone else who ran. And the person that ran it in 3 minutes? Nope, it was 4 minutes. Equal outcome.
I am hoping the reader sees the above and recognizes it as foolish.
Equal outcome is simply not possible - because diversity of persons simply results in diversity of skills and abilities which necessarily results in diversity of outcomes.
I haven’t spoken about Inclusion. In this context, it serves only to virtue-signal. It has little actual meaning or application. Seriously - what do you do with that word? Ask everyone for their opinion and treat all opinions as having equal merit and then select any opinion arbitrarily since they all have equal value? Include someone with no ability to distinguish odors to participate in perfume design? Do I need to include my 5 year old grandson in the decision of whether to pay the light bill or buy an Xbox?
I mentioned fruit salad above, and this I will acknowledge is an example of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. There are different fruits. They could all be represented equally - identical volumes or weights of the same number of pieces. And they are all included in the salad. A DEI fruit salad could be a good thing.
I hope no one thinks this is an analogy that successfully applies to a society or a company.
In short, the average person in the street, dealing with day to day realities of living, just kind of knows that DEI is nonsense. Between companies treating DEI like a marketing tool to grow sales and profits, 401(k) plans selecting investments based on ESG scores while ignoring actual performance (and trashing people’s retirements in the process) and employees and the public sensing it is all BS, it is not surprising there is a DEI backlash.
But we need more than a simple backlash. DEI needs to DIE.
If someone approaches your company pushing DEI, I have a poem you can chant:
DEI
A Big Lie
Tell them all to
GFYMeanwhile, as an individual, treat people with dignity and respect. As a boss, treat people with dignity and respect. As an employee, treat people with dignity and respect. Make the small changes in your personal sphere of influence, and make things better where you are right now. Today.
6 Sigma, when specifically applied to manufacturing, is a proven methodology. But when it is applied to human beings it necessarily fails. People are not processes or things.
Thank you Mark. Good post. You're right, DEI, as manifest today, is a "big lie".
In a word, you could just say "DEI = politics". DEI sounds good. But, it's not. It's destructive and the evidence is clear.
DEI is a pretense that there will be treatment of all with dignity and respect. But, there won't. Political sides do not treat other sides with dignity and respect. They do all they can to denigrate the "other" sides in politics, and make no mistake, e v e r y t h i n g is political. Children, when I was growing up, learned to do this dignity and respect thing quite well and they knew when they volated the Golden Rule and were called out for it. Kids these days, and for some time now, have learned that people who don't think as they do do not deserve dignity and respect and so they are justified in not applying the Golden Rule to all. They believe they are justified in harming others.
To be sure, there is validity in any argument for Diversity, representing all peoples, but especially in diversity of thought--thought, however, appears to be intentioinally overlooked as a valid ingredient to diversity. "Your thoughts are fine as long as they comport with our thought." Also, there is validity in Inclusion of everyone to represent the whole which just by definition will mean more harmony in the society.
As for Equity, everyone with a brain knows that its present application actually violates Natural Law. It doesn't take much brain to recognize that "favorites" or preferences involve choice, likes and dislikes and change occurs through trends of style and interest. But also, not all men can be Wilt Chamberlain or women, Cindy Crawford. Despite all the gnashing of teeth and wishing by certain persons and groups, Natural Law does not allow for "equity" that way, but that does not mean all people can't be treated fairly and equally before governance and in our culture or society.
As applied today, the effort is to "turn back the clock" to undo past unfairness. This is simply impossible because it violates Natural Law in this universe, and the effort automatically in fact, causes more inequity because it is subject to the whims of those in power. And, as we all know, Power corrupts. As historian Lord Acton said, "“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Who is in power decides what is fair and equitable, which is why only a proper system of representative democracy can create and maintain an equitable environment. If we ever really had it, that's what we need to get back to.