Ignore the provocateurs: DEI is good for business and good for America.

Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are being unfairly blamed for everything that is happening in America today. But the simple truth is that they make companies more successful.

If you’ve taken a flight recently, you’ve probably heard of a few. Many scary incidents with Boeing planes this year. In January alone, an Alaska Airlines plane saw a door blow off mid-flight, an Atlas Air mid-air engine malfunctioned, and a Delta flight lost a wheel before takeoff. An upcoming FAA investigation 33 out of 89 Boeing planes failed the audit.and whistleblowers The alarm has sounded. About cut corners and how speed is prioritized over safety.

The real cost of prioritizing profit over safety

All evidence suggests that this meltdown at Boeing is its inevitable end. Years of focusing on stock prices on everything. As the NYT said, “A corporate culture that privileges profit over safety has dire consequences.” But, if you listen to a lot of high-profile conservatives, the real culprit is much more sinister: the DEI. “I believe this has nothing to do with mandated diversity equity and inclusion practices in the airline industry!!!” Donald Trump Jr. said. Elon Musk at X agreed, asking his followers: “Would you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized hiring DEI over your safety? It’s actually happening… People at DEI Will die of the cause.

The notion that DEI initiatives lead to substandard jobs is completely backwards. Having a wider and more diverse hiring pool leads to more talented and qualified candidates. However, some on the right refuse to stop beating that drum.

Unpacking Rhetoric: DEI and Political Weaponization

In fact, according to him, aircraft breaking up in the air is one of the many dangerous consequences of DEI. Apparently, it was DEI – not hit by an Eiffel Tower-sized cargo ship – Which caused a terrible disaster. of Francis Scott’s Bridge in Baltimore. “This is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the well-being and safety of citizens,” wrote Utah state Rep. Phil Lemon (R), who is running for governor of Utah. , he added, “DEI = DIE.” Anthony Sabatini, the GOP candidate for Congress in Florida, agreed, saying, “DEI did it.After being called a “DEI Mayor” by the same crowd, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott admitted that he was a “Duly Elected Incumbent” but Otherwise took issue with overt racism. “We know what they want to say,” notes Scott, “but they don’t have the guts to say the N-word.”

Mayor Scott was elected to office with over 70% of the vote and represents a majority black city of no consequence to today’s right-wing propagandists. Sadly, and just like with their doomed War on Woking, some conservatives are trying to make DEI the new catch-all scare word to scare their base into showing up this November. . DEI “has been a direct pawn in the political landscape in a way we’ve never seen before,” Jarvis Sam, Nike’s former chief DEI officer, argued in January. When conservatives successfully worked to oust Claudine Gay from the Harvard presidency. In fact, this eviction led many right-wingers to a populist victory lap. “This is the beginning of the end of DEI in America’s institutions,” said conservative activist Christopher Ruffo after Gay’s resignation. (Rufo has since referred to many of Boeing’s problems as “a DEI bureaucracy that has poisoned the culture..”)

Back to the facts: DEI Works

Let’s be clear: these attacks on DEI are ridiculous, inherently racist, and the same old tired routine that arch-conservative politicians have been running since the Nixon days. (As infamous campaign consultant Lee Atwater explained it in 1981., the use of explicit derogatory terms gradually evolved into the use of more abstract terms such as forced busing and states’ rights. We’ve all seen the same playbook many times now, with “Welfare Queen”, “Political Correctness” and “Wake”. In addition to dog-whistling racists, the goal is to reduce DEI through pleading and sheer repetition. If conservatives say DEI does everything. Train derailment To The bank fallsTo bring Two other examples are given by Joel Emerson.There must be some truth in that, right?

No, there isn’t. Time to ignore all the racist rhetoric about DEI and get back to the facts.

Most Americans support DEI efforts. This was revealed in a Pew Research survey last year 56% of workers believe that focusing on DEI improves their workplace.while only 1 in 6 (16%) said it had a negative impact.

The impact of DEI on workplace dynamics and profitability

Diversity, equity, and inclusion not only improve the work environment, but also strengthen companies and shareholders. As I’ve noted many times before, many studies show that businesses that value and support DEI are more successful. are more profitable than their less diversified peers.. Despite all the weird political attacks on DEI, it’s now basically common knowledge – which is why sixty high-profile US companies publicly said last year that “Racial and ethnic diversity enhances business performance.“

DEI efforts allow real talent to flourish. Critics of DEI like to argue that these programs are anti-merit and result in women and people of color ascending to positions they are unqualified to hold. Leaving aside inherent racism and misogyny is often embedded in this position, and, as Janis Gassom Asre writes here, often the opposite. By giving everyone, regardless of race or gender, an equal chance to compete for senior positions, DEI can help break down some of the “old boy” and nepotism networks that promote mediocrity in companies. are

As Mark Cuban put it well.“I take it for granted that there are people of different races, ethnicities, backgrounds, etc. who are regularly excluded from employment consideration. By expanding our hiring search to include them, we Can find people who are more qualified DEI-phobic companies disadvantage is my advantage.

The Business Case for DEI: Enriching Companies and Communities

Most businesses are expanding DEI initiatives. As CEO of the Kellogg Foundation LaJune Montgomery Tabron recently wrote in FortuneThe majority of US “companies are doubling down on DEI as an integral part of their business strategy.” According to Kellogg, 80% of businesses surveyed have turned to DEI since the Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action last year, and 60% increased their DEI staff and budget over the past year. Is.

There is still a lot of work to be done. Despite some progress in recent years, women and minorities are still underrepresented in C-suites and corporate boards. They have fewer advisors working. They are often underpaid while still having to work harder than white men to get ahead. So now is not the time to fall prey to reactionary anti-DEI hysteria from the usual suspects. Until these disparities are corrected, we must continue to work to make our companies and workplaces more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.