Why and How to Protect DEI

As promised, President Donald Trump started his second term issuing executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government; DEI offices and policies within the military, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security; and any acceptance of transgender people and transgender troops, including banning “identification-based pronoun usage” in the military. He threatened legal action against private entities—like public companies, non-profits, and universities—that use DEI and claimed in his inaugural address that he would “forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.” (He should read When Colorblindness Isn’t the Answer by renowned humanist Dr. Anthony Pinn, plus many other books.)

As expected, he hasn’t provided any directives to form a meritocracy or address DEI goals of improving organizational culture and substantive equality. Instead, he and his team are scapegoating DEI for their failures and perpetuating the falsehood that white, cis-gender, able-bodied, straight, Christian males are always the best candidates (while simultaneously proving the contrary). It’s not shocking that someone known for hiring his family and friends, despite their incompetence in the given role, doesn’t understand or care about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Diversity refers to the variety of people being represented and can include characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical and mental disability, age, culture, class, veteran status, or religion. Collaboration with different perspectives and ways of thinking helps us expand our understanding of each other, our work, and society.

Equity addresses the practice of fairness and justice by focusing on societal disparities and allocating resources. This includes ensuring that groups that have been historically disadvantaged or those who will be most impacted by an action have decision-making authority. While equality assumes all people should be treated the same (like the Golden Rule: “do unto others as you would have them do onto you”), equity considers a person’s needs and adjusts treatment so the end result is equal (like the Platinum Rule: “do unto others as they’d like done unto them”).

Inclusion creates a welcoming and empathetic organizational culture where all feel heard and have a sense of belonging. People are valued and respected not just for what they do for others but also for who they are.

People like Trump incorrectly see DEI as a way to force race and gender into every aspect of society. Many don’t realize DEI efforts in the United States go back to 1865 when veterans from the US Civil War received support obtaining jobs after their service. In the 1930s, multiple laws were established to assist blind and severely disabled business owners. This was all before Affirmative Action and the Civil Rights Movement prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the 1960s. DEI aims to dismantle the oppressive systems that harm us all. (To understand these systems, how they intersect, and how we can all take steps to not let them disconnect and divide us, check out whitesupremacyculture.info.)

Here are a few ways we can take action to protect DEI:

• Use your purchasing power to speak up against companies ending their DEI work and in support of those keeping it despite Trump’s threats. Forbes is keeping track of those dumping DEI and CNBC and others are tracking which are holding the line. You can also directly contact them or tag them on social media to make a bigger impact.
• Establish and sustain DEI practices in your offices and organizations.
  • Ensure hiring includes blind admissions to avoid name bias, application questions (beyond just inputting one’s resume) to understand their skills, interviews including those most impacted by the position, and work projects (preferably paid) to see them in action as a potential employee and colleague.
  • Improve retention with regular educational trainings (not outdated sexual harassment videos but useful content on how to have respectful interactions), checking in on workloads and strategies, addressing conflicts and microaggressions, and offer flexible hours, remote work, and hybrid options whenever possible. Provide growth opportunities and be open to feedback to encourage people to stay long-term. Our society too often puts perfectionism over progress and quantity over quality, leading to burn out. Invest time, energy, and money into improving organization or company culture.
  • Seek guides, like this one from the Human Rights Campaign, and partners who can help.
• Make online and in-person spaces more accessible. Look around and consider how easy it is for people to participate in different activities in various locations. This could mean physical changes like ramps, elevators, signage, and sound systems; personnel changes like ASL interpreters, transcribers, technicians, and greeters; social changes like the terminology we use and assumptions we make; and so much more. Think about what makes you feel included and when you feel represented, and how you can speak up to educate others. Listen when others share their experiences and perspectives.

Eradicating DEI practices will not only hurt individuals, it will have endless consequences for employers and institutions. We need a society and a government that values its people and is dedicated to making life better for them.