Now is the Time to Embrace DEI
Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face
It’s a tale as old as my mama’s pantaloons. Marginalized groups fighting for racial and social justice begin to realize major wins, then white folks feel threated and push back—often violently. Black History Month may be over, but it’s never too late to read about the Tulsa Race Massacre, Bloody Sunday, the systematic lynchings of thousands of people in the 19th and 20th centuries, or the racist “War on Drugs” designed to instill terror, disproportionately incarcerate, and erase the advancement of Black people.
Now they’re gunning for DEI. It may not be a violent attack, but the damage is real.
For those living under a rock, DEI isn’t a newfangled racial slur being bandied about by MAGA and Project 2025 acolytes. DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and gained traction after the political and racial unrest we experienced after George Floyd’s murder.
Are you old enough to remember when corporations promised us that Black Lives Matter was more than just a hashtag? Or that they were putting money behind their polished PR statements by hiring chief diversity officers and creating employee resource groups (ERGs)? How about the businesses who adorned their logos with rainbows during Pride Month and spoke out against Asian hate at the start of the pandemic? And what about all those biracial couples in Cherrios commercials?
Gosh, those were the days.
In late 2020 I had real hope that the corporate stances weren’t just performative, and my liberal white co-workers were equally optimistic. Our Black and brown colleagues were…mmm, let’s just say…a bit more skeptical.
I distinctly remember a Black co-worker shrugging her shoulders at an ERG meeting after I asked her if things felt different. Like this time, was she feeling genuine hope?
“Not really,” she said. “But we’ll see.”
She was right to wait. Initially, companies hired Chief Diversity Officers in droves, invested in ERGs, and committed to diverse hiring practices all the way up to the C-Suite. But over the next three years as budget cuts loomed, DEI officers and programs were the first to go.
Then the whitelash came—as it always does—with the defeat of Kamala Harris, an overqualified Black woman, to a greedy, felonious, woman-hating, racist, white male dimwit. Using DEI and “wokeness” as part of his dog whistle repertoire, Trump turned these concepts into a rallying cry for aggrieved and threatened white people everywhere.
The elimination of DEI is a key objective of Project 2025 as they seek to undo the progress of the civil rights movement and peel away protections for women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ Americans. And I quote:
“The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”), diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”), gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.” (Project 2025, page 4)
Since taking office, Trump has issued Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI Programs and Preferencing” which mandates the elimination of all federal DEI policies, programs, and positions; Executive Order 14188, “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions,” that nullifies prior executive orders that integrated DEI into federal operations; sought to prohibit federal contactors from implementing DEI programs; and restricted federal funds for DEI initiatives in the military, educational institutions, and other organizations.
Elon Musk even claimed, “the woke mind virus is a threat to freedom of speech,” as if awareness of racism, sexism, homophobia and other social injustices were somehow turning heterosexual white males into a marginalized group.
Many businesses immediately caved, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Target, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Amazon, McDonald’s, Walmart, Ford, and Lowe’s. Some, like Apple and Costco, stood firm.
So, what do Apple and Costco understand about DEI that Google and McDonald’s don’t?
DEI is good for the bottom line.
A McKinsey & Company report found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability compared to those in the fourth quartile.
Additional research by McKinsey & Company discovered that companies with greater diversity on their board of directors are more likely to outperform financially. Those in the top quartile for board-gender diversity are 27% more likely to outperform financially than those in the bottom quartile.
MIT Sloan Management Review revealed that integrating DEI into business strategies is linked to better financial performance.
Melbourne Business School found that embracing DEI created a culture of inclusion which powered higher levels of creativity, innovation, and problem solving.
Forbes reports that DEI improves a business’ competitive position and brand perception.
DEI provides a better work environment for employees.
According to Philanthropy.com and the British Council, DEI programs increase employee satisfaction, retention, engagement, and belonging, as well as reduce bias. And Pew Research finds that a majority of workers say DEI-related policies and resources have had a positive impact at their workplace, with many valuing companies that are accessible to people with disabilities.
Apparently, the “woke mind virus” improves revenue and employee morale. Rather than a pernicious virus, it is a sound business strategy that fuels innovation, boosts profits, and makes employees feel valued.
Don’t let the recent whitelash fool you into believing that diversity is dangerous, equity is unfair, inclusion is oppression, and DEI is DOA. Because the only people truly threatened by it are the ones terrified of losing their unearned advantages. Corporate America now has a choice: Give in to racism, sexism, ableism, and LGBTQ+ bigotry or stand firm and recognize that DEI isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s good business.
In the meantime, I know where I’ll be spending my hard-earned dollars. I needed to pick up 96 rolls of toilet paper, a gross of Chobani yogurt, and eight pounds of spinach ravioli anyway.
Yes!