The Real Saga of DE&I, an Internal American Social War with Outward Global Impact

Intro

DE&I doesn’t exist in other countries the way it does in the US. Generally speaking, DE&I isn’t a thing, but why? In the US, we have had years of racial divide in various stages, and yes other countries have racism, class divide, and certainly ethnic challenges, but why have we had this challenge in the US. I don’t know for sure, but I do think it’s because we are stubborn and we care. Our people are stubborn so they don’t let go of politicized or socially charged topics—we have core political topics that never seem to step aside, like abortion, healthcare, taxes, and government spending.

We care deeply for resolving our challenges, making things better, and supporting those that need support. We have a a social component to this country that transcends many countries, not in a government social structure, but in a community nature. People, corporations, and communities often rally to support groups needing support, along with the government itself providing assistance.

DE&I has a complicated history I am sure, but the stubborn will and care in this country (US) carries on beyond most.

The Story

Value demonstrated by results and innovation, or an extraordinary example of losing the middle ground? 

What is important about the true aspects of DE&I beyond extreme outer layers of either side of the aisle, or topic?

1. It’s about people and business, not politics 

2. It’s about the right thing do, not your own agenda

3. It’s about advancing your own agenda through others, not despite others

4. Don’t take my word for it—assemble a team of diverse thinkers vs. a team of all from the same background

Four years ago, do you think several of the brightest minds in tech would sit next to a President at the inauguration, or even join the administration. 8 years ago? Are all these innovators pushing all chips in to the middle of the table for the AI sweepstakes? Or is it a bigger Big Tech right leaning shift due to their frustrations with the last four years. I don’t know the answer, but it’s going to be interesting. Support a certain candidate, now President, and that aligns with scrapping all DE&I? Interesting how that started moving so quickly at the same time. I would guess there will be some excellent stories on how this all really went down in 5-10 years, once the fear factor of retribution wains, and executives share all. 

This is no defense of any factual stories of ridiculous programs, as that’s not a story with government programs. That’s been the status quo, which is clearly shifting in some way. Not sure I know which way, but a way, and the markets and business owners are pulling back on the investment they started back with post-election confidence. 

I would actually love to hear the perspective from an experienced open-minded HR and Chief Executive that happen to be moderate conservatives politically. Those of which have been a part of organizations that have directly seen success because of effective DE&I programs or behaviors. Because the real spirit of DE&I goes well beyond programs—it’s about the treatment and support of people.

Is it DE&I or is it a social pull back on culture and DE&I is simply a rallying cry?

How did we get to this point? It’s often natural for a pull back in policy or general convention public think when one group feels disenfranchised, or when one person speaks up and others jump in to follow. 

Because in today’s landscape, moderate views, communication, consideration, or policy, isn’t rewarded. Action stems from clarity and conviction—not middle of the road views or initiatives. We as the public react to a story that is simplified, polarized, of a binary world, when our reality is actually far more complex and interconnected.

It’s not- DE&I bad, or DE&I good. It’s a moderate approach to what works best for most companies and the people overall. We see it time and time again—what gets politicized gets demonized. The minute you make this about one group or another, conservatives or liberals, you’ve lost making real progress under that moniker. And a name is just that, a name, as it really doesn’t matter what you call it, it’s a spirit of human support and intention that matter far more than some label. Here are a few thoughts on what DE&I is about beyond government or corporate programs:

• DE&I for the right reasons, has the right things to do for values and to build a better business

• It’s not about quotas, it’s about impact 

• It’s about access to opportunities for those who are qualified

• It’s about access to talent for organizations open to it 

• It’s about innovation through an open/minded lens

• It’s about challenging the status quo

• It’s about delivering on promises by joining the best people on your team

• It’s about not allowing the majority to swallow the minority, limiting opportunity, in some cases intentionally, in other cases it comes from economic and social factors, and historical impacts and consequences 

Would we ever block the best thinkers and innovators from entering the US from other countries if we see the value from them?

If Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, P&G, Google, Coca-Cola, McKinsey can get access to transformative talent from populations, countries, schools, states, do you think they will pause and consider if they want someone from that demographic?

Absolutely not. Not if they want to continue to perform at the level we’ve come to expect. Capital has a funny way of blinding differences in many modern instances at least.

This frame helps explain the value of having people from various backgrounds and experiences. It’s a point of view if it’s not something you see through an open mind, I am confident you will eventually find the value. 

Advancing Business & People

If you have strong feelings, one way or the other and are not willing to listen to a moderate take of the middle ground, we are not going to change your mind. I wouldn’t bother. If you’re open to some interesting dialogue, I would recommend checking out this piece from a16z. I find it really interesting on the timing of this with the election, Black History Month, and the DE&I rollbacks, coupled with a16z’s vocal and active support of the new administration. It’s an interesting mix of showing their organizational strength and methodology of embracing, diverse thought and people, while timed when there is a major shift with the DE&I launched on Martin Luther King Day, two weeks before Black History Month. Really makes you think. Maybe you can support a tech-forward initiative and stand up for social aspects also? Oh wait, isn’t that what many did in Silicon Valley for a long time? Maybe all or nothing, isn’t as hard of a line?

Regardless, the broader view seems to start assembling a significant shift of movement of disruption which not all about cost cutting. Take a look at this list below—this is a much broader shift in American Globalism & Social Control, well beyond politics, DE&I, or fiscal policy.

A few events have shaped the recent social structure:

• Removing/heavily pulling back support of Ukraine

• Alienating deep European and North American allies

• Social rollbacks and wiping decades of progress

• Rhetoric about DE&I

• Removal of all “left-leaning” funding

• War on Higher Ed

• War on Education overall

• Mobilization of financial resources, a counter-balancing of social support, which is often not really saved, rather redistributed within the government

• War on the bench- judicial branch under fire and disrespected

• Talk of social unrest fueling a civil war

• Self-inflected economic growth concerns

• Dismantling broader structures across the US Government

• Trade War spurred by Tariffs

Balancing the fiscal responsibility, impacts, and global leadership—I don’t have all the answers, but I know we want to be on the right side of that. The desire to beat China, or steer hot social topics, seem to be taking significant steps back in many aspects by losing global influence and respect. Which in some cases, is the actual goal of the activity in the first place. This snapback from left to right will likely continue to fuel a cycle of divide and wielding interests as a priority over collective good.

Have we reached the tipping point? Can we salvage the threads of this fabric? I genuinely hope we have a brighter future ahead, but I fear trust is dissolving rapidly. The stock market, labor market, and CPI are next without restoring confidence in our American experiment. The recent reactions are just the beginning—our economy is built on trust, confidence, along with investment and consumer morale. Without bringing these into the forefront, look for the impacts to be felt deeply.

https://www.eidigital.com

Closing

These comments from Pete Buttiegeg say a lot about where we are as a country:

We start by looking at the opposite of these aspects of DE&I:

• Diversity —> Uniformity

• Equity —> Inequity

• Inclusion —> Exclusion

“They’re worried about fairness.” “The ides is making sure everyone has a seat at the table,” especially for those systematically held back.

“Nobody alive today is responsible for some of the injustice that has shaped what it’s like to live in this country, but all of us right now are responsible for doing something about it.”

Source: Dream for America

“And we cannot go on like that. We cannot. I also think that we believe in the values that we care about for a reason. And this is not about abandoning those values. It’s about making sure we’re in touch with the first principles that animate them.

What do we mean when we talk about diversity? Is it caring for people’s different experiences and making sure no one is mistreated because of them, which I will always fight for? Or is it making people sit through a training that looks like something out of Portlandia, which I have also experienced.

And it is how it is how Trump Republicans are made. If that comes to your workplace with the best of intentions but doesn’t actually get at what we’re what what actually matters here, what’s actually at stake, I think and this might sound counterintuitive if we were more serious about the actual values and not caught up in vocabularies and trying to cater to everybody only in terms of their particular slice of combinations of identities versus the shared project.”

Source: Real Clear Politics

Additional Video Describing DE&I

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About the Author, Graham Peelle