Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Businesses, Universities, and Organizations are finally getting the message: Diversity is not our strength. Diversity is a result of our strength. America's promise, ideals, freedoms, and opportunities have resulted in our diversity, and promoting liberty and the "self-evident truths" espoused in the Declaration of Independence are the best way to promote diversity.
It is important that people from all backgrounds be treated fairly. To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, we should judge a person not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Today, "Diversity" means treating people as a representation of their group identity (ancestry, political ideology, faith, etc.) - sorting them into a hierarchy and then discriminating for or against them based on their group identity. It means putting identity above merit. By the way, merit is not a "bad word." No group has a monopoly on excellence. Selecting people on the basis of merit will naturally yield a variety of backgrounds and ideas.
As far as "Equity" goes, we all agree that opportunities should be available to everyone. However, "equity" is contradictory to "equality." Equality means impartiality (as in "equal under the law") while recognizing that individuals have different talents and motivation - which will inevitably lead to inequalities, i.e., someone who is not as driven will not have the same opportunities and success. "Equity" attempts to force equalization through redistribution of promotions, positions, wealth, and rewards. This is a key element of Critical Race Theory (CRT).
Finally, we all agree that companies, universities, and organizations should promote creative and constructive environments. However, "inclusion" is used to suppress disfavored groups and opinions, i.e., "speech codes. Those labelled as members of "oppressor groups" (men, Christians, Conservatives, etc.) actually become "excluded," and many institutions implement "hate speech" and "safe space" policies which are used to silence dissent and, especially, conservative speech.
Alexandr Wang, who founded Scale AI in 2016, recently explained why his company will hire for MEI (Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence) and not DEI. Wang said, "We will not pick winners and losers based on someone being the 'right' or 'wrong' race, gender, and so on. It should be needless to say, and yet it needs saying: doing so would be racist and sexist, not to mention illegal. Upholding meritocracy is good for business and is the right thing to do. This approach not only results in the strongest possible team, but also ensures we’re treating our colleagues with fairness and respect."
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