Just ask anyone of Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) descent about how frustrating it has been navigating various forms of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programs over the years that have an overly simplistic, US-centric view of race and ethnicity, not to mention other dimensions of diversity, that can significantly impact an individual's opportunities and experience, both professionally and personally.
This is why the US Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) recent announcement about the adoption of a MENA minimum reporting category in Federal data just signifies the start of addressing decades of seemingly deliberate exclusion in most DEI conversations because of government mandated "whiteness" many can not and do not identify with.
Nowhere has this disconnect been more acutely felt than in the Jewish community, where the signs of increasing antisemitism were already apparent, leading to the announcement last summer of the US's first ever national strategy to counter antisemitism and key actions by pillar. This was soon followed by a similar announcement related to Islamophobia along with EEOC guidance on identifying and reporting related employment discrimination and harassment concerns.
When it comes to hate crimes, though, it's not just about how one chooses to identify themselves for census or employment purposes, but the motives of the perpetrators who may not always recognize who they are dealing with. This is why the Sikh and South Asian communities were previously included in the response to 9/11 backlash incidents, because of the frequent misidentification their members faced.
There is no doubt many of these same communities are also feeling the increased hostility associated with the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, now in its 6th month, and all the related geopolitical tensions that includes. Which is all the more reason why having a MENA checkbox is simply not enough, esp. when many DEI programs are ill-equipped to deal with the complex history and ethnoreligious identities that have been in the region for millennia.
Just take a look at the race and ethnicity codes included in the MENA category from the 2020 Census (where they were still counted as White) and you can understand why: Israelis, Palestinians, Copts, Moroccans, Iranians and everyone in between can have drastically different perspectives, experiences, and religions even if they all identify as "MENA."
Many in academia have seen the limitations of DEI up close, as Tammi Rossman-Benjamin of the AMCHA Initiative aptly summarizes in her article last summer on "Why DEI Programs Can’t Address Campus Antisemitism."
This gap in protection from patently unacceptable behavior is not just a problem for academia to solve now - it has become more prevalent in the workplace because of the normalization of these ideologies, confusion around what actually constitutes antisemitism (see IHRA, Nexus, and JDA for starters), and approaches to public discourse around DEI that one would likely place very low on The Dignity Index.
The marked culture shift that has allowed antisemitism and other forms of religious and ethnic bias to flourish recently needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. In some cases, pulling the plug on deeply flawed and misguided DEI programs is a good first step. However, the underlying premise that everyone deserves a fair chance to fulfill their mission and purpose in life should never be forgotten as the reason to be more inclusive and respectful of their unique gifts and identity in all its dimensions to begin with.
- ADL, "Number of Americans Harboring Extensive Antisemitic Prejudice Doubled Since 2019; Reaches Highest Levels in Decades," Jan. 12, 2023, at https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/number-americans-harboring-extensive-antisemitic-prejudice-doubled-2019
- AMCHA Initiative, https://amchainitiative.org/
- Florida Department of Education, "State Board of Education Passes Rule to Permanently Prohibit DEI in the Florida College System," Jan. 17, 2024, at https://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-news/state-board-of-education-passes-rule-to-permanently-prohibit-dei-in-the-florida-college-system.stml
- Greenblatt, Jonathan A. and Clara Hess, "ADL: ‘Antisemitism is on the rise across America–and it’s creeping into the workplace,’" Fortune, Apr. 5, 2023, at https://fortune.com/2023/04/05/adl-antisemitism-rise-across-america-workplace-success-careers-diversity-politics-greenblatt-hess/
- IHRA, "Working definition of antisemitism," at https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism
- Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/
- Korn Ferry, "Four steps to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization," https://focus.kornferry.com/4-steps-to-a-more-diverse-equitable-and-inclusive-organisation/
- The New York Times, "Israel-Hamas War News," at https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/israel-hamas-gaza
- Nexus Project "The Nexus Document," https://nexusproject.us/the-nexus-document/
- Project Unite, "The Dignity Index," at https://www.dignityindex.us/
- Roberto Ramirez, "Coding Operations of Race and Ethnicity Responses in the 2020 Census," U.S. Census Bureau, Jul. 2019, at https://www2.census.gov/about/cic/Coding%20Operations%20of%20Race%20and%20Ethnicity.pdf
- Rossman-Benjamin, Tammi, "Why DEI Programs Can’t Address Campus Antisemitism," SAPIR, Aug. 7, 2023, at https://sapirjournal.org/antisemitism/2023/08/why-dei-programs-cant-address-campus-antisemitism/
- US Census Bureau, "2020 Census National Redistricting Data Summary File Technical Documentation," Feb. 2021, at https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/summary-file/2020Census_PL94_171Redistricting_NationalTechDoc.pdf
- --, "Improvements to the 2020 Census Race and Hispanic Origin Question Designs, Data Processing, and Coding Procedures," Aug. 3, 2021, at https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/08/improvements-to-2020-census-race-hispanic-origin-question-designs.html
- US EEOC, "Anti-Arab, Anti-Middle Eastern, Anti-Muslim, and Antisemitic Discrimination are Illegal," Jan. 2024, at https://www.eeoc.gov/anti-arab-anti-middle-eastern-anti-muslim-and-antisemitic-discrimination-are-illegal
- --, "Resolution of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Condemning Violence, Harassment, and Bias Against Jewish Persons in the United States," May 26, 2021, at https://www.eeoc.gov/resolution-us-equal-employment-opportunity-commission-condemning-violence-harassment-and-bias-0
- --, "What You Should Know about the EEOC and Religious and National Origin Discrimination Involving the Muslim, Sikh, Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian Communities," at https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-eeoc-and-religious-and-national-origin-discrimination-involving
- US Office of Management and Budget, "Revisions to OMB's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity," Mar. 29, 2024, at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/29/2024-06469/revisions-to-ombs-statistical-policy-directive-no-15-standards-for-maintaining-collecting-and
- --, "U.S. Office of Management and Budget's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity," Mar. 28, 2024, at https://spd15revision.gov/
- The White House, "Readout of White House Roundtable Discussion on Countering Hate-fueled Violence," Mar. 30, 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/30/readout-of-white-house-roundtable-discussion-on-countering-hate-fueled-violence/
- --, "Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on President Biden’s Establishment of First-Ever National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia," Nov. 1, 2023, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/11/01/statement-from-white-house-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-on-president-bidens-establishment-of-first-ever-national-strategy-to-counter-islamophobia/
- --, "The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism," May 25, 2023, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/U.S.-National-Strategy-to-Counter-Antisemitism.pdf
- --, "The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism: Key Actions by Pillar," Jun. 2, 2023, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/02/the-u-s-national-strategy-to-counter-antisemitism-key-actions-by-pillar-2/
- Zakhari, Nivine, "Count MENA: Clarifying the Impact of U.S. Hate Crimes on the Middle Eastern & North African Community," Johns Hopkins Libraries JScholarship, Dec. 2021, at https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/items/8eb41d2f-3a67-4327-8438-9899f5aed902
Principal Cloud Solution Architect
11 个月That form reminds me of the forms I saw in the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.
Change agent/Strategic thinker | WW Military at Microsoft Board Member Employee Resource Group at Microsoft
11 个月Couldn’t agree more - especially with this part : Which is all the more reason why having a MENA checkbox is simply not enough, esp. when many DEI programs are ill-equipped to deal with the complex history and ethnoreligious identities that have been in the region for millennia Personally, DEI is the only acceptable outcome, and the faster we progress there the better. And a lack of focus and prioritization are hostile towards its mission. That there are some that would pervert its message for personal gain or charlatans walking among us all. The principles remain sound.