DEI Could Lift Up the Poor, But It Is Too Busy Counting Colors
Dr. Firdaus Fanny Putera Perdana
Halal Gentleman in Modern Culture. Jeans Hiker in Mother Nature.
Fairness. Opportunity. A Shot at a Better Life.
That is what Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was supposed to be about. It was meant to open doors for those who had been locked out, to give the hardworking, the underprivileged, and the overlooked a fair chance.
It was never meant to be a public relations campaign, a corporate virtue signal, or a system that prioritizes identity over real need.
But that is exactly what it has become.
Instead of focusing on those who are truly disadvantaged, DEI has turned into a numbers game—one where demographic quotas matter more than hard work and actual hardship. The result? Struggling families, regardless of race, are left behind. The poorest of the poor—the ones DEI was designed to lift up—are watching opportunities slip away, handed instead to those who fit the preferred narrative.
And here is the uncomfortable truth—no one is supposed to talk about it.
When Privilege Wins the Scholarships
Picture two students.
Now ask yourself—who needs that scholarship more?
In a system that values true fairness, this would not even be a question. The answer would be Student A—every single time.
But today? Student B might very well get it—simply because they check the right demographic box.
Take McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship, for example. Originally reserved for Hispanic and Latino students, the program was forced to change its eligibility criteria after a lawsuit. The lawsuit argued that excluding students based on race violated civil rights laws, leading to a restructuring of the scholarship’s criteria to focus on actual economic need rather than identity alone. (NY Post)
This case sets a precedent—scholarships should prioritize economic disadvantage over identity politics. Yet across the country, countless financial aid programs still operate under race-based guidelines, benefiting privileged students as long as they belong to the "right" demographic.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that 72% of Black students receive Pell Grants, compared to 34% of White students and 36% of Asian students. While these figures highlight efforts to support minority students, they also raise questions about whether financial need is truly the priority.
Should a wealthy student of any race receive financial aid over a low-income student of another race?
When identity quotas dictate financial assistance, the working-class student—the one who should be first in line—ends up last.
The Workplace: When DEI Becomes a Numbers Game
The same flawed logic has infected the workplace, where hiring and promotions should be about skill, dedication, and performance. But instead, companies are scrambling to meet diversity quotas—often at the expense of competence and experience.
The Corporate Retraction of DEI
At first, corporations rushed to embrace DEI—but now, they are quietly pulling back.
Amazon, Google, Walmart, and Meta have all cut or scaled back their DEI programs after facing backlash from employees and investors. Their diversity-driven hiring practices led to internal conflicts, accusations of reverse discrimination, and resentment from workers who felt their merit no longer mattered. (Business Insider)
Legal and Political Challenges to DEI Policies
Following the Supreme Court ruling against race-based college admissions, some companies have quietly scaled back their DEI efforts. Republican attorneys general have also started investigating corporate DEI programs for potential violations of anti-discrimination laws, putting companies like Alphabet and McDonald's under legal scrutiny.
The Impact on Employee Morale
When companies prioritize optics over ability, it creates resentment and division in the workplace. Employees who worked tirelessly for years suddenly find themselves overlooked for promotions in favor of less-experienced hires who meet DEI targets. This lowers morale and creates distrust—even among those the policies were meant to help. (Martin Center)
This is not inclusion. This is tokenism disguised as progress.
When Lives Are at Risk
Lowering Medical School Admission Standards
And then there is healthcare—where DEI has the highest stakes of all.
Medical schools, under pressure to diversify their student bodies, have relaxed admission standards for certain demographic groups. Hospitals, driven by DEI initiatives, have started prioritizing diversity hiring goals over experience and expertise (Martin Center).
This is not speculation. It is happening. And patients are the ones paying the price.
Imagine being on an operating table, in need of life-saving care. Do you want the best-trained surgeon, the most capable doctor—the person who spent years mastering their craft? Or do you want the doctor who was admitted to medical school based on a diversity quota rather than skill?
These are life-and-death consequences. And when DEI stops being about creating more opportunities for those who have earned them and starts being about ticking the right demographic boxes, everyone suffers.
The FAA’s Diversity Push in Air Traffic Control
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency tasked with keeping millions of passengers safe in the skies, decided that checking the right demographic boxes mattered more than selecting the most qualified air traffic controllers. Instead of prioritizing aviation expertise, decision-making ability, and technical precision—the very skills that prevent mid-air collisions and runway disasters—the FAA introduced a "Biographical Questionnaire." This questionnaire awarded higher scores based on racial background rather than aptitude, meaning a candidate with less aviation knowledge could outrank someone with years of relevant training simply because they helped fulfill a diversity target (NY Post).
Air traffic control is not a field where mistakes can be brushed off. There are no second chances at 35,000 feet. One miscommunication, one delayed directive, and hundreds of lives hang in the balance. Those wearing a headset in the control tower should be there because they are the absolute best at what they do—not because they helped an agency meet a quota. No passenger boarding a plane should ever have to wonder if the person directing their flight was chosen for their skill or for the optics of their hire. Diversity should never come at the cost of safety.
A Smarter, Fairer Way Forward
DEI can work—but only if it is about breaking barriers, not shifting privilege. The way forward is not about abandoning DEI but reforming it so that it serves those who truly need it, based on economic hardship, skill, and effort.
How Do We Fix This?
? Prioritize Economic Need Over Demographics
Opportunity should go to those who need it most, not those who simply check a box. If the goal is fairness, then a working-class student, a single parent trying to build a better life, or a first-generation college hopeful should never be passed over for someone who had every advantage from birth but happens to fit the preferred demographic.
? Make Merit Matter Again
Hard work, talent, and dedication should never take a backseat to quotas. The best person for the job deserves the job—whether they are in a boardroom, a cockpit, a control tower, or an operating room. Reward excellence, not optics.
? Stop Lowering Standards in Critical Fields
Would you trust a surgeon, an engineer, or an air traffic controller whose qualifications were compromised to meet a diversity target? In life-and-death professions, there is no room for error, and there is no room for lowering the bar. The stakes are too high to play politics with public safety.
Fairness. Opportunity. A Shot at a Better Life.
That is what Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was supposed to be about. It was meant to open doors for those who had been locked out, to give the hardworking, the underprivileged, and the overlooked a fair chance.
It was never meant to be a public relations campaign, a corporate virtue signal, or a system that prioritizes identity over real need.
But that is exactly what it has become.
Instead of focusing on those who are truly disadvantaged, DEI has turned into a numbers game—one where demographic quotas matter more than hard work and actual hardship. The result? Struggling families, regardless of race, are left behind. The poorest of the poor—the ones DEI was designed to lift up—are watching opportunities slip away, handed instead to those who fit the preferred narrative.
And here is the uncomfortable truth—no one is supposed to talk about it.
When Privilege Wins the Scholarships
Picture two students.
Now ask yourself—who needs that scholarship more?
In a system that values true fairness, this would not even be a question. The answer would be Student A—every single time.
But today? Student B might very well get it—simply because they check the right demographic box.
Take McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship, for example. Originally reserved for Hispanic and Latino students, the program was forced to change its eligibility criteria after a lawsuit. The lawsuit argued that excluding students based on race violated civil rights laws, leading to a restructuring of the scholarship’s criteria to focus on actual economic need rather than identity alone. (NY Post)
This case sets a precedent—scholarships should prioritize economic disadvantage over identity politics. Yet across the country, countless financial aid programs still operate under race-based guidelines, benefiting privileged students as long as they belong to the "right" demographic.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that 72% of Black students receive Pell Grants, compared to 34% of White students and 36% of Asian students. While these figures highlight efforts to support minority students, they also raise questions about whether financial need is truly the priority.
Should a wealthy student of any race receive financial aid over a low-income student of another race?
When identity quotas dictate financial assistance, the working-class student—the one who should be first in line—ends up last.
The Workplace: When DEI Becomes a Numbers Game
The same flawed logic has infected the workplace, where hiring and promotions should be about skill, dedication, and performance. But instead, companies are scrambling to meet diversity quotas—often at the expense of competence and experience.
The Corporate Retraction of DEI
At first, corporations rushed to embrace DEI—but now, they are quietly pulling back.
Amazon, Google, Walmart, and Meta have all cut or scaled back their DEI programs after facing backlash from employees and investors. Their diversity-driven hiring practices led to internal conflicts, accusations of reverse discrimination, and resentment from workers who felt their merit no longer mattered. (Business Insider)
Legal and Political Challenges to DEI Policies
Following the Supreme Court ruling against race-based college admissions, some companies have quietly scaled back their DEI efforts. Republican attorneys general have also started investigating corporate DEI programs for potential violations of anti-discrimination laws, putting companies like Alphabet and McDonald's under legal scrutiny.
The Impact on Employee Morale
When companies prioritize optics over ability, it creates resentment and division in the workplace. Employees who worked tirelessly for years suddenly find themselves overlooked for promotions in favor of less-experienced hires who meet DEI targets. This lowers morale and creates distrust—even among those the policies were meant to help. (Martin Center)
This is not inclusion. This is tokenism disguised as progress.
When Lives Are at Risk
Lowering Medical School Admission Standards
And then there is healthcare—where DEI has the highest stakes of all.
Medical schools, under pressure to diversify their student bodies, have relaxed admission standards for certain demographic groups. Hospitals, driven by DEI initiatives, have started prioritizing diversity hiring goals over experience and expertise (Martin Center).
This is not speculation. It is happening. And patients are the ones paying the price.
Imagine being on an operating table, in need of life-saving care. Do you want the best-trained surgeon, the most capable doctor—the person who spent years mastering their craft? Or do you want the doctor who was admitted to medical school based on a diversity quota rather than skill?
These are life-and-death consequences. And when DEI stops being about creating more opportunities for those who have earned them and starts being about ticking the right demographic boxes, everyone suffers.
The FAA’s Diversity Push in Air Traffic Control
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency tasked with keeping millions of passengers safe in the skies, decided that checking the right demographic boxes mattered more than selecting the most qualified air traffic controllers. Instead of prioritizing aviation expertise, decision-making ability, and technical precision—the very skills that prevent mid-air collisions and runway disasters—the FAA introduced a "Biographical Questionnaire." This questionnaire awarded higher scores based on racial background rather than aptitude, meaning a candidate with less aviation knowledge could outrank someone with years of relevant training simply because they helped fulfill a diversity target (NY Post).
Air traffic control is not a field where mistakes can be brushed off. There are no second chances at 35,000 feet. One miscommunication, one delayed directive, and hundreds of lives hang in the balance. Those wearing a headset in the control tower should be there because they are the absolute best at what they do—not because they helped an agency meet a quota. No passenger boarding a plane should ever have to wonder if the person directing their flight was chosen for their skill or for the optics of their hire. Diversity should never come at the cost of safety.
A Smarter, Fairer Way Forward
DEI can work—but only if it is about breaking barriers, not shifting privilege. The way forward is not about abandoning DEI but reforming it so that it serves those who truly need it, based on economic hardship, skill, and effort.
How Do We Fix This?
? Prioritize Economic Need Over Demographics
Opportunity should go to those who need it most, not those who simply check a box. If the goal is fairness, then a working-class student, a single parent trying to build a better life, or a first-generation college hopeful should never be passed over for someone who had every advantage from birth but happens to fit the preferred demographic.
? Make Merit Matter Again
Hard work, talent, and dedication should never take a backseat to quotas. The best person for the job deserves the job—whether they are in a boardroom, a cockpit, a control tower, or an operating room. Reward excellence, not optics.
? Stop Lowering Standards in Critical Fields
Would you trust a surgeon, an engineer, or an air traffic controller whose qualifications were compromised to meet a diversity target? In life-and-death professions, there is no room for error, and there is no room for lowering the bar. The stakes are too high to play politics with public safety.
? Hold Institutions Accountable for Real Change
Corporations, universities, and government agencies love to showcase diversity numbers, but where is the proof that their policies are actually helping those who need it? If DEI is about fairness, then let us measure success by upward mobility, economic empowerment, and skill development—not by who looks good in a press release.
? Expand Access to Training and Mentorship for Disadvantaged Groups
Real inclusion does not come from lowering standards—it comes from giving more people the tools to meet them. Instead of handing out jobs based on quotas, invest in education, training programs, and mentorship initiatives that equip individuals from underprivileged backgrounds with the skills, experience, and confidence to compete on their own merit. Opportunity should not be about checking boxes—it should be about building real, lasting success.
DEI Should Be About Equal Opportunity, Not Equal Outcome
Diversity should mean removing barriers, not shifting them. It should open doors for the disadvantaged, not close them for the hardworking.
?? A working-class student should not lose a scholarship to a wealthier student just because of a racial quota.
?? An experienced employee should not be passed over for a promotion in favor of a less qualified candidate to meet a diversity target.
?? A patient should never have to question whether their doctor was the most qualified or simply checked the right demographic box.
DEI must be reformed before it does more harm than good. Because when diversity efforts become about meeting quotas rather than fostering opportunity, they stop being about fairness.
If we truly want fairness, we need a system that rewards hard work, supports the struggling, and values excellence above all else.
Because diversity without merit is deception.
DEI Should Be About Equal Opportunity, Not Equal Outcome
Diversity should mean removing barriers, not shifting them. It should open doors for the disadvantaged, not close them for the hardworking.
?? A working-class student should not lose a scholarship to a wealthier student just because of a racial quota.
?? An experienced employee should not be passed over for a promotion in favor of a less qualified candidate to meet a diversity target.
?? A patient should never have to question whether their doctor was the most qualified or simply checked the right demographic box.
DEI must be reformed before it does more harm than good. Because when diversity efforts become about meeting quotas rather than fostering opportunity, they stop being about fairness.
If we truly want fairness, we need a system that rewards hard work, supports the struggling, and values excellence above all else.
Because diversity without merit is deception.