The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative was created to foster a more diverse and inclusive work environment for American companies. A common talking point of DEI opponents is that DEI is unfair and taking jobs from more deserving candidates. However, that is not true. According to a study by McKinsey and Company, diverse work environments are 35 percent more likely than their non-diverse counterparts to have above-average financial returns. Additionally, when implementing DEI policies, companies still seek and find talent, they just take into consideration the conditions and barriers that many minorities are forced to deal with.
Instead of opposing DEI initiatives, everyone should recognize DEI as a useful tool, particularly for achieving gender parity.
DEI initiatives are better for both company productivity and individual equality. Hence, it is a big surprise that according to a 2023 Pew Research Center study, only 61 percent of women believe that DEI is a good thing. After all, white women in particular are the biggest beneficiaries of the DEI initiative. For instance, white women in the U.S. have expanded their share of senior leadership jobs at twice the rate of people of color.
A woman's support for DEI is strongly related to her political party. Roughly 80 percent of Democrat-leaning women say that focusing on DEI in the workplace is a good thing, whereas only 47 percent of Republican women share this belief. In an upcoming Supreme Court case, a woman is suing her employer due to "unfair" DEI practices. The woman claims that because she was heterosexual, she got passed up on a job she was more qualified for than the two LGBTQIA+ employees who were offered the job.
This case, which could be the basis of a groundbreaking court ruling on “reverse discrimination,” illustrates how some are souring on DEI. A 2024 Pew Research Center study found that only 30 percent of Americans feel that DEI helps white women, while 25 percent of Americans claim that it hurts them.
However, women who focus only on the racial or sexual orientation aspects of DEI initiatives are shooting themselves in the foot. Women continue to be harmed by sexism today. In the U.S., 58 percent of all college degrees are given to women, yet only 10 percent of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs and only 22 percent of board positions are held by women. These numbers emphasize how women are consistently passed up on promotions and job opportunities even when they are qualified, an issue DEI aims to address.
To keep DEI alive, Berkeley High School students who benefit from the environments that DEI initiatives nurture must actively advocate for its survival. To protect DEI, BHS students can attend protests, write letters to local representatives, and stay informed on the future of DEI in today's uncertain political climate.