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A Political Commentary: The Crucifixion of DEI

The rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across corporate America mirrors a troubling shift in equity initiatives. In this commentary, Terrance Afer-Anderson examines the historical, economic, and moral implications of this rollback, tying it to the tenets of faith that should instead uphold DEI principles.

#DEI #EquityMatters #DiversityAndInclusion #AffirmativeAction #FaithInEquity #SocialJustice #WageGap #RacialEquity #CorporateResponsibility

By Terrance Afer-Anderson

From the Latin to English, the word Dei translates into “of God.” With no apparent connection and with roots dating back to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Dei has emerged as the acronym DEI, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a policy actively deployed by a host of corporations nationwide.

In U.S. commercial arenas, and educational institutions, the principal concern was attainment of racial equity, reflecting the diversity of America that has ever been its greatest strength. It eventually evolved into addressing not just racial and ethnic divides, but disparities also effected by differences in economic status, religion, level of education, gender, and sexual orientation. And it has worked!

A May 5, 2023 Harvard Business Review article, entitled “How Investing in DEI Helps Companies Become More Adaptable,” defined a company’s “change power” as its capacity to “measure, quantify, and build their ability to change.” It noted that, “companies with high change power had better financial performance, stronger culture and leadership, and more engaged and inspired employees.”

In assessing the efficacy of DEI modalities, it observed that, “Among companies that Glassdoor has given the highest DEI scores, change power is 80 percent higher than other companies.”

But alas. As is American tradition, something has become lost in appreciating the merits of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Innumerable corporations, no doubt influenced by conservative activism, a clamorous Donald Trump at its core, are eliminating DEI programs. It feels as though they are abandoning the very tenets of practicing their faith in Dei, God! I’ll elaborate in a moment.

The list of companies that are either dramatically scaling back or entirely eliminating DEI is expansive, daunting.

They include such giants as Walmart, Lowe’s, Ford, McDonald’s, Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), Google, Microsoft, Zoom, Boeing, Caterpillar, John Deere, Tractor Supply, and Harley-Davidson. That jaw-dropping list is sure to grow even further.

DEI might be viewed by some as a derivative of Affirmative Action, implemented by Executive Order 10925, signed by President John F. Kennedy on March 6, 1961, which, except in special circumstances, required all government contractors to, “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” It expanded into other arenas as well, especially education.

Yet, on June 29, 2023, a majority conservative U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Affirmative Action in higher education, by a vote of 6 -3.

But let us take a look at other significant numbers, why Affirmative Action was deemed an essential government policy mandating a presidential order more than 60 years ago, and how numbers today make the elimination of DEI a travesty.

In 1973, the Brookings Institution cited a paper entitled “Changes in the Labor Market for Black Americans, 1948-72,” by Richard B. Freeman, University of Chicago and Harvard University. Benjamin notes that, in 1959, “the median income of Black males was 58 percent of the median for all men; the comparable figure for Black females was 57 percent.” He observes that college-educated Black men didn’t fare much better, noting “the average income for Blacks was 60 percent that for all men,” adding a stunning “75 percent” for grade school graduates. Benjamin also observed that, “Black unemployment rates were roughly twice as high as the White rates,” that such numbers didn’t improve much until the onset of World War II, when, due to national need, Black income and jobs improved dramatically.

Fast forward to March 25, 2022, when the Economic Policy Institute published a paper by Valerie Wilson and William Darity Jr., entitled “Understanding Black-white disparities in labor market outcomes requires models that account for persistent discrimination and unequal bargaining power.” It makes note of modest advancement in employment opportunities and wages for African-Americans, albeit with most noteworthy fluidity.

Though stunning, the authors reported that the wage gap between Black and White workers in 1979 was only 16.4 percent. Policies such as Affirmative Action were indeed having an effect. Yet, in 2019, four decades later, that wage gap increased to 24.4 percent.

Wilson and Darity also observed that, “While net productivity per hour worked increased 69.6 percent between 1979 and 2019, median wages grew by only 14 percent. Over this same time, the median wage of Black workers grew at a meager 5.2 percent and the median wage of white workers grew 20 percent.”

These disturbing numbers, how they dramatically improved with federal law, to how they have experienced a precipitous slide in recent history, provide compelling commentary on the prevailing mood and efforts of influential conservatives to eradicate advances in equity in the U.S., though the lion’s share of conservatives profess belief in God, “Dei,” the Divine architect of equity.

The Pew Research Center reports that 85% of conservatives define themselves as Christian. They are no doubt well-versed on Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV). Equity is a major tenant in the Bible. Conservatives need also make note of how the Lord God executes justice. “He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98:9 (NIV)

Jesus Christ was deemed a radical, because of His acceptance and walk with diverse outcasts, equally embracing tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, the poor, oppressors, etc., in His inclusive ministry. Jesus was the perfect practitioner of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

It is a tragic, gravely disquieting travesty that, amongst those who identify themselves as His most ardent followers, is a population hell-bent on crucifying DEI.

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