When people use "DEI" as a slur, what they're really saying is that they're scared of the true meritocracy DEI work has always aimed to create.
They're scared of seeing women, Black people, Asian people, Indigenous people, and Latine people, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, and many others from marginalized communities in positions of power. They're scared of people from marginalized communities being paid, promoted, hired, developed, and mentored fairly. They're scared of environments where people across many lines of difference respect each other, get along, collaborate, and cooperate.
When people use DEI as a slur, what they're really saying is that they're committed to the opposite of #diversity, #equity, and #inclusion:
Homogeneity.
Inequity.
Exclusion.
They want a zero-sum future where they see only people like themselves in power, where only people like themselves are paid, promoted, hired, developed, and mentored well, and where only people like themselves feel safe or respected.
As it turns out, this is a deeply unpopular opinion. According to a recent poll, when given a description of DEI, 7 in 10 Americans indicated a positive perception and support for it—including more than 60% of White Americans.
When people use DEI as a slur, especially as a racist tool to attack Black leaders and the institutions that support them, we have to do more than just push back on their intentional misuse of the term. We have to pull back the curtains on their full-throated endorsement of homogeneity, inequity, exclusion—supremacy—and make it clear that there is no space in civil discourse for this kind of anti-meritocratic, hateful rhetoric.
Global Enterprise VP of Sales - Growth & Revenue, Author, Blogger, Speaker and co-founder of Acxiom’s Black Employee Network
6moThank you so much Janet for your support, can't wait to discuss