Trump Says He Wants Meritocracy. Here’s How to Do It.
Companies know it’s bad for business if White males are having better work experiences than all others.
Non-inclusive.
Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg
President Donald Trump has issued executive orders to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and positions throughout the federal government, and promised enforcement action against private-sector organizations that engage in DEI. Elon Musk, who heads Trump’s new government efficiency office, has proclaimed that “DEI must die.” He and others propose to replace it with “MEI”, which stands for merit, excellence and intelligence.
We have been DEI practitioners for years and couldn’t agree more that the goal is to create meritocracies. But that’s not what we have now. For example, a tech startup we worked with rated all candidates on a rubric; they were shocked to find they were hiring White men with lower ratings than any other group. The company didn’t mean for that to happen — but it did. So if the goal is meritocracy, it’s something leaders need to create — not assume — once DEI is vanquished.