Trump’s Misguided DEI Assault Could Have a Silver Lining
An honest debate over “good” versus “bad” DEI could get the US closer to policies and practices that promote merit, color- and gender-blindness and equality of opportunity.
Equal-opportunity disruptor.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North AmericaQuarrels around DEI, newly energized by President Donald Trump’s “shock and awe” assault, often miss a simple and essential point: There’s good DEI and bad DEI. Trump and his supporters justify their war on DEI professionals inside and outside the government by saying that DEI is always and everywhere toxic — which is wrong. But DEI advocates are equally wrong to deny or downplay the damage that bad DEI can do.
What’s interesting now is the response of many DEI advocates to the backlash against their ideas. Some have begun to notice the harm caused by bad DEI — and are trying to clarify what they always really wanted (so they maintain), namely good DEI. This adjustment is welcome. Maybe, in the fullness of time, Trump and his blunderbuss will actually yield more good DEI, and less bad.