The State of Idaho is trying by law to stop its publicly supported institutions from practicing diversity, equity, and inclusion, which used to be fundamental Christian principles.
Ironically, in Latin, DEI means “of God.”
Where have we gone astray?
Gary E. Richardson
Boise
The following are my thoughts on DEI:
Based on my understanding, DEI is the concept of pushing for certain demographics (like ethnic minorities) to be represented in a particular context (please correct me if this understanding is inaccurate). So, if I were part of any DEI demographic and applied to a job at a company with DEI hiring policies, I would be more likely to get hired than if I were not part of that demographic. This is not only implies that the merit of members of certain demographics is not sufficient, but it is unfair to those who are not part of those demographics. Ultimately, it creates a different set of expectations for different demographics and thereby contributes to the problem it claims to solve. And, when merit hires perform better than DEI hires because they were hired based on merit, I can imagine that it would reflect badly on the DEI demographics and contribute further to the problem. If you want equality of outcome, perhaps you should start with equality of expectation.
Diversity is truly beautiful! Forcing it is discrimination, by definition.
Yes, racism exists (in multiple directions). But does the solution lie in discriminating based on immutable characteristics? All lives matter, including preborn ones, which people seem to forget.
It certainly does not seem that DEI, as it is understood today, is of God.
The raging debate over H-1B visas in today’s news prompted me to respond to the letter regarding DEI.
Quite simply, if we are serious about enlarging the talent pool, we remove barriers that discourage people from entering certain career fields. Developing policies that remove barriers give individuals of merit an opportunity to succeed. That is what diversity, equity and inclusion is about.
What exactly is DEI? It is most certainly NOT what the Board of Education resolution passed earlier this month was about. DEI DOES NOT prioritize personal identity characteristics over merit.
The facts are that DEI policies seek to ensure that personal identity characteristics are not used against someone over their individual merit.
Let me share examples from my career in education.
Today male nurses are common. It was not always that way. When I began my career, men who went into nursing were considered gay. Merit did not matter.
Today we recognize that having a diverse nursing profession has resulted in better healthcare.
I have seen similar benefits from DEI policies in other areas of science. The pool of computer scientists, physicists, and physicians has expanded because there is a diversity of talented young people out there who can contribute to these professions.
They may not fit the common stereotypes. Looking beyond their personal identity characteristics benefits all of us.
By looking beyond stereotypes and considering merit, we are practicing the Golden Rule, “Do unto others…”