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How to shut down anti-DEI bores: 2 simple facts & 1 bulletproof argument
Tired of boring — and usually stupid — arguments against DEI, here’s the foolproof shut-down kit you wanted
Ever since Donald Trump blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring programs for a tragic air crash in Washington, the topic has triggered a lot of stupid rants against organisations “overcorrecting” their majority white male hires in favour of minorities.
This is nothing new. It’s a trope that is decades old. DEI is a straw man for people who harbour prejudices to spout anti-this, anti-that nostalgia arguments. It’s a straw man argument because the facts overwhelmingly contradict them. DEI has barely made a difference to the problem it’s supposed to address – equal opportunities.
The ugly truth is that after decades of talk about DEI — or positive discrimination as it was called back in the 1990s — the needle of opportunity for non-white, non-male, LGBTQ+ people has moved only a few percentage points away from the overwhelmingly white, straight male status quo of the last century.