Liberty and Justice For... Not All.

Written by Hannah Oommen on May 13, 2024.

America needs DEI. A country that believes in justice and equality, yet punishes businesses that support them? Diversity, equality, and inclusivity, or DEI, is a movement to reform businesses into more diverse workplaces, pushing them to include workers of different ethnic backgrounds, genders, religions, etc. The goal is to ensure all employees feel respected and valued. DEI Practices can come in any form, such as simple steps, treating all employees fairly, conducting unbiased hiring processes, and requiring employees to attend diversity training occasionally.

Many companies fail to achieve their DEI goals despite DEI benefiting everyone, including the business itself. DEI in the workplace improves collaboration, recruitment, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and retention. If companies want to continue their businesses' longevity, they must consider these factors and strive to achieve their DEI goals. Recent studies have shown that companies can aim to align their business goals with their DEI goals, making them much more feasible. A company’s culture: program opportunities, dress code, layout, and social events- is more or less its identity. It affects several things, including employee retention rates. Gartner found that 75% of companies with “frontline decision-making teams reflecting a diverse and inclusive culture” exceed their financial targets. They also found that “gender-diverse and inclusive teams outperformed gender-homogeneous, less inclusive teams by 50%, on average.”

Politicians are hindering progress towards DEI. Since late 2022, Republican lawmakers have introduced 40 anti-DEI bills targeting higher education institutions. These laws aim to dismantle essential institutional practices, including mandatory DEI training, diversity statements in hiring, DEI office programming, and curricula related to systemic issues. This restricts institutions' ability to address and rectify DEI issues.

Momentum began in Texas and Florida, and conservative politicians nationwide quickly introduced copycat measures in their states. Now, legislation banning DEI initiatives has been signed into law in Florida, Texas, North Dakota, Tennessee, and North Carolina. While some of these bills failed to pass, other policies have successfully limited DEI efforts and business faculties are reporting a chilling effect on teaching and recruitment. However, DEI focuses not only on DEI in business aspects but also on education. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on April 21, 2023, banning the state's public colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

"If you look at the way this has been implemented across the country, DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination," DeSantis said during a news conference at New College of Florida in Sarasota. "And that has no place in our public institutions." However, the people of America have spoken against his sentiment.