Overview
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are programs designed to correct historical exclusion of groups based on their identity or associations.
Commentary
DEI initiatives have come under a lot of scrutiny in the past decade, but I think it’s extraordinarily difficult to point to any place on Earth at any point in time and argue that there was anything like a pure meritocracy that ignored people’s identities when allocating resources.
Generally speaking, diversity in terms of skills and demands as a principle strengthens economies. The wealthiest corporations tend to be those that embrace diversity to tap into new markets and opportunities that wouldn’t be revealed through a monolithic monopolized method of producing and distributing things. When we go from principle to practice, though, some really goofy things can happen. As with all ideas, there are going to be some good implementations and some bad ones, and unfortunately, sensationalist media has a habit of hyperfocusing on the bad ones.