The Diversity Dilemma

Only hours after President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, Trump signed Executive Order 14151: Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Programs and Preferencing. For months prior to election day, Trump campaigned on routing diversity initiatives from the federal government, proclaiming in his inaugural address, "We will forge a society that is color blind and mer-it-based." According to the New York Times, Trump has already gone after D, E, and I initiatives and similar civil rights legislation, undoing a 60-year-old anti-discrimi-nation executive order enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson. And while I share in Trump's sentiment to want a society that is "colorblind and merit-based, I would be foolish and naive to delude myself into believing that America is a meritocracy where the labor force is hierarchically ranked based on skill.

Contrary to what Trump asserts, his policies attacking DEI won't forge a meritocracy. Instead, I believe the Trump administration's continuous assault on DEI initiatives will actually weaken the merit of the work-force, deepen racial and economic inequality, and even destroy American education itself.

Firstly, what are DEI initiatives? In 2020, as a response to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in America, Civil Rights Activists sought to address the historical underrepresentation of certain marginalized groups in the labor force. DEl emerged as their framework to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially from minority groups that have been subject to discrimination based on identity. Diversity, Equi-ty, and Inclusion programs include harassment education, cultural awareness education, pronoun introductions, and more. Likewise, DEI initiatives seek to open equal opportunities to all groups of people. And because DEI increases the potential pool of applicants, it is actually conducive to helping businesses. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has reported a 21% increase in profit for companies in the top quarter of gender diversity in Minnesota and a 33% increase in profit for companies in the top quarter of racial and ethnic diversity in Minnesota. In short, because DEI initiatives seek to find qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds not usually given the opportunity, they are composed of the most skilled workers, increasing the meritocratic system in America.

While Trump and his administration look to abolish federal DEI offices on the grounds of instilling a meritocracy, putting thousands out of jobs and affecting thousands of others, his actions have already proven his words to be hypocritical. In a January 21 executive order "Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation," Trump eliminated DEI hiring in the Federal Aviation Ad-ministration. On the same day, Trump fired the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan and the entire Aviation Security Advisory Commit-tee. On January 29, 67 people were killed during a collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter in the deadliest air disaster in over two decades.

Seven more people died two days later in a medical plane crash, and two more crashes in February left another eleven dead. In the month that Trump has been in office, it is already apparent that his hatred for DEI is unfounded in that it leads to a less able workforce. Contrarily, PBS suggests that abolishing DEI can be a detriment to society and has already proven itself to lead to fatalities.

Furthermore, not only is Trump's DEI policy dangerous, but so is his rhetoric. The Hill has reported that the Office of Personnel Management released a memo to all heads of departments and agen-cies, saying that they "are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language," and are directing employees to report these "obscure" connections to them. However, as Trump's administration did not specifically men-tion what DEl policies are, even merit-based companies can look like they include DEI policies so long as certain minorities are in positions of power. NBC has already reported workers talking about a culture of fear emerging as a result of Trump's directives in the federal government, the largest employ-er. Currently, Trump is fostering a workplace environment similar to the Red Scare in the 1940s and 50s. The Department of Government Efficiency (not an official government department) is asking all federal employees to hand in weekly reports to monitor their efficiency just like how federal employees were analyzed to determine whether they were sufficiently loyal to the government. Trump's DEI policies are pitting workers against workers and the more he continues on his path of destruction, the more fear and hysteria will only grow, eventually to the point of impeding government efficiency and even function.

Similarly, even though Trump's policies only apply to government controlled departments and firms, many private companies are scaling back on their DEI efforts to not be targeted by Trump's administration. The Wall Street Journal has reported that J.P Morgan, Google, Pepsi, Chipotle, and more have all removed DEI friendly policies from their websites and canceled their DEI departments, attempting to curry favor with Trump to reap financial benefits. In a society plagued by racism and stereotypes, I fear that without DEI guardrails ensuring that qualified applicants of all backgrounds have equal opportunities to secure jobs, white-collared workers will eventually be representative of only one group, while manual laborers will be composed of a disproportionate amount of minority workers, perpetuating the wealth divide in America.

At Deerfield Academy, a private institution, we pride ourselves on our diverse student body. On our website, we boast about how our alumni span from over 80+ countries, 44% of our student body are students of color, and even explicitly state that "Deerfield is dynamic, diverse, and delightful". We openly acknowledge that diversity within our student body is beneficial. It is quickly apparent that current DEI initiatives help breed a stronger generation of students, whose skills and intellect might fall should DEI be abolished. We should all care about what Trump is doing right now regarding DEI as it deeply affects us. In the classroom, diverse upbringings lead to a plethora of complex ideas. Intellectual, motivated peers drive us to achieve excellence in school, on the field, and beyond. Minority groups contribute so much on campus and beyond, that marginalizing and stereotyping certain groups as undeserving, underqualified, or a "DEI hire" is reductive of their capabilities.