DEI is outdated.
Following the death of George Floyd in police custody, many companies issued high-profile “diversity, equity and inclusion” pledges filled with all the typical left-wing rhetoric about race, “conversation” and “do better.”
How exactly can we do it better? Focus on your customer base and provide great service?
No.
DEI is simply a long-winded way to promote discrimination through recruiting practices and create a toxic work culture where employees view each other based on race, ethnicity, gender, and national origin. It is the antithesis of individuality and the vehicle for identitarianism.
Four years later, many businesses are realizing that focusing on skin color or gender is not the best idea.
For example, Microsoft just laid off its entire internal DEI team, Business Insider reported on Monday.
According to the outlet, a leader of the team wrote in an email “sent to thousands of employees” that “real system change efforts related to DEI initiatives everywhere are no longer as critical to the business as they were in 2020.” vital or intelligent.
The email said the DEI team had been eliminated due to “changes in business needs” as of July 1, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people have lost their jobs.
In 2020, Microsoft committed to doubling the number of black leaders at the company by 2025.
There is no doubt that shifting the focus away from DEI will hinder these race-based recruitment efforts.
Microsoft is not alone.
Bloomberg reported that Zoom laid off DEI employees in February. Meanwhile, Google and Meta cut back on DEI last year, according to CNBC.
It’s like enforcing identity-based recruiting practices and promoting compartmentalization in the workplace isn’t all that great for business, is it?
Microsoft spokesman Jeff Jones insists these initiatives remain important to the company, although he backed away from DEI’s E-for-Equity initiative in a statement to Business Insider.
“Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering, and we remain steadfast in our expectations, prioritizing accountability and remaining focused on this work,” Jones said.
It’s essentially corporate mumbo jumbo designed to get around the fact that these employees are publicity officers that Microsoft is tired of wasting money on, but it looks downright awkward to condemn the entire effort at this point.
In 2020, it’s difficult to make the mental leap from the death of a black man in Minneapolis to the seemingly overnight push for a narrative that infects every waking moment of life.
If someone is still wasting money on DEI, the momentum will definitely dissipate.
These initiatives will not increase productivity or create profits. They only sow the seeds of division.
This article originally appeared in Western Daily News.
