DEI Initiatives are a Fool's Game

Why do we need DEI initiatives anyway? Frankly, the entire idea of it is simply stupid. What the focus should be on for businesses is to simply hire qualified people. Period. End of story. No further discussion needed. If not enough gay or transgendered people get hired, or Mexicans, or blacks or any other group that might be in the DEI pool, it should not be a question of businesses creating opportunities. It should be a question for the people who would be considered to be in the DEI pool to qualify themselves better.

If the question comes up, "Why do you not have any transgendered (name your job title)?" the answer should be simple. "We hire the most qualified individuals to perform jobs based on criteria that is the same for everyone. If we do not have any transgendered people in that job now it is because from the pool of candidates, none were more qualified than who we ultimately hired."

Granted, there will still likely be backlash. "That's just an easy way to get out from under your bigotry," some might accuse them of. But isn't it bigotry to even have DEI in the first place? Think about it. What does it say to someone who gets hired just because they happen to be gay, black, Mexican or transgendered? 

Were it not for our DEI program, you'd never have been able to succeed in getting this job on your own.

So, now it is admirable and respectable to be chosen for a job to serve as a token for the company to wave around rather than because the job was actually earned? How degrading. At least it would be to me. I would think it would be to most people.

Of course, the reality is that DEI initiatives are unpopular, and companies are finally starting to understand this, which is why many have pulled back their initiatives. Companies like Ford and Target and Anheuser-Busch for example. 

For one thing, it serves no purpose for the business to hire unqualified people, and it alienates customers. So, it's really a lose-lose situation. Of course, any company now has to quietly walk back from their initiatives since they are afraid of back lash from the other side, even though the largest customer base will be from conservatives who will applaud pulling away from DEI.

It's another reason why businesses should always avoid treading into political waters. Their purpose is to sell stuff, and in order to be successful at doing that, they need to simply do things that sell products. All the other stuff is not conducive to good business and should be avoided.

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© 2024 Jim Bauer