Andrea Chacos strives to dodge curveballs life likes to throw with a bit of passion, humor, and some flair. Andrea Chacos/Courtesy photo I grew up at the end of the 20th century knowing that we were not all born with the same resources and people like my father, younger brother, and uncles would be afforded opportunities more readily than almost anyone else on the planet. The magical trifecta of being white, male, and having socio-economic stability in America was so baked into my ethos that when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives came crashing down recently, I became sensitive to the injustice of it all.
DEI is currently a politicized and unpopular concept rooted in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that gained traction in the years that followed. The goal of DEI has been to provide fair opportunities and correct the imbalances we were either born into or that have developed over time, such as access to education, healthcare, food security, or specialized care. DEI’s aim is not to play favorites or take away the rights of others, but there remains a misunderstanding that DEI is a zero-sum game that threatens an established way of life — especially toward white, American males.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are easy to dismiss because they are confusing terms and have ever-evolving definitions that don’t accurately identify DEI’s core principles. The same individuals that like to say “life isn’t fair” and that we all need to “Just put your head down…things will work out fine” are the same ones who don’t care or know the difference between what it means to be fair and what it means to be equal. Although related, being fair means giving someone what they need for success instead of giving everyone the same or equal thing.
For example, being fair would be a classroom teacher asking for neat, legible penmanship and then giving the tools each student needs to achieve this result. The left-handed students would be given smudge-free pens, notebooks with spiral bindings on the top, and a left-handed desk. However, lefties across the land will attest that by “just putting your head down” did not result in things “working out just fine” when we were given the same supplies as our classmates who wrote effortlessly with their right hand.
We spent years in school riddled with smudgy papers, crappy handwriting, and insane neck cramps for being treated equally instead of being given what we needed in order to prosper. Being fair does not mean treating people the same. Fair is equitable, not equal.
What’s more terrifying to address are the statements from individuals that claim DEI practices feel discriminatory and unequal, thereby threatening the beliefs against the ones that tend to complain the loudest. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says DEI is another word for “favoritism” and directs agencies to comply with “color-blind” policies and practices. Elon Musk goes further by stating that “DEI is just another word for racism.
Shame on anyone who uses it. ” Even more provocative is the article How DEI corrupts America’s Universities by Christopher F. Rufo that says, “DEI programs serve to “scapegoat one population group, European whites, as the essence of evil,” in order to hire people of “favored demographics and ideologies in the name of social justice.” The White House then went and doubled down in an executive order last month ending “disparate liability intent” by claiming it “undermines our national values, and also runs contrary to equal protection under the law and, therefore, violates our Constitution.” However, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected individuals negatively impacted by policies and programs that caused discrimination, even if there was no intent to discriminate. Eliminating liability holds no one accountable and wholly ignores the fact that we don’t all start out with equal (same) opportunities under the law, and we should work toward reducing the disparity, even if unintentional.
Providing support for historically marginalized individuals gives access to those who wouldn’t have it if barriers didn’t exist. Displacement programs, housing inequality , and racism in insurance coverage are just a few roadblocks that result in cycles of instability that affect “equal opportunities before the law.” These state and federal initiatives are inflicted on some sectors of our society creating an unfair starting line and the inequity is glaring if you are willing to see it. DEI forces us to look at our moral compass, judgements, and inherent biases in ways we’d rather not ever have to dissect.
DEI calls us out even when we believe we are being empathetic, altruistic, and fair. However, it’s time to pinpoint why each of us struggles in some way with diversity, equity, and inclusion. We must commit to giving DEI the time it needs and offer balanced resources — so everyone has a true “equal opportunity” to go after the American Dream.
