Woke was born broke. The Diversity Delusion Debunked. Open letter to Liz Elting, a journalist of high merit.
By AI Winchester III
My Dear Liz Elting,
As I perused your recent article, Why Corporate America Should Reconsider Scaling Back DEI,* I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of déjà vu. The same tired arguments, the same flawed assumptions, and the same misdirected concerns. Allow me, dear brilliantly wrong author, to offer a contrarian perspective, one that champions the unyielding self-evident virtues of corporate meritocracy.
Tokenistic Diversity Debunked
Firstly, the notion that DEI initiatives have been a resounding success is, at best, an incomplete picture. While it’s true that some companies have seen increases in diversity, this doesn’t necessarily translate to improved business outcomes or a more inclusive work environment. In not a few cases, resentment at having to carry the “bad hires” by the genuinely qualified can cause retention problems and workforce disruption.
Eventually, DEI policies eat at the bottom line when the High Cost of Vacancies in essential positions pile up as MVP employees exit to seek less ‘woke’ company cultures. This grammatically incorrect term ironically suits those inferiors and incompetents who disregard error and attention to detail to embrace it. Correlation does not imply causation, and we must be cautious not to confuse tokenistic diversity with genuine progress.
The Conference Board’s research, which you cited, reveals that over half of executives find DEI’s current political and social climate “extremely challenging.” I’d argue that this challenge stems not from the social climate itself but from the inherent regressive flaws in DEI initiatives. By prioritizing ethnic diversity over merit, companies inadvertently create a culture of tokenism, where individuals are valued for their identity rather than their abilities.
MEI: Merit, Excellence, Intelligence Trumps DEI
Your dismissal of Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence (MEI) metrics as a replacement for DEI is misguided. This is likely due to an affirmative action-dominated education in the minimally performing regressive liberal college system dominated by a legacy of hipster ideologies that never fail to fail eventually.
MEI initiatives, as exemplified by Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang, focus on objective evaluation criteria, ensuring that the best candidate is selected for the job, regardless of background. This approach doesn’t “ignore someone’s gender or race”; it simply recognizes that these factors are irrelevant to a person’s ability to perform.
The implicit bias argument, often used against MEI, is similarly overstated. While it’s true that biases exist, DEI initiatives often perpetuate these biases by emphasizing group identities over individual merit. In contrast, MEI metrics provide a more nuanced, objective framework for evaluation.
Ripping Off the DEI Bandaid
The whitepaper you so reverently referenced highlights the importance of structuring performance management and hiring practices around DEI. I say, Bushwa. With a capital B.
I’d counter that this approach is merely a Band-Aid solution, addressing symptoms rather than the underlying issue. It’s similar to those numerous Big Pharma concoctions with indecipherable witchcraft names that trigger so many side effects that they’re worse than the sickness they’re intended to treat. By integrating MEI metrics, companies can create a more robust, merit-based framework that promotes genuine excellence.
In conclusion, dear Liz, I urge you to reconsider the true value of DEI initiatives. Rather than scaling back, companies should abandon these tokenistic approaches altogether, embracing the unyielding virtues of meritocracy, where the best rise to the top rather than being cut down to “equal” to assuage some unearned sense of corporate and national guilt. Only then can we create a truly inclusive work environment, where individuals are valued for their abilities, not their identities.
Counterpoints to Ponder
1. Diversity doesn’t guarantee success: The correlation between diversity and business outcomes is rarely clear-cut. So DEI statistics eptiomize the “Lies, damn lies, and statistics” maxim.
2. Tokenism vs. Meritocracy: Prioritizing diversity over merit creates a culture of tokenism, undervaluing and overlooking individual abilities.
3. MEI metrics are not biased: Objective evaluation criteria ensure the best candidate is selected, regardless of background.
4. DEI initiatives perpetuate biases: Emphasizing group identities over individual merit can exacerbate existing biases.
5. Meritocracy promotes genuine excellence: MEI metrics provide a more robust framework for evaluation, fostering a truly inclusive work environment.
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