DEI is not ‘dangerous’, as President Trump would have us believe. And the sooner we apply common sense and common decency to this issue, the better.

I refuse to get despondent about the sweeping pronouncements from the new President of the United States. Angry? Yes. Simply because it is fuelled by misconception and misunderstanding. I’m being generous in not using the word ‘deliberate’ as the declarations had more than a smell of Musk.  In truth, it simply echoed them but brought with it actions. Worried? Yes, that too.  As the sentiment behind the dangerous rhetoric is overtly divisive and gives the green light for others to follow an agenda which seeks to subjugate people if they don’t conform to increasingly narrow perceptions of what is ‘right’.

We have taken so many strides forward in our aim to make societies safer, welcoming and inclusive – also not a dirty or dangerous word.  To make it seem such is a shameful thing to say and do.

Let’s take a step back a moment and look at not just what is being said but why it is being said.  The supposed reason, if we can call it that, states that DEI is active discrimination.  No, Mr President, it isn’t… provided it is being applied correctly.  And this is where the real danger lies. And where the rhetoric and actions we have seen gain conviction with people.

DEI does not seek to discriminate. It acts against discrimination.  It is trying to get the backgrounds and lived experiences of all people to be considered.  It is looking to make workplaces, communities and societies accept and value everyone. What is so dangerous about that?

DEI initiatives and practices are put in place to gain the very best from everyone and ensure that everyone can be heard.  Looking at this from a purely business perspective: why would you ever want anything other than a harmonious workplace in which everyone can contribute? Why would you want to eliminate diverse views and wide perspectives that reflect today’s multiracial and multicultural communities?

I’m not saying people’s interpretation of DEI practice is always correct. I have called out tokenism and empty celebrations or policies for what they are: unhelpful and fuel for people to label DEI as worthless, a waste of money and resources and, to use a commonly heard phrase ‘too Woke.’  And if well-intentioned policies are not applied correctly, with people feeling they are no longer listened to, then that is wrong.

I also accept that DEI ideology and actions are not always perfect: when it’s not helping, but hindering, it must be called out.  However, to throw out the DEI baby – which will grow up healthy and strong if you let it thrive – with the bathwater is wrong!

To suggest that DEI is ‘dangerous’ and everything which seeks to make a diverse society an inclusive one is discriminatory, is deliberately looking to prey upon people’s insecurities. It is peddling prejudice, fuelling divisions and aiming to keep groups of people within our diverse societies in lowly, impotent positions.

I’ll conclude by repeating the words I offered when responding to Mr Musk’s declaration late last year: ‘Far from creating a different discrimination, DEI seeks to include all and make life, work and workplaces equal in terms of feeling welcome, included and valued.’   Does that sound dangerous to you?