DEI / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Submission 10,549

About

DEI, which stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is a phrase used to describe organizational frameworks that promote equality and diversity. DEI practices aim to uplift communities that have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against. In the United States, DEI policies like Affirmative Action and anti-discrimination laws have existed since the 1960s, initially addressing racial discrimination and eventually expanding to cover LGBTQ+ inclusion practices. In the early 2020s, the aftermath of George Floyd's death and the BLM protests and movement saw the DEI industry expand rapidly, becoming increasingly prominent in online discussions and memes. By 2024, many American conservatives notably began to blame DEI policies for a variety of issues in the U.S., including the deterioration in the quality of Boeing planes and the collapse of the Baltimore Francis Key Scott Bridge.

History

DEI policies have their roots in Affirmative Action laws in the United States with the Civil Rights Act being passed on July 2nd, 1964, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and Affirmative Action encouraging government bodies to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated [fairly] during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin."^[1]

According to Time magazine, the DEI industry "exploded" in size in 2019, prompted in part by the growth of the #MeToo and the Black Lives Matter movements. This number increased once in the early 2020s.^[2]

Conservative DEI Backlash

As DEI policies increased in businesses and became more widely known and reported on in the early 2020s, many conservatives online criticized these policies and practices. For example, on October 12th, 2021, X^[3] user @justinbaragona posted a screenshot of a Fox News segment villainizing DEI, writing, "Apparently, CRT isn't sparking enough rage so now we have to add 'DEI,' I guess," and gathering over 800 likes in three years. The post was further quoted by user @StephLBirch,^[4] who claimed to have made the graphic featured in the segment (seen below).

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023 also sparked anti-DEI reactions among some conservatives, as seen in a March 10th, 2023, post by right-wing political activist and radio talk show host Charlie Kirk^[5] that gathered over 4,000 likes in a year (seen below, left). On March 11th, Trump's senior advisor Stephen Miller^[6] made a post blaming DEI for the bank's collapse as well, gathering over 6,000 likes in a year (seen below, right).

In early 2024, concerns about the deteriorating quality of Boeing planes also sparked concerns among many conservatives who blamed the issues the company was facing on DEI policies. For example, on January 11th, 2024, X^[7] user @WallStreetSilv wrote, "DEI is going to result in a crash costing the lives of hundreds of people. Boeing and the airlines need to stop playing politics and start focusing on the best engineers, QA testers, pilots and every other position in their companies." The post gathered over 4,000 likes in two months (seen below, left).

On March 7th, the satirical website The Babylon Bee^[8] made a post that read, "Boeing CEO Assures Nervous Fliers That All 737 Aircraft Are Built To The Highest Diversity Standards," gathering over 12,000 likes in five days (seen below, right).

In March 2024, the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge saw some conservatives blaming DEI policies for the disaster as well, with X^[9] user @iamyesyouareno writing, "This is Baltimore’s DEI mayor commenting on the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. It’s going to get so, so much worse. Prepare accordingly" on March 26th, 2024. The post received backlash from others, as seen in a tweet by user @NoahJAguirre^[10] that read, "Right wingers really just use 'DEI' in place of the N word now huh," gathering over 27,000 likes in three days (seen below, left).

On March 27th, X^[13] user @itsafronomics posted a joke where he inserted the word "DEI" into the lyrics of Jay Z's song "The Story of OJ," gathering over 27,000 likes in two days (seen below, right).

Online Presence

Discussions, memes and other posts online referencing DEI saw a notable increase in the early 2020s across a broad range of social media platforms and websites.

For example, YouTuber TechLead uploaded a video on March 6th, 2020, criticizing the concept, receiving over 790,000 views and 41,000 likes in four years (seen below, left). On December 16th, YouTuber Simon Sinek uploaded a video praising DEI, receiving over 236,000 views and 2,600 likes in a similar timeframe (seen below, right).

DEI has been frequently discussed or memed on Reddit in the early 2020s as well. A July 19th, 2022, post by Redditor /u/iguesswhatevson on Reddit's /r/jobs asked, "What exactly do people even do everyday in Diversity and Equity departments?" and gathered over 1,000 upvotes in two years.^[11]

On March 9th, 2023, a since-deleted Redditor made a post on the /r/PoliticalCompassMemes^[14] subreddit with a meme referencing DEI, receiving over 1,100 upvotes and 130 comments prior to deletion (shown below, top). On July 27th, another DEI meme from a Redditor was posted on /r/PoliticalCompassMemes,^[15] receiving over 500 upvotes and 100 comments in eight months (shown below, bottom).

On December 15th, 2022, TikToker^[12] @amy.charlotte.kean posted a video joking about "DEI" coordinators, gathering over 20,000 plays in two years (seen below).