Throughout history, America has been referred to as a melting pot, where diverse cultures and traditions have blended to form a unique national identity. Diversity is a cornerstone that has been the country’s pride for centuries and is the foundation upon which it has been built.
But on Jan. 21, President Donald Trump dealt a crushing blow to this principle by signing an executive order to remove diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in federal government operations called “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
A month later, the Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter that gave educational institutions two weeks to remove the use of “race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life” as a condition of federal funding pursuant to the Trump’s executive order. Among the key reasons in removing DEI, according to a fact sheet released by the White House on Jan. 22, was to “protect equal opportunity.”
However, the executive order’s effect on racial diversity will have lasting impacts on life in the workplace, school and on opportunity for all Americans. For that reason, The Campanile condemns the executive order for undermining the values of inclusivity within America. However, we affirm the removal of race-based academic programs by the Department of Education as we think other metrics, such as socioeconomic status, provide a more objective metric for supporting students equally.
Fundamentally, DEI is a framework that seeks to include individuals from all backgrounds — of varying ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds and more. But the Trump administration’s definitions of DEI, particularly seen in the Dear Colleague letter, seems to emphasize race as the primary category targeted by DEI initiatives, while in reality it is only one factor. With a vague definition of DEI and thus a vague understanding of what is being banned, the law can be enforced as freely as Trump and his cronies interpret, which we think is an overreach of executive power.
The Campanile also supports diversity and inclusivity in the workplace and in education because of the tangible benefits DEI initiatives bring to organizations. A 2015 report by McKinsey on 336 public companies found that those in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry mean. And those in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to have returns above the average.
Also, according to a 2016 Harvard Business Review article, teams with diverse backgrounds focus more on facts than opinions and process facts more carefully. They are also more innovative because diverse teams bring differing perspectives and experiences to the table during the brainstorming process.
While the White House fact sheet claims the executive order is “restoring the values of individual dignity, hard work, and excellence,” it erroneously frames DEI as an agent of lowered performance standards. The suggestion that diversity is evidence of incompetence and unfair treatment is inaccurate as empirically, diverse teams do perform better, not worse, than their non-diverse counterparts.
While The Campanile does support diversity and inclusivity as a principle to be upheld in our society, focusing solely on race-based academic programs is not optimal. For example, PAUSD’s Systemwide Integrated Framework for Transformation, which makes efforts “to reduce disparities that flow along the lines of race/ethnicity, disability, and socioeconomic status,” may perpetuate ideas that certain races perform poorly and need additional support.
When students are in an environment where stereotypes about their racial group impact their education, their performance will drop, according to research conducted on stereotypes by social psychologists in DEI.
Race is not a predictor of academic performance, and other factors provide a more logical and statistically reliable explanation.
Socioeconomic status, for example, is shown to have a “medium to strong” relation with academic achievement, according to a 2005 study by an assistant professor at New York University. Those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged may have access to fewer academic-support resources. If we want to best support students who are struggling the most, socioeconomic status provides the best way to identify these students.
The Trump administration’s attack on DEI ignores our country’s founding principles of inclusion and tolerance, and framing DEI as being just about race ignores its many other important aspects. When data proves diverse teams thrive, the executive order ignores the facts and steers America away from progress.