Why DEI Failed

‍

Amazon, Meta, and Walmart are a few of the Fortune 100 companies rolling back their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

‍

The big, poorly kept secret about the DEI industry is that diversity programs don’t actually generate that much diversity.

‍

In the four years since DEI became commonplace, the workforces of the largest U.S. public companies have only become slightly less white. This is despite U.S. corporations investing over $340 billion in DEI initiatives.

‍

Much of the problem stems from DEI practitioners’ extreme lack of standards, consistency, and accountability.

‍

For example, the three most popular DEI interventions—mandatory diversity training, job tests, and grievance systems—make firms less diverse, not more.

‍

‍

In theory, DEI promised a more inclusive workplace, but in practice, its flawed execution often stalled or even reversed progress.