That's a very gracious description of any DEI program I've had personal experience with.
DEI programs and similar work by focusing more effort on underrepresented groups. By design that puts less focus on overrepresented groups, and splits that focus away from merit all together.
Arguing that everyone should have equal opportunity to succeed is admirable and a great goal to have. I've never seen a DEI program that implements that or stops at that goal though, they need more immediate results and focus instead on helping to select under represented groups into positions to better balance the statistics.
The ones I’ve worked with uniformly focused on making sure that hiring didn’t inadvertently rule people out. This often benefited white people, too: if you’re a vet with a thick southern accent and without a degree, getting the chance to interview is important for being able to demonstrate that you’ve acquired the required skills by other means.
DEI programs and similar work by focusing more effort on underrepresented groups. By design that puts less focus on overrepresented groups, and splits that focus away from merit all together.
Arguing that everyone should have equal opportunity to succeed is admirable and a great goal to have. I've never seen a DEI program that implements that or stops at that goal though, they need more immediate results and focus instead on helping to select under represented groups into positions to better balance the statistics.