Diversity, equity and inclusion about recognizing that merit can take many forms
By Lethbridge Herald on August 5, 2023.
GUEST OPINION
Marc Roussel
In a Guest Opinion published in the July 26th edition of the Lethbridge Herald, Brian Giesbrecht builds an argument against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives on two main pillars: First, that the West became dominant in world affairs due in large part to meritocratic practices, an argument he attributes to Niall Ferguson, and specifically to his book Civilization: The West and the Rest. (Perhaps tellingly, the word meritocracy and closely related derivatives thereof appear nowhere in Ferguson’s book. One should thus not blame Ferguson for the argument presented by Giesbrecht.) Secondly, that DEI initiatives are anti-meritocratic and therefore, according to Giesbrecht, promote mediocrity. Neither of these arguments stands up to scrutiny.
It is difficult to describe as meritocratic the class system that operated in the United Kingdom in its era of dominance, deriving as it did almost entirely from bloodlines. Similarly, the United States’ rapid ascent in the world was built in considerable part on the economic benefits derived from slavery.
There is no point pretending that a country was built on meritocratic ideals when a person viewed as property could once be bought and sold.
The subsequent evolution of the United States was marked by racism that created and maintained a two-tiered society to such an extent that it was necessary for the American federal government to intervene to, among other things, desegregate schools and enforce voting rights. We have our own sad history of racism making a mockery of any pretense of historical meritocracy. If the West was built on meritocracy at all, it was only a meritocracy for some.
As for the question of whether DEI undermines meritocracy, I would point to research conducted in a number of business schools across North America and beyond (hardly bastions of Marxism, with which Giesbrecht tries to associate DEI), and by major consultancies such as McKinsey and Korn Ferry, all showing large gains in productivity and innovation for workplaces that are diverse.
Korn Ferry’s data are typical of the published studies, showing that diverse workplaces are 36 per cent more likely to outperform their homogeneous counterparts in terms of profitability, and generate 19 per cent higher innovation revenue in particular.
It is not clear to me how these statistics, and those found in a very large number of other studies reaching similar conclusions, support the idea that “mediocrities” are being hired by companies with diversity policies.
As Associate Dean in the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Lethbridge, I participate in all of our program committees, which make both admission and funding decisions for students entering Master’s and Doctoral programs. I would tend to characterize our approach to DEI as leaning heavily on the E (equity) criterion. Since we do not use race or ethnicity data in these decisions, we are currently unable to directly address diversity in our decisions, although we hope that an equitable approach to admissions will increase diversity. This is, of course, not guaranteed.
To make concrete how DEI enters into our decisions, let me describe two hypothetical students, both applying to the same Master’s program. While I am making up the details, we see many students not unlike these two among our applicants. Both students have solid grades. In addition, student A has lots of volunteer experience, as well as experience relevant to their proposed area of study acquired through minimum-wage work in laboratories at the University during the summers.
Student B has significant family responsibilities. They had to work their way through university and needed to take summer jobs that maximized income rather than jobs that related directly to their area of study. How do we compare these two students? T
raditionally, we would have given student A the edge because of their directly relevant experience and the initiative they took in finding volunteer opportunities. DEI principles tell us to weigh all the factors we see in the application files to try to decide how
these students will perform in the graduate program, i.e. to make a determination of merit based on a broader set of criteria. A committee trying to assess funding for these two students—they will almost certainly both be admitted based on their grades—might now note that student B has demonstrated tremendous resilience and an ability to balance competing demands while completing their undergraduate degree, both essential qualities for a graduate student. Whether a program committee would rank these students similarly or not will depend on the collected experience of the committee members with graduate students and on the details of their files, and much less on the differences in opportunities available to these two students in their undergraduate years. In short, DEI is all about trying to make a fair assessment of merit.
DEI, as I have seen it operate, is about recognizing that merit can take many forms. Many of our classic measures of “merit” are imperfect, and there is no doubt that human beings using any set of criteria make imperfect decisions.
But research in the field clearly and consistently supports DEI initiatives as a means of educating and recruiting a more productive workforce, and one that is capable of greater innovation.
Marc Roussel is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Lethbridge.
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If DEI is so beneficial for corporations, then please explain the three following examples of corporations which are good examples of fully committed DEI practices. 1) Intel Corp. which lost 25% of its sales of Bud Light beer across the US after an advertising campaign featuring a prominent Transgender influencer . The loss of sales is considered permanent costing billions of dollars . 2) Disney , whose sales are falling and whose stock has catered. 3) Blackstone Corp. which is losing billion across its business lines , another DEI promoter. There are many more examples, that simply would not fit on this page. Conclusion DEI has been used to discriminate against the ge real public and businesses are beginning question the whole idea.I fully disagree in it’s employment.
The previous comment needs correcting . NOT Intel should read Inbev the brewing company
DEI has resulted in discriminatory hiring practices,suppression of freedom of speech, as shown right here at Lethbridge University, with a lawsuit pending for discrimination .
The author glosses over important details and overgeneralizes to make his case: