Is Elon Musk Right About DEI? Exploring Popular Critiques Of DEI

Recently, Elon Musk made bold statements about the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on X. In a now viral post, Musk stated “DEI must DIE. The point was to end discrimination, not replace it with different discrimination.” Musk’s post echoed the sentiments of many DEI critics who’ve asserted that the field has failed and causes reverse discrimination. This article seeks to debunk this and other popular myths that have gained traction as DEI skepticism grows louder.

DEI Causes Discrimination

Many opponents of DEI argue that DEI causes discrimination. One former Black Lives Matter activist argued that DEI is just another way to say anti-white. In the fall of 2023, a workplace DEI program at Meta was accused of discriminating against white people. After the 2020 murder of George Floyd, corporations were pushed to make pledges and promises declaring their commitments to anti-racism and DEI. During this time, organizations were pouring exorbitant amounts of money into these efforts, with the Washington Post reporting that the 50 largest public U.S. companies committed nearly $50 billion to address racial inequality.

There isn’t widespread evidence that DEI causes discrimination—on the contrary, it could be argued that with the spotlight on DEI, many corporations have instead engaged in performative practices to gain public favor. In 2022, Wells Fargo made headlines after it was reported that the company engaged in sham job interviews of “diverse” (which the company defined as a woman or a person of color) candidates. Within the NFL, one of their DEI policies includes the Rooney Rule, which requires every NFL team with a head coach opening to interview at least one or more minority and/or female candidates for the position. In 2022, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL alleging that two NFL teams conducted “sham interviews” in order to appear diverse.

DEI Benefits only Black People

One popular DEI myth is that it only benefits Black people. Though the term DEI is fairly new, DEI as a field was spawned from the civil rights era and has taken on different names and iterations throughout the decades. Affirmative action could be considered a DEI program and was created with the goal to “ensure equal employment opportunities for applicants and employees.” Gallup research from 2021 found that more than half of Americans believed that Black people have equal opportunities in housing compared to whites and about half of Americans feel that racial minorities have equal job opportunities as their white counterparts. The Gallup research also found that perceptions differed by race, with a lower percentage of white adults supporting affirmative action for racial minorities and a greater percentage of white Americans believing that Black adults have the same chance as white adults to get housing and job opportunities.

There is a commonly held belief that programs that are designed to even the playing field for the most marginalized give disenfranchised communities some sort of unfair advantage. This was personified in Chelsea Handler’s 2019 documentary Hello, Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea. In one scene, Handler speaks with a group of Republican women from Orange County who remark about “Black privilege” and how Black people are given more advantages and access in education and the workplace through programs like affirmative action. Contrary to these beliefs, DEI programs, many of which were designed to support non-white communities after years of systemic exclusion, often end up benefiting white people more than any other group. A few examples: public assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has benefitted white people more than any other racial/ethnic group and workplace affirmative action programs, the Financial Times reported, benefit white women more than both women of other racial backgrounds and people from underrepresented racial groups.

DEI Has Failed

For the past several years and even prior to 2020, researchers have asserted that DEI programs are failing. There has been a lot of chatter about the ineffectiveness of unconscious bias trainings with many wanting to overhaul DEI training altogether. There has also been skepticism among Black employees about their company’s commitment to DEI.

Despite the doubts, there is evidence that different programs and initiatives that promote DEI have been effective. Intel reported in May of 2023 that they reached their diverse supplier goal eight years ahead of their projected schedule. A September 2023 Bloomberg report indicates that after the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, the S&P100 added over 300,000 jobs, a majority of which went to people from underrepresented racial groups. In October of 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration revealed that U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to Black-owned small business have more than doubled under the Administration. In November of 2023, PR Newswire reported that corporate board diversity within the U.S. had grown, with female directors and racially/ethnically diverse directors seeing significant increases over the last five years.

Every workplace is different and what works at one organization or institution may not produce the same results in another workplace. A healthy level of skepticism is normal and is what is needed to help any field grow and evolve, but we must remain wary of those that seek to sow seeds of division and discord without accompanying evidence. There are many fair critiques of DEI: some DEI programs don’t produce their desired results and there is a lack of objectivity within the field, but there will always be a need for DEI (although it will probably be called something else) within workplaces. As long as there are people from different communities with different needs, values, identities, and beliefs coming together, there will naturally be strife, conflict and discord, therefore we’ll need interventions designed to remedy this friction and provide support systems that address everyone’s unique needs.