Critics of DEI seem to have a new equation for success, saying in sum, that merit excellence and intelligence (MEI) minus diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) equals the best person for the position. 

MEI-DEI = The best person

In the words of Taraji P. Henson, “Your math ain’t mathing.”   The most recent billionaire to hitch himself to the anti-DEI train, Alexandr Wang, coined the terminology “MEI” in an office blog that discussed his tech company’s presumed stellar practice of hiring, “only the best person…” by demanding excellence and unapologetically preferring very smart people. His statements imply that the search for merit, excellence, and intelligence precludes the value of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations.  According to his blog, “(a) hiring process based on merit will naturally yield a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas.”    https://scale.com/blog/meritocracy-at-scale   Considering the brain science that details how the ‘naturally yielding of variety’ is unlikely based upon the implicit bias of those making these ‘natural selections,’ Wang’s ideology seems misguided. Just consider the impact of blind auditions for women in classical music orchestras.  Studies showed that only once the natural selection process, steeped with implicit bias, was altered during orchestral auditions, did the percentage of women who were selected increase dramatically. No enhanced ability led to the change, instead auditions held behind a curtain helped alleviate bias.  (Goldin, C., & Rouse, C. (2000). Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of” Blind” Auditions on Female Musicians. The American Economic Review, 90(4)).  The idea that ignoring implicit bias and structural barriers to equity somehow creates a selection process that is “naturally” based on merit is ill informed.  This narrative is particularly harmful in the tech industry where marginalized communities are excluded at a high rate.  The idealistic meritocracy ideology reinforces structural barriers and is as fictious as the leprechaun at the base of the rainbow. 

When I first heard of Wang’s blog, the primary color of the rainbow I felt was red.  We’ve seen attempts to mask racism under different guises before.  The Supreme Court’s assertion that our Constitution is colorblind, in a world that is not, is one.    Now another prominent person, and a person of color, joins the fray.  MEI is an attempt to rebrand racism with new terminology. Language has historically been divisive, allowing people in power to justify their progress through the subjugation of others.   “Race” is one such term.  The social construct of race in America was created to maintain power and privilege after it was threatened during events like Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676.  This historical structure to ensure power and privilege continues, evidenced by the robust disparities which exist in our country for people of color.  We must remember that the founding fathers crafted a constitution that was one of the first systemic barriers for racial and gender equity.  United, many worked against bias and oppression giving our Country the capacity to move toward the equity it originally proclaimed.  But the work against bias does little to counter the insidious impact that comments like Wangs’ perpetuateshas(?).   Words matter.  They undergird the justification that leads to the belief of a lesser class of people who are unworthy of the same care and concern.  It leads to the devaluing of a perspective that comes from marginalized communities where, “Please don’t hurt me y’all,” marks the beginning of the encounter with the officer who was called for help and who, in the end, took her life as she held a pot of boiling water. “Black people jobs”, “colorblind constitution”, “super-predator”, “shithole country” and “MEI,” all the subliminal messaging in these words leads to a society where there is little value given to the experience of black people, to a perspective that isn’t dominant, to the privilege that isn’t earned. Ultimately creating an environment that devalues the human themselves because of the color of their skin.  

There is still work to be done.  The reality is that there are systemic barriers that continue to exist and a utopian ideology which elevates color blindness or MEI, doesn’t make those systemic issues disappear.  The statistics bear out inequities which persist in nearly all areas, so too do the unnecessary deaths of people like Sonya Massey, necessitating an examination of conditions through a color conscious lens.  

DEI is about creating a consciousness that allows you to go beyond your implicit shortcomings. It allows you to both understand the limits of your own perspective and value anothers’.  Asha Saxena, the leader of Women Leaders in Data and AI (WLDA), stated in her response to Wang’s post “In today’s era, where AI represents a convergence of diverse fields … the idea that merit, excellence, and intelligence (MEI) can be fully realized without incorporating… DEI is fundamentally flawed.” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/challenging-mei-myth-need-diversity-scale-ai-asha-saxena-vqlgc/   DEI is not about merely bringing marginalized communities into your organization. It’s about broadening your thinking, insight, and perspective, giving you the opportunity to choose the most meritorious candidate from the most inclusive pool.  It’s about recognizing and reducing the barriers that prevent marginalized communities from having access to your pool. It provides a more varied approach to addressing issues, critically evaluating products, elevating the valuing of knowledge and experience outside of your own, to improve outcomes and culture. 

DEI can indeed help you make more money, but finding your pot of gold shouldn’t be the sole reason to ensure diversity in your workplace. Bias is a four-letter word, and as someone from a culture that faces bias in this country, it saddens me that there is a lack of understanding of how damaging this divisive language is for people who face barriers every day.  This is a fight against the narrative, the bias, that words like MEI perpetuate because bias leads to real harm.  

Stop chasing rainbows and get steeped in the reality of what is staring you in the face. Real math cannot be separated from the history of the country, from the science of implicit bias, nor from the psychology of an individual perspective and certainly not from social justice.  What should be “natural” is an understanding of the true equation—DEI multiplied by merit—equals the best candidate for the job. That’s the equation that computes.

MEI x DEI = the best candidate for the job.