America’s Reflection in a Future President*
A multi-racial woman is vastly more representative of America’s diverse citizenry — and the country’s future — than a white man or one the hue of Trump, whatever that is. As Trump and his party weaponize DEI, the assumption that white men are more qualified than a woman or a non-white person because of their race and gender is the other side of that defective coin. Trump himself is proof beyond any doubt of the speciousness of that hypothesis.
Women outnumber men by more than 3.17 million in the United States. U.S. Population by Gender. Non-white Americans make up approximately 41% of the population. The U.S is growing more racially and ethnically diverse. The U.S. Census Bureau projects America will become a “majority minority” in 2045. White demographic decline.
Yet, white men hold 62% of all elected offices despite being 30% of the population, exercising minority rule over the House, the Senate, and almost all state legislatures. Women hold just 31% of offices despite making up 51% of the population, and non-whites hold just 13% of offices, despite making up 41% the population. White male minority rule dominates U.S.
Given the changing demographics, it’s no wonder large swaths of white men and the governorships and legislatures they dominate resort to every conceivable method to maintain power and control and prevent the erosion of their historically privileged status. Why Access to Voting is Key to Systemic Equality.
The latest is Trump and his party’s sweeping weaponization of DEI, claiming women and non-white people in the United states — 70% of the United States population — are less qualified than white men to occupy public sector, leadership, and other positions , and those who hold such positions are unqualified by comparison and do so only because of their gender or race or, in the case of Vice President Harris, a combination. As discussed below, this weaponization is a “targeted effort to attack policies and practices that have created pathways to leadership and power for people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and others” who fall within the historical marginalization by the historically advantaged. The real reason Team Trump calls VP Harris a ‘DEI hire’.
As I wrote last week, Vice President Harris has proven herself in a world the historically privileged designed for their own success by marginalizing women and minorities, subordinating their rights and interests, and precluding their access. Harris had the fortitude, stamina, and intellect to overcome the structural barriers the architects, by design, never had to endure. Lacking a Moral Compass, Republicans Resort to Core MAGA Values to Navigate the New Political Landscape.
Trump’s accident of birth, by contrast, put him in that privileged category. His failures continue to mount, even with every benefit and advantage and everything handed to him.
DEI is a necessary response to the equally defective assumption that a white man is more qualified than a woman or non-white person because of his color and gender. Natalie S. Burke, CEO and President of CommonHealth ACTION, wrote:
“. . . The acronym DEI has been weaponized by people who feel threatened by the racial diversification of America and its leadership; the success of women in corporate and public sector jobs; the mere presence of people with disabilities in the workplace and in society; as well as the increased visibility of LGBTQ+ people and their families. They perceive that reality as an existential crisis.
“In addition to elected officials, there have been numerous recent examples of highly visible powerbrokers and pundits denigrating people of color, specifically Black people, claiming they are unqualified for the positions they hold, and that they were hired based on their race, not merit. . . .
“[T]this is not new. First, powerful opponents of progress sought to discredit and gut affirmative action policies. Now they have their sights set on anything they choose to label DEI. This strategy to characterize Black people as unqualified, framed within the context of ‘DEI hires,’ is a targeted effort to attack policies and practices that have created pathways to leadership and power for people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and others. Because while ‘DEI hire’ has been most frequently used to discredit women and people of color, it is also used to devalue the contributions of people with disabilities and other marginalized and oppressed identities.
“The weaponization of the term DEI cuts across sectors and disciplines, including in health care and medicine, where I have had health care executives tell me that DEI efforts in hospitals or medical schools lower standards and thereby jeopardize the quality of care provided to patients. One health care executive went so far as to say that ‘a diverse hire,’ another way to say DEI hire, would underperform because they trained at an HBCU. Although factually inaccurate, these beliefs about DEI have taken hold in our national narrative. . . .
“So, what is DEI really?
“Diversity, equity and inclusion supports full participation of all people; promotes fair treatment through the intentional use of power, policies and practices; and values individuals within the context of their identities, not in spite of them. It is a response to glaring inequities throughout society, particularly those in education and employment. Recent reversals of public and institutional policies that advance DEI are most often the result of orchestrated resistance by people who believe that DEI will disenfranchise and disempower white people, especially white men. Frankly, the data does not support those claims. After decades of policies and practices to support DEI, inequities in opportunities and pay continue to plague women and people of color.
A 2021 study by Judd Kessler and Corinne Low found that ‘firms hiring in STEM fields rated minority and female candidates significantly lower than white males. Among STEM majors, to get the same rating as a white male with a 3.75 GPA, a minority or female candidate needed a 4.0.’ Even with DEI policies in place, Black women make 66 cents on the dollar compared with their white male counterparts, when doing the same jobs with comparable qualifications.
“These statistics and examples indicate the necessity of DEI. They also point to how dangerous the misappropriation and weaponization of DEI is to decades of slow and fragile social progress and policy change.
“The truth about DEI is that it promotes American values that are necessary for a healthy, functional and thriving democracy. It is consistent with ideals such as liberty and justice for all people. That is not a zero-sum game where one group’s gain is another’s loss. Instead, it is America making good on its promise to create a society where everyone can flourish and contribute their talents and skills to the collective good while having a fair chance to succeed. These ideals are woven into the complex fabric of who we are as a nation, and we cannot afford to regress to darker times.”
The real reason Team Trump keeps trying to call Kamala Harris a ‘DEI hire’
R.VanWagoner https://medium.com/@richardvanwagoner publishes. https://richardvanwagoner.medium.com/subscribe
*My brother the very talented fiction writer and novelist, Robert Hodgson Van Wagoner, deserves considerable credit for offering both substantive and technical suggestions to https://medium.com/@richardvanwagoner. Rob’s second novel is a beautifully written suspense drama that takes place in Utah, Wyoming, and Norway. This novel, The Contortionists, which Rob himself narrates for the audio version, is a psychological page-turner about a missing child in a predominantly Mormon community. I have read the novel and listened to the audio version twice. It is a literary masterpiece. The Contortionists is not, however, for the faint of heart.