For all the discourse surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the past decade, surprisingly little has been said about what it was ever meant to accomplish. 

Since DEI emerged last decade in HR departments across the nation, eventually becoming ubiquitous in the summer of 2020, proponents offered a spate of stated aims, from developing cultural competence to increasing representation to fostering inclusion for the “marginalized.” The more radical goals, such as promoting “equity,” were blended in with less controversial aims, such as enforcing anti-discrimination laws. “It’s all interconnected,” DEI activists insisted.