The Life and Death of DEI

With Lachlan McNamee and Kyle Peyton

Where did DEI come from and why did organizations adopt the policies they did --- the trainings, the statements, the targets? What did these policies achieve for the communities they claimed to serve? How did a set of policies that remained broadly popular meet such an abrupt end? What can the rise and fall of DEI teach us about the possibilities of pursuing group-based justice through the private sector?

The Life and Death of DEI offers a data-driven, critical retrospective of the rise, persistence, and collapse of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the United States. As racial inequality persisted and the government retreated from structural solutions, universities and corporations stepped in — armed with tools that were visible, legal, and quick. Drawing on demographic data from millions of university and corporate employees, together with original field and survey experiments, we show that DEI produced something other than equity. The glass ceiling began to shatter, but what emerged beneath it was an hourglass: women and minorities concentrated at the top and the bottom, while the professional middle changed little. Practices like bias trainings and land acknowledgements, meanwhile, did more to shield institutions from criticism than to transform them. “Trickle-down diversity” failed, but DEI persisted because it satisfied a fragile coalition: minorities seeking recognition, liberals seeking allyship opportunities, and organizations seeking legitimacy. It collapsed when it needed discrimination to achieve diversification. Without investing in the upstream pipelines that determine who succeeds — the schools, neighborhoods, and networks that no hiring policy can reach — Americans will continue to reach for DEI as a substitute for structural change.