Triggered: The Life and Death of DEI

With Lachlan McNamee and Kyle Peyton

Triggered: 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 cheap, but largely symbolic. Drawing on demographic data from millions of university and corporate employees, together with original field and survey experiments, the book shows that practices like elite diversification, bias trainings, and land acknowledgments produced little durable change, while instead polishing institutional reputations and dampening criticism. DEI persisted because it satisfied a fragile coalition: minorities seeking recognition, liberals seeking allyship opportunities, and organizations seeking legitimacy. It collapsed when legal risk made even symbolism too costly. The book concludes that racial equity requires abandoning performative fixes and investing instead in the pipelines that shape who can succeed in the first place.