President Trump has made a lot of changes and ruffled a lot of feathers in just the first few weeks of his second term in office. One of his recent actions that sparked outcry was his executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, claiming that he wants to make America a country that is solely “merit-based.”

So, let’s look at what DEI is and why you should care.

While it has become a sort of token term, it’s important to establish a definition of what DEI is meant to demonstrate. Diversity, meaning that there should be a diverse spectrum of viewpoints in a workplace or school. Equity, meaning that there are certain obstacles that people may need help overcoming in order to get those jobs or school opportunities. Lastly, inclusion, meaning that there needs to be an environment to ensure that once these people land these positions, they feel safe there. 

So, why is DEI being vilified by our president?

First, many people feel that these programs foster an environment of reverse racism or sexism. The argument here is that the use of quotas for certain groups of people, even with something as simple as the hiring process, hurts the chances of other groups, like white men. Many people opposed to DEI initiatives feel that they are less likely to get certain opportunities because they are not “diverse” enough. 

On the other hand, because certain groups of people have historically been oppressed and discriminated against, they deserve a shot at these opportunities, introducing the need for a system that ensures that people who have historically been ostracized from opportunities have a chance to interview for these positions as well. 

“It (DEI) has become something to many Republican politicians, including Trump, that is tantamount to reverse discrimination,” Chandler James, assistant professor of political science at University of Oregon, said.

One side argues that the people who have certain privileges (being a white rich man) are discriminated against by having to put in the work only to get passed over for someone who seems less qualified; while the other side believes that people who belong to different minority groups are just getting a shot at opportunities they have historically been shut out of, and that if they receive the job or scholarship, it is because they are the best fit with DEI policies giving them the chance they deserve. The flaw with the first idea, is that DEI policies do not mean that people who aren’t qualified are being hired, they mean that everyone gets a shot at the job regardless of background. In other words… based on merit.

“There’s different connotations of this term,” James said.

Trump has launched an executive order dismantling DEI programs. This will be an order that revokes actions taken by President Lyndon B. Johnson. These orders come after a previous order claimed that President Biden had forced “discrimination” programs into many aspects of the federal government. 

I find President Trump’s remarks during his inauguration about the need to “forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based” ironic considering his daughter and son-in-law work in the White House and two of his sons work internationally on behalf of the Trump Organization.

If Donald Trump is so laser-focused on making America merit-based, then his efforts to erase DEI techniques from the federal government is not only misguided, but just blatantly wrong. He should be questioning instead whether his children are the most qualified people for such positions of power over millions of other applicants.