Rather than mitigating biases, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives may exacerbate racial tensions, according to new research.
A recent study from Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab and Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), released Monday, suggests that prevalent DEI programs in US colleges and corporations may be counterproductive, potentially fueling racial conflict.
The report indicates that specific DEI practices have incited unnecessary antagonism among participants.
“Instead of reducing bias, [DEI trainings] fostered a hostile attribution bias across all groups, intensifying perceptions of prejudiced hostility where none existed and prompting punitive reactions to imagined prejudice,” the study states.
Researchers observed participants labeling those who disagree with DEI initiatives as “oppressive, racist, or fascist,” solely based on dissent.
“When individuals are primed to interpret anti-racist materials through a specific ideological lens, they become more inclined to punish perceived wrongdoing,” explained study co-author and NCRI Chief Science Officer Joel Finkelstein to Fox News.
“This includes calls for dismissal… demands for public apologies… and calls for relocation. These punitive actions, in some instances, are costing people their jobs,” Finkelstein added.
The report notes that many DEI training programs and materials frequently utilize the writings of controversial anti-racist authors Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, who have faced significant criticism for their advocacy of Critical Race Theory.
The researchers identified divisive “core themes” promoted by Kendi and DiAngelo’s works. These include: “The assertion that standard institutions and Western ideologies secretly enforce racist agendas, and that White people benefit from and are entitled to the advantages of systemic white supremacy and racism,” “The claim that Western countries are inherently flawed due to their racist ideology and history,” and “The argument that anti-racist discrimination is the sole solution to racist discrimination.”
The NCRI also discovered that anti-Islamophobia materials from a Muslim advocacy group can lead individuals to believe Muslims face unfair treatment, even without evidence.
“DEI narratives emphasizing victimization and systemic oppression can cultivate unwarranted distrust and suspicion of institutions and distort subjective interpretations of events,” the study concludes.
A 2023 Pew Research Center study indicates that approximately 52% of American workers are required to participate in workplace DEI meetings or training.