Stand by DEI: It's a social and business imperative

In Greek, 'dei' means 'must'. As America swings with Trump's politics to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, India Inc should step up to articulate why DEI is a must

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Among Donald Trump's first acts as US President was to put all government staff working on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on administrative leave before shutting down federal programmes. Even before Trump put his pen to this executive order, deeming DEI "dangerous, demeaning and immoral," a bunch of CXOs had declared their disdain, terming it "racist," "anti-American" and "illegal." With brave exceptions, America Inc seems to have turned against DEI in an instant, as if earlier efforts to address the under-representation of gender, ethnic and other identities were a farce. DEI initiatives in the US got a push after the 2020 killing of George Floyd by cops, though inclusion has been pursued in some form since the 1960s' Civil Rights Act. Diversity is about embracing differences, while equity relates to treating everyone fairly and offering equal opportunity, and inclusion calls for an atmosphere where all folks feel welcome. The overarching idea is to have people of varying backgrounds and life experiences contribute. Affirmative a