View Full Version : The death of DEI, ESG and other like programs
iris lilies
2-10-25, 9:21pm
in another thread a few days ago, I ask about the current status of E.S.G.* investing, if that is still a thing.
last week this book was published:
Last Call for Bud Light: the fall and future of America’s faborite beer by Anson Freicks, a former executive at Anheuser Bush.
I’ve heard one thorough interview of this guy and immediately went out and bought the book because he traces the history of E.S.G. ratings and companies that focused on those ratings, why and how that was carried out and how it all affected the fall of Budweiser light beer.
Great timing for me! And honestly great timing for the author because it appears that companies going forward with stronger DEI programs or any DEI program at all, are diminished in number.
He left AB in 2022 less than a year before the Bud Light fiasco. He has great insider information about the culture there, how and why Executives left St. Louis for New York and changed their company values, and the blunders the company made after Dylan Mulvaney ad campaign and he talked about who would’ve been making those decisions and why.
apparently the Brazilian Belgians (or is it the Belgian Brazilians?) who own the company have European sensibility and were not going to pull back back from Dylan Mulvaney, or apologize to their core customers they alienated. When the president of Bud Light went on his apology tour of the United States, giving Non apologies, this author claims he was told the exact script to say, and there was definitely a “no apology “theme.
* Environmental, Social, and Governmental
gimmethesimplelife
2-11-25, 2:55pm
Essentially it's 1938 Austria in living color and in English this time around. I'm waiting to hear back from an immigration attorney in Quito.....I'm doing something other than complaining. Methinks the time for complaining is gone with the wind. It's about self preservation from what's comIng now. Especially that Vance and Musk are now challenging the very notion of the courts being a check and balance to Presidential power. I'd say smart people are laying the groundwork to at least attempt to run - truly there is no hope nor future in the United States going forward for the vast majority of us. I hope you'all can.land safely elsewhere. I wish you'all success in your self preservation efforts. Rob
iris lilies
2-11-25, 3:02pm
Essentially it's 1938 Austria in living color and in English this time around. I'm waiting to hear back from an immigration attorney in Quito.....I'm doing something other than complaining. Methinks the time for complaining is gone with the wind. It's about self preservation from what's comIng now. Especially that Vance and Musk are now challenging the very notion of the courts being a check and balance to Presidential power. I'd say smart people are laying the groundwork to at least attempt to run - truly there is no hope nor future in the United States going forward for the vast majority of us. I hope you'all can.land safely elsewhere. I wish you'all success in your self preservation efforts. Rob
rob. I’m glad you are taking action after years of threatening to do it. I’m not sure what that has to do with DEI didn’t, realize you were a big proponent of it, but I guess it tracks.
I have been reading over sections of the Project 2025 publication. It seems apparent now that this plan may have laid the groundwork for many of the ongoing changes. As someone here mentioned a while back, it is too weird that the day the new administration came in everything happened so quickly. Lots of pre-planning going on.
gimmethesimplelife
2-11-25, 3:07pm
rob. I’m glad you are taking action after years of threatening to do it. I’m not sure what that has to do with DEI didn’t, realize you were a big proponent of it, but I guess it tracks.Thank You, IL. And you are right. My post is not DEI specific - it's just that so.much is being dismantled so quickly that it seemed appropriate. If it suits, feel free to have Alan move my post. Rob
Essentially it's 1938 Austria in living color and in English this time around. I'm waiting to hear back from an immigration attorney in Quito.....I'm doing something other than complaining. Methinks the time for complaining is gone with the wind. It's about self preservation from what's comIng now. Especially that Vance and Musk are now challenging the very notion of the courts being a check and balance to Presidential power. I'd say smart people are laying the groundwork to at least attempt to run - truly there is no hope nor future in the United States going forward for the vast majority of us. I hope you'all can.land safely elsewhere. I wish you'all success in your self preservation efforts. Rob
Glad to hear you’re no longer just giving lip service to moving.
iris lilies
2-11-25, 3:22pm
I think some DEI initiatives are fine. Ones that educate and possibly even promote via education, concerns of people in protected classes in the workplace — some of those are OK with me. We had that sort of race education back in the day in the 1990s although it does seem that the premise for educating all has changed since then.
Anyway…
But I don’t like the quotas and preferential treatment and etc for people in protected classes. It’s been said many times: this is reverse discrimination and it also sells the idea of lower expectations for these folks. If we don’t want to see racial discrimination carried out, stop carrying out discrminatory actions.
I also think there will probably be some unintended consequences that I won’t like or that will challenge established DEI such as scholarships in the science technology and math fields for women. A couple of universities, including my alma mater, the university of Iowa, is in the process of reviewing its DEI scholarships based on recent events.
but then, I have to remember that when Academic folks believe “Trans Women are women “I guess natal males can invade women’s academic life as they have invaded sports life so who knows what will happen from this.
DEI, ESG, and various associated acronyms are branches of a movement that metastasized into a sort of rent-seeking industry. On the basis of a to-the-victim-go-the-spoils business model, it became a sort of jobs program for progressives building a perverse hierarchy of privilege. People like Elizabeth Warren, Rachel Dalziel, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Ward Churchill would even fake their pedigrees in an attempt to reap the benefits. I don’t think it will ever be entirely extinguished. It will simply rise again under different names.
But it’s good to see it suffer setbacks during periods of political lucidity.
frugal-one
2-12-25, 6:43pm
DEI, ESG, and various associated acronyms are branches of a movement that metastasized into a sort of rent-seeking industry. On the basis of a to-the-victim-go-the-spoils business model, it became a sort of jobs program for progressives building a perverse hierarchy of privilege. People like Elizabeth Warren, Rachel Dalziel, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Ward Churchill would even fake their pedigrees in an attempt to reap the benefits. I don’t think it will ever be entirely extinguished. It will simply rise again under different names.
But it’s good to see it suffer setbacks during periods of political lucidity.
Which is NOT now!
1934
I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished . . . The rest of our progress in not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.. . . . Franklin D Roosevelt
From my industry: https://www.iafc.org/docs/default-source/1vcos/iafc_dei_study_report_final.pdf
iris lilies
2-13-25, 9:59am
From my industry: https://www.iafc.org/docs/default-source/1vcos/iafc_dei_study_report_final.pdf
So? Do you have a point here?
edited to add:
This 80 page report is much like the thousands of such reports that exist, and are likely put on a shelf, in organizations all over. Many of them are produced with grants using the professional DEI folks who will find their work greatly reduced in upcoming years.
was yours? I wonder how many federal dollars found their way i to reports like this…
So? Do you have a point here?
edited to add:
This 80 page report is much like the thousands of such reports that exist, and are likely put on a shelf, in organizations all over. Many of them are produced with grants using the professional DEI folks who will find their work greatly reduced in upcoming years.
was yours? I wonder how many federal dollars found their way i to reports like this…
Did you read the report? I found it very accessible to someone who knows nothing about this field. Very easy to follow.
Just who do you think will handle your next emergency? Why are you dissing the brave people who protect all of us, who are devoted to saving lives? Why obstruct their ability to recruit people to help in their mission by labeling it a wasteful grab of fed dollars? Just who is it that you think fed dollars should be given to? I thought our nation was We, the People.
Honestly, I am baffled by this reaction to this report.
iris lilies
2-13-25, 11:52am
Did you read the report? I found it very accessible to someone who knows nothing about this field. Very easy to follow.
Just who do you think will handle your next emergency? Why are you dissing the brave people who protect all of us, who are devoted to saving lives? Why obstruct their ability to recruit people to help in their mission by labeling it a wasteful grab of fed dollars? Just who is it that you think fed dollars should be given to? I thought our nation was We, the People.
Honestly, I am baffled by this reaction to this report.
no I’m not going to read an 80 page report offered up to make some sort of point I don’t understand other than sure, these reports exist. Again, I ask: so what is the point being made by bae?
the conclusions you ascribe to me are not correct.
But sure, I applaud bae’s emergency response team in recruiting, hiring, and supporting good employees. I’m not “obstructing their ability “in any way. as for how federal dollar should be spent, you are aware of how incredibly broke our country is, right? I don’t think it’s fine to just merrily carry on spending as we have in the past, although I don’t have any real faith the current administration is going to change that trajectory.
This is the part that baffles me:
"This 80 page report is much like the thousands of such reports that exist, and are likely put on a shelf, in organizations all over. Many of them are produced with grants using the professional DEI folks who will find their work greatly reduced in upcoming years.
was yours? I wonder how many federal dollars found their way i to reports like this…"
If you didn't look at the report, how can you reach these conclusions? Why say things like, "I wonder how many federal dollars found their way [into] reports like this"
when you don't know what the report said, or who wrote it, or what was the intention of the report?
iris lilies
2-13-25, 12:43pm
This is the part that baffles me:
"This 80 page report is much like the thousands of such reports that exist, and are likely put on a shelf, in organizations all over. Many of them are produced with grants using the professional DEI folks who will find their work greatly reduced in upcoming years.
was yours? I wonder how many federal dollars found their way i to reports like this…"
If you didn't look at the report, how can you reach these conclusions? Why say things like, "I wonder how many federal dollars found their way [into] reports like this"
when you don't know what the report said, or who wrote it, or what was the intention of the report?
please tell me what is unique about this particular DEI report when compared to the hundreds of other ones produced across the country. You have read it so tell me, why is bae’s report so very different and interesting?
This reminds me of a very specific DEI salary action which benefited me tremendously about the year 1988. See, even back then DEI goals were in place, just not at the level at which we currently pay them attention.
One year I received a huge raise, I’m thinking it was around 15%. . This is a GIANT salary action for a governmental entity. It took place because I was a department head and my only other direct peer was a male department head, and he made more money than I did. City fathers wanted to address these wrongs as we were in a “progressive” University town. You would probably think my reaction at the time was “this wrong has been righted” but it was not my reaction at all. I was embarrassed.
I had hired into this organization from a another place that had paid very low wages, so they didn’t have to pay me much more to get me on board. My male colleague had come from another organization that had already been paying him more so to hire him, my library had to pay him more. It just made sense to me. I’m still shaking my head about that one.
I wasnt more deserving of higher salary, more talented, more productive. I was just female. DEI goals (only we didn't call it DEI back then.)
Which is NOT now!
1934
I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished . . . The rest of our progress in not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.. . . . Franklin D Roosevelt
Said by the man who prolonged the Depression by years through his incessant interference in people’s lives. He had much in common with today’s DEI apparatchiks, who believe their superior intelligence and morality qualifies them to allocate privilege and opportunity based on immutable physical characteristics.
early morning
2-14-25, 3:48pm
Said by the man who prolonged the Depression by years through his incessant interference in people’s lives. He had much in common with today’s DEI apparatchiks, who believe their superior intelligence and morality qualifies them to allocate privilege and opportunity based on immutable physical characteristics. OK then. HE, and his policies, saved my grandparent's farm. AND the farms of most of their neighbors, thus allowing them to support their families. The WPA put people to work, and built a lot of critical infrastructure. The CCC program allowed many young men to send most of their earnings home to support their loved ones. But you know all this. You know that the unemployment rate dropped from around 25% to just below 10% by 1937. I've not read the studies that blame him for prolonging the Depression, I'll have to check that out. I did note that many articles on that topic are from right-wing publications, so I anticipate some bias, lol. In the immediacy of the crisis in the early 1930s though, no one knew what would help. And I'm sure not all of his ideas were good ones. My parents grew up during the depression, so I knew many people FDR's policies impacted. I heard their stories, the hope and help his policies gave them. Sure, he was far from perfect, and many of his ideas were a bit out there. He also was no friend to Southern tenant farmers, most likely because many of them were black. Thank goodness his wife had some impact there. But overall, it sure seems like he had the good of the American working people, not the good of the rich, at heart. You know, kinda like the exact opposite of what we have now.
early morning
2-14-25, 3:59pm
I had hired into this organization from a another place that had paid very low wages, so they didn’t have to pay me much more to get me on board. My male colleague had come from another organization that had already been paying him more so to hire him, my library had to pay him more. It just made sense to me. I’m still shaking my head about that one.
I wasnt more deserving of higher salary, more talented, more productive. I was just female.
So, you were perfectly ok with making less money BECAUSE you were a woman. Wow. Did you ever think about why you were embarrassed? Do you think a man in your position would have been embarassed to have his pay brought up to that of another department head? Do you think our conditioning as woman play into these sorts of actions? I remember people complaining about something "that B Hillary (Clinton)" did, and thinking, if a man did that, it wouldn't have been a big deal - or even would have been cheered. Yeah, we need more DEI training, retroactive.
This thread is hurting my head! >:(
iris lilies
2-14-25, 5:20pm
So, you were perfectly ok with making less money BECAUSE you were a woman. Wow. Did you ever think about why you were embarrassed? Do you think a man in your position would have been embarassed to have his pay brought up to that of another department head? Do you think our conditioning as woman play into these sorts of actions? I remember people complaining about something "that B Hillary (Clinton)" did, and thinking, if a man did that, it wouldn't have been a big deal - or even would have been cheered. Yeah, we need more DEI training, retroactive.
This thread is hurting my head! >:(
I didn’t explain that clearly. I made less money not because I was a woman but because I simply cost less to bring in. A man in my exact situation would’ve been offered the same salary as me. In this place of employment, start up salaries were negotiated.
Later after working there a while I received a raise, a big embarrassing one, BECAUSE I was a woman.
I will not argue that societal conditioning plays a role in our cultural life across the general population, but I’m not so sure as you are about my own psychology in this instance. But thanks for your concern. And as far as a hypothetical man in my exact situation, how he would react—who knows? Perhaps you know,I do not.
early morning
2-15-25, 9:56am
Perhaps you know,I do not. I actually asked this because I DON'T understand how people see or don't see their own conditioning/past experiences play out in their/our daily lives - and I include myself in this. (yeah that's a pretty tortured sentence, sorry...) Sometimes I react to things and later wonder WHY I had the reaction I did.
I still don't understand why you felt someone who was not more talented or more productive than you should have a higher salary, just because they had one before and therefore "cost" more to entice into your facility. That, to me, makes no sense. obviously, ymmv.
iris lilies
2-15-25, 10:36am
I actually asked this because I DON'T understand how people see or don't see their own conditioning/past experiences play out in their/our daily lives - and I include myself in this. (yeah that's a pretty tortured sentence, sorry...) Sometimes I react to things and later wonder WHY I had the reaction I did.
I still don't understand why you felt someone who was not more talented or more productive than you should have a higher salary, just because they had one before and therefore "cost" more to entice into your facility. That, to me, makes no sense. obviously, ymmv.
Have you done any hiring? I hired many people over decades.
For each position, I had a salary range to work with. There is not a single standard salary amount for each position. The flexibility helped me hire in needed people.
I probably committed the crime of offering a lower salary to an incoming hire who was more qualified than someone else hired into the same position at a higher salary. This is how the real world works, hiring salaries are not a perfect science.
DEI goals didnt come into my hiring decisions, but it was often a conflict when hiring new people that their starting salaries didn’t exceed those of people who had already worked there for a while. That was my real problem as a hiring manager.
I believe you come from a public school background? From what I understand of that world, salary scales are regimented based on number of years of experience plus educational degrees and certificates. Concrete criteria with no flexibility. I may be wrong about that, but perhaps this is the lens in which you are viewing this.
And finally, salaries are negotiated in my (former) work world. I could have negotiated for more, but that salary represented a nice bump up for me, so I didn't and besides, I wanted the job. Salary was secondary.
edited to make sense, hooefully.
I actually asked this because I DON'T understand how people see or don't see their own conditioning/past experiences play out in their/our daily lives - and I include myself in this. (yeah that's a pretty tortured sentence, sorry...) Sometimes I react to things and later wonder WHY I had the reaction I did.
I still don't understand why you felt someone who was not more talented or more productive than you should have a higher salary, just because they had one before and therefore "cost" more to entice into your facility. That, to me, makes no sense. obviously, ymmv.
Because women of our age were conditioned to feel we were not allowed in "men's spaces" and "take men's jobs", so we were supposed to be grateful for the crusts we were thrown.
iris lilies
2-15-25, 11:04am
Because women of our age were conditioned to feel we were not allowed in "men's spaces" and "take men's jobs", so we were supposed to be grateful for the crusts we were thrown.
yes, and it’s been argued that a continuation of female conditioning is that sex segregated spaces are only sex segregated for men, men can go anywhere. Women have to allow trans women into women’s spaces. More of the same conditioning?
early morning
2-15-25, 12:10pm
Because women of our age were conditioned to feel we were not allowed in "men's spaces" and "take men's jobs", so we were supposed to be grateful for the crusts we were thrown.
Exactly this!
yes, and it’s been argued that a continuation of female conditioning is that sex segregated spaces are only sex segregated for men, men can go anywhere. Women have to allow trans women into women’s spaces.
I am not comfortable with the idea that public "spaces" need to be "segregated". I have no problem with transwomen being in any spaces. Or women. Or men. Or transmen. I get your freak about athletics, and agree that's an area where more study may be warranted, at least at the professional levels. But then I pretty much hate competitive sports. Games should be fun, confidence and leadership building experiences, not cut-throat, win-at-all-cost activities, especially for KIDS. But whatever, no one cares about my thoughts on that, lol.
early morning
2-15-25, 12:20pm
Have you done any hiring? I hired many people over decades. Well, I've been on hiring teams, where hiring decisions were by consensus. And no, where I taught was an educational portion of a state/county government entity. Much like you, we had salary ranges, which only lightly touched on educational level. Not exactly like the public schools. And no union. Previous salaries were not part of the salary equation. I know all places are different. I just believe that all people doing the same job at the same level of proficiency should be paid the same starting wages. Just because it's not the "real world" doesn't mean it isn't right.
I believe that when I die, I will account for my sins against other people. And one sin I want to avoid as much as I can is demonizing vulnerable people, trans people, immigrants, sick veterans, working people who had jobs on January 20 and now do not have jobs because they are deemed worthless, a waste. People who for some inexplicable reason--well, it's not inexplicable, it is because they are vulnerable, and there is evil running the show.
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
iris lilies
2-15-25, 12:46pm
Exactly this!
I am not comfortable with the idea that public "spaces" need to be "segregated". I have no problem with transwomen being in any spaces. Or women. Or men. Or transmen. I get your freak about athletics, and agree that's an area where more study may be warranted, at least at the professional levels. But then I pretty much hate competitive sports. Games should be fun, confidence and leadership building experiences, not cut-throat, win-at-all-cost activities, especially for KIDS. But whatever, no one cares about my thoughts on that, lol.
Here’s what I really think —today anyway, and allowing for future change of view—about trans women in women’s space:
Personally, I am fine with trans women in public spaces if those spaces are used for a short time. The public bathroom situation is the most common one people think of with trans women, That is a brief meetup space for people using it and is made semi private by stall doors. I think the hoopla made bt the Congress people over trans women using women’s bathrooms is silly and yes, hurtful.
Locker rooms and shower rooms, that is less of a brief encounter space and is more problematic. But probably I would be fine as long as I have some warning that there is an expectation of the space that I will share will contain 6’ 4” people with penises. I think there will be a gradual relaxation of nudity expectations as time goes by in the United States if we allow it.
All of this assumes honest and forthright intention to use the space as designed by all parties.
I emphasize “gradual” and this means I don’t want it forced like a bludgeon because some people really will be, to use everyone’s favorite term, not comfortable with it.
None of this addresses the serious problems of men invading women’s spaces for their long term use. If you believe the patriarchy keeps women down, if male domineering behavior is something to be guarded against, I think we have to pay attention to that in women’s sports, prisons, dating spaces, LeLeche League, sororities, women’s college dormitories, competitive sex-based scholarships, rape crises centers, etc. The trans activist agenda is giving permission for infiltration of strident natal men commandeering these spaces as their own.
Why these natal men are interested in this is not something I will spend my time on but I do not believe their agenda is friendly to women.
iris lilies
2-15-25, 1:49pm
I believe that when I die, I will account for my sins against other people. And one sin I want to avoid as much as I can is demonizing vulnerable people, trans people, immigrants, sick veterans, working people who had jobs on January 20 and now do not have jobs because they are deemed worthless, a waste. People who for some inexplicable reason--well, it's not inexplicable, it is because they are vulnerable, and there is evil running the show.
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
That is nice, to develop your own philosophy and strive to live it.
I am not as quick to toss around the concepts of “hate” and “evil”as you are,
and to malign priorities of my fellow simple living posters here as you are. But in our free society you and anyone else are free to do that.
to bring this back to the original thread topic, that really is the intent behind DEI goals. Bringing varied experiences, skills and point of view to any team is important. But simply checking boxes for race, sex, etc. is a superficial and lazy way to get there.
DEI is a way to solve for the reality that we all have biases and prejudices whether we recognize them or not. Frankly, I will admit that I have no clue what it's like to inhabit the skin of a person of color, for instance. I think reports like the one bae's organization did is a valid way to take the pulse of the community and not "guess" whether or not biases are influencing opportunity for underrepresented communities. It may seem like a forced and frivolous exercise, but I believe over time it will make equity a more natural reality. Kind of like concentrating on nothing but scales when you're learning to play the piano, but having it become something you don't even think about after enough practice and and self-awareness.
early morning
2-15-25, 3:25pm
Catherine, that's a very eloquent explanation, thanks for that. I learn a lot from your posts!! Tybee, I think the standards you aspire to are laudable, and it would be a better world if people self-judged their own actions based on Christ's teachings - or even just the Golden Rule. I'm an atheist, but there is a lot to be learned from religious texts. It's difficult for me to understand people who say they are Christian but reject the teachings of Christ. I agree with you that evil is running the show at the moment.
rosarugosa
2-16-25, 7:57am
Catherine: I think that's a great analogy about the scales.
Early: I'm with you on the Golden Rule providing a good guideline for those of us who are not religious.
I used to do a fair bit of hiring into entry-level positions for my Fortune 100 employer. We had a pretty rigid set starting salary.
DEI is a way to solve for the reality that we all have biases and prejudices whether we recognize them or not.
Does it really “solve for the reality”, or does it just seek to establish and enforce another system of biases and prejudices?
Does it really “solve for the reality,” or does it just seek to establish and enforce another system of biases and prejudices?
Well, here's a company solving for the reality: One of my big clients is a marketing group that addresses healthcare inequalities in underserved communities. They have a marketing arm of their business and also a foundation that seeks to "right-size" clinical trial enrollment of underrepresented communities because, historically, they have not been adequately represented. Research has proven that there are vast healthcare access disparities in those communities. Do you really feel that addressing the following is "just another system of bias?" Or is it only trying to level the playing field for people whose lives should be deemed as valuable and worthy of healthcare as any other race/ethnicity?
Because I don't feel like spending a lot of time looking the statistics up, I asked ChatGPT to outline relevant statistics showing health disparities in Black and Hispanic populations.
Following is its response:
Here are six relevant statistics that highlight health disparities among Black and Hispanic populations in the United States:
1. Chronic Health Conditions: According to the CDC, Black adults are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes compared to White adults. Hispanic adults also face higher rates, with approximately 50% more likelihood than their White counterparts.
2. Obesity Rates: The prevalence of obesity is significantly higher in these communities. As of 2021, approximately 49.6% of Black adults and 44.8% of Hispanic adults are considered obese, compared to about 42.2% of White adults.
3. Cardiovascular Disease: Black individuals are disproportionately affected by heart disease. The American Heart Association reports that Black adults are 30% more likely to die from heart disease compared to White adults.
4. Mental Health: A study showed that only about 24% of Black adults with mental health symptoms sought treatment, compared to 43% of White adults. For Hispanic individuals, the access to mental health resources is often limited, contributing to stigma and lower rates of treatment.
5. Infant Mortality Rates: The CDC reported that in 2019, the infant mortality rate for Black infants was 10.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 4.5 for White infants. For Hispanic infants, the rate was 5.0, indicating a significant disparity in outcomes.
6. COVID-19 Impact: During the COVID-19 pandemic, data indicated that Hispanic individuals were 2.3 times more likely to die from the virus compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. Black individuals also experienced higher rates of hospitalization and mortality.
These statistics reflect systemic issues, including socioeconomic factors, access to care, and the impact of structural racism on health outcomes in these populations.
My second probe to ChatGPT was to ask about the underdiagnosis of chronic diseases in the Black population:
Research suggests that Black people are often underdiagnosed and undertreated for chronic diseases compared to White individuals. Several factors contribute to this disparity, including:
Access to Healthcare: Black patients may have less access to healthcare services due to socioeconomic factors, geographic location, or lack of health insurance, which can lead to fewer opportunities for diagnosis and management of chronic conditions.
Healthcare Provider Bias: Implicit biases among healthcare providers can result in Black patients receiving less thorough assessments or being less likely to be referred for necessary diagnostic tests.
Cultural Factors: Differences in cultural perceptions of health and illness, as well as historical distrust of the medical system, may contribute to why individuals in Black communities might avoid seeking care or presenting symptoms.
Health Literacy: Variations in health literacy can influence how individuals understand and manage their health, which can affect the likelihood of seeking diagnosis and treatment for chronic diseases.
These systemic disparities can result in higher rates of advanced disease at diagnosis among Black individuals and underdiagnosis of conditions that warrant attention and management. This illustrates the importance of addressing both individual and structural factors to improve health outcomes for Black populations.
--end ChatGPT--
Bottom line: DEI is not some kind of feeble Kumbaya feel-good effort. It saves lives. And I'm not sure how correcting these imbalances could be considered "just another bias."
Well, here's a company solving for the reality: One of my big clients is a marketing group that addresses healthcare inequalities in underserved communities. They have a marketing arm of their business and also a foundation that seeks to "right-size" clinical trial enrollment of underrepresented communities because, historically, they have not been adequately represented. Research has proven that there are vast healthcare access disparities in those communities. Do you really feel that addressing the following is "just another system of bias?" Or is it only trying to level the playing field for people whose lives should be deemed as valuable and worthy of healthcare as any other race/ethnicity?
Because I don't feel like spending a lot of time looking the statistics up, I asked ChatGPT to outline relevant statistics showing health disparities in Black and Hispanic populations.
Following is its response:
Here are six relevant statistics that highlight health disparities among Black and Hispanic populations in the United States:
1. Chronic Health Conditions: According to the CDC, Black adults are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes compared to White adults. Hispanic adults also face higher rates, with approximately 50% more likelihood than their White counterparts.
2. Obesity Rates: The prevalence of obesity is significantly higher in these communities. As of 2021, approximately 49.6% of Black adults and 44.8% of Hispanic adults are considered obese, compared to about 42.2% of White adults.
3. Cardiovascular Disease: Black individuals are disproportionately affected by heart disease. The American Heart Association reports that Black adults are 30% more likely to die from heart disease compared to White adults.
4. Mental Health: A study showed that only about 24% of Black adults with mental health symptoms sought treatment, compared to 43% of White adults. For Hispanic individuals, the access to mental health resources is often limited, contributing to stigma and lower rates of treatment.
5. Infant Mortality Rates: The CDC reported that in 2019, the infant mortality rate for Black infants was 10.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 4.5 for White infants. For Hispanic infants, the rate was 5.0, indicating a significant disparity in outcomes.
6. COVID-19 Impact: During the COVID-19 pandemic, data indicated that Hispanic individuals were 2.3 times more likely to die from the virus compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. Black individuals also experienced higher rates of hospitalization and mortality.
These statistics reflect systemic issues, including socioeconomic factors, access to care, and the impact of structural racism on health outcomes in these populations.
My second probe to ChatGPT was to ask about the underdiagnosis of chronic diseases in the Black population:
Research suggests that Black people are often underdiagnosed and undertreated for chronic diseases compared to White individuals. Several factors contribute to this disparity, including:
Access to Healthcare: Black patients may have less access to healthcare services due to socioeconomic factors, geographic location, or lack of health insurance, which can lead to fewer opportunities for diagnosis and management of chronic conditions.
Healthcare Provider Bias: Implicit biases among healthcare providers can result in Black patients receiving less thorough assessments or being less likely to be referred for necessary diagnostic tests.
Cultural Factors: Differences in cultural perceptions of health and illness, as well as historical distrust of the medical system, may contribute to why individuals in Black communities might avoid seeking care or presenting symptoms.
Health Literacy: Variations in health literacy can influence how individuals understand and manage their health, which can affect the likelihood of seeking diagnosis and treatment for chronic diseases.
These systemic disparities can result in higher rates of advanced disease at diagnosis among Black individuals and underdiagnosis of conditions that warrant attention and management. This illustrates the importance of addressing both individual and structural factors to improve health outcomes for Black populations.
--end ChatGPT--
Bottom line: DEI is not some kind of feeble Kumbaya feel-good effort. It saves lives. And I'm not sure how correcting these imbalances could be considered "just another bias."
DEI, at least in its current incarnation, tries to solve complex issues like you (or at least ChatGPT) mention with the crude tools of race essentialism. Disparate outcomes are treated by putting a thumb on the scale of justice by empowering institutions to allocate rewards rather than ensure universal rules of fairness. The large infrastructure of people whose paycheck depends on enforcing “equity” had become so onerous that public resentment of it’s essential unfairness help Trump eke out his win.
DEI, at least in its current incarnation, tries to solve complex issues like you (or at least ChatGPT) mention with the crude tools of race essentialism. Disparate outcomes are treated by putting a thumb on the scale of justice by empowering institutions to allocate rewards rather than ensure universal rules of fairness. The large infrastructure of people whose paycheck depends on enforcing “equity” had become so onerous that public resentment of it’s essential unfairness help Trump eke out his win.
Historically, those "universal rules of fairness" have been well and good in theory but not in practice for large swaths of the population--in fact, they have been blatantly ignored and suppressed. Sometimes the pendulum has to swing the other way to ultimately find its way to the center.
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