Diversity and Inclusion are both process and outcome. The process of Diversity is a steady increase
in the number of underrepresented minorities (URM) and women in all
organizations (e.g., higher education, media, business, non-profits,
government). The process of Inclusion
requires an increase in the number of URM and women in the higher echelons, the
decision-making levels, of organizations.
These two processes, to achieve full Diversity and Inclusion, should
continue until a reasonable approximation of parity is achieved, namely, half
for women and proportional for URM to their share of the overall population.
On January 23, 2019, CalPoly announced the hiring of a consultant to help promote Diversity and Inclusion until the student body resembles the demography of
California. CalPoly is the only university with White majority enrollment among the California State University 19 campuses. Whites are 39%, Hispanics 37%, Asians 13%, with Blacks, American Indians, and other minorities making up the remainder of California's population. To achieve proportional representation, White student enrollment will have to decrease by 15% of the student body.
Given geography, the URM share will vary between states,
cities, towns, rural areas, and so forth.
California and New Mexico require higher percentages of Hispanics among
top decision-makers than do North and South Dakota.
At some point, decades from now, Women and URM in
organizations will match their proportions in the population. Does this become the ideal outcome of
Diversity and Inclusion? Or will
historical legacies continue to favor Whites?
Is there an end to Diversity and Inclusion that diminishes and
ultimately ends role in American life?
Will the day come when America will be color-blind and gender-blind?
Or, will certain patterns that have emerged in the process
of Diversity and Inclusion obstruct a color- and gender-blind America?
Will women and People of Color (POC) be allowed (should they
be allowed?) to retain Exclusive organizations even after they have attained
proportional membership in all organizations previously majority White or all male? Will Whites and men be forbidden to establish
all White and/or all-male organizations?
Will URM enjoy legally or constitutionally permanent preferences (e.g.,
as do Malays for civil service jobs in multi-racial Malaysia, or low-caste
Dalits in India)? Should financial
reparations be a part of the outcome?
What will the equilibrium outcome of Diversity and Inclusion
look like? Will stagnation fuel hostility among rivals? Will continued change increase the numbers of
one group versus the other(s)? How will
Blacks and Hispanics cope with change that increases the share of Hispanics in
the population from parity with Blacks to triple their number? Will demography upset any possible
equilibrium outcome?
For the next few decades, process will dominate Diversity
and Inclusion. From mid-century on, however,
an increasing number of individuals may begin to question, even challenge, the
process if there is no end in sight.
This is a recipe for conflict and political instability, which has been
and remains the case in many multiracial/multiethnic countries.
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