John Stossel Investigates Why DEI Training Makes Workplaces Less Inclusive and Academia More Divided
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John Stossel Investigates Why DEI Training Makes Workplaces Less Inclusive and Academia More Divided
John Stossel examines the $3.4 billion diversity, equity, and inclusion industry that has swept through American corporations and universities. Former diversity officer Erec Smith from York College reveals how DEI training actually makes people less likely to interact across racial lines, creating workplace minefields instead of fostering genuine connection. From Coca-Cola's "try to be less white" training to academic arguments that teaching standard English is racist, Stossel uncovers how these programs not only fail to increase diversity but sometimes decrease minority representation in management. Harvard research confirms no study has found diversity training leads to more diversity, while Stanford's diversity dean shutting down a federal judge demonstrates how DEI advocates silence the very debate needed for progress.
Diversity, equity and inclusion training has become mandatory at major American corporations, generating a massive industry worth $3.4 billion in 2020 alone. Companies feel compelled to signal their commitment to social justice, often beginning meetings with ritual acknowledgments of indigenous land and apologies for America's past. Microsoft acknowledges its campus sits on land "traditionally occupied by the Sammamish, the Snohomish, the Tulalip."
But does any of this actually work? According to Erec Smith, a former diversity officer at Drew University who now teaches at York College, the answer is no. "I just thought it was a useless thing," Smith explains about why he left his diversity position. "There's a better way to go about doing this."
Despite the enormous investment, companies continue paying for these trainings as a way to check a box and demonstrate they're taking action. Yet the evidence suggests these programs are counterproductive.
Creating Minefields Instead of Bridges
Smith argues that DEI training actually makes people less likely to interact with those different from themselves. "It seems to be making people less likely to interact with people who are unlike them, you know, because it's like a minefield now," he observes.
The problem lies in the content of these trainings. When employees learn about microaggressions and are told that simple questions like asking someone what they do for a living could be construed as racist, they become paralyzed. "If you learn that, then why would you take a chance?" Smith asks. "I better not talk to Erec because I might say something wrong."
The irony is profound: "So now inclusion means I'm going to silence myself and not talk to the black people."
Extreme Content Becoming Mainstream
Some DEI training content goes beyond creating anxiety to actively promoting divisive messages. One trainer declares, "All white people are racist," and even more extreme: "I believe that white people are born into not being human."
While Smith acknowledges this is extreme, he notes "it's becoming more of the norm." Leaked slides from a Coca-Cola diversity training instructed employees to "try to be less white," associating whiteness with arrogance and other negative traits. "That is by no means a white thing," Smith points out. "But the point is to demonize the other side as much as possible."
The Data Tells a Damning Story
A Harvard professor who analyzed studies of diversity training reached a stark conclusion: "Sadly enough, I did not find one single study which has found that diversity training, in fact, leads to more diversity."
Even more troubling, the Harvard Business Review reports that five years after implementing diversity training, the share of black women managers actually decreased at some companies.
According to Smith, the failure of these programs to produce results reveals their true nature: "It is not about data. It's about a power grab."
The Academic Debate Over Standard English
The DEI movement extends beyond corporate training rooms into educational institutions, where it shapes how teachers approach basic instruction. One "expert" told educators: "If you use a single standard to grade your students' languaging, you engage in racism. You actively promote white language supremacy, which is the handmaiden to white bias in the world."
This speaker was Asao Inoue, who argues that teaching standardized English perpetuates white supremacy. Smith, who was in the audience, found the presentation "a bit misguided" and wrote a thoughtful response arguing that failing to teach standard English does a disservice to minority students.
Attacked for Defending Educational Standards
Rather than sparking productive dialogue, Smith's defense of teaching standard English made him a target. "We are professors in communication. I thought we could communicate. I was so wrong," Smith recalls.
Instead of engaging with his arguments, colleagues attacked him personally with questions like "Do you enjoy using Western modes of argument to invalidate people of color?" and demands to "Check your privilege."
Smith understood why his position was so threatening: "What they saw in me was a bigger threat than anything they've seen before. A black person saying it's okay to teach black students standardized English."
An academic named Eve wrote a complaint about "the harm Smith consistently perpetuates." Other academics rushed to support Eve, with one writing: "Eve spent tremendous labor physically, intellectually and emotionally to write his response and it most probably took him extra time to recover from that labor."
Smith's reaction captures the absurdity: "It's like they're victims everywhere! Yes. That's the point. You have to perpetuate the victimhood. That's part of the narrative."
When Journalists Confront DEI Advocates
Stossel tracked down Inoue, who had since grown a beard, to challenge his claims. When asked about the benefits of standardized English, Inoue offered a more measured response than his inflammatory conference speech: "There are absolutely benefits to a standardized English but that same world creates those same benefits through certain kinds of biases."
When pressed on whether students need to meet language standards to succeed, Inoue contradicted himself: "I don't think everybody needs to be held to it... Yeah, I think that they do. I think that they can."
Stossel confronted Inoue about the dramatic difference in tone: "I think you're toning it down for my audience here because you in your conference speech were all about this is an oppressive country and white racism, white dominance."
Inoue admitted he'd been playing to his audience: "I tried to be rhetorical and I tried to use the moment to make a statement." In his conference presentation, he had declared: "Your students who do not embody enough of the white habits of language that make up your standards, stand at your classroom doors and die for your comfort."
Shutting Down Debate at Elite Universities
The anger and intolerance that characterizes DEI advocacy was on full display at Stanford Law School, where angry students and Stanford's dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion shut down a federal judge who had been invited to speak.
The diversity dean lectured the judge for six minutes, questioning whether his views were worth "the pain that this causes and division that this causes."
At least Stanford's law school president later apologized, stating the incident violated "Stanford's commitment to free speech."
The Consequences of Lowering Standards
In response to concerns about equity, some colleges have dropped admission tests while high schools eliminate honors classes. The purported goal is to help students of color who "struggle and fail, even when we are there to help them."
Smith sees this as deeply damaging: "What is that going to do to an entire group of people? Nothing good. I mean, if you wanted to hold down a group of people without them knowing it, this 'woke' thing is a good strategy."
The results bear out his concern: the gap between black and white students is widening, with minority and underserved students falling further behind.
An Alternative Approach: EMC Instead of DEI
Education reformer Chris Rufo proposes replacing DEI with "EMC" -- equality, merit and colorblindness. The emphasis on merit stands in stark contrast to DEI's focus on identity and grievance.
But demanding merit, critics argue, hurts minorities. This reasoning leads to the elimination of objective standards that Smith argues are essential for advancement.
The Better Way Forward
Smith believes the solution is simple but requires courage: talking openly without fear of cancellation. "People don't say what they feel because they don't wanna get cancelled, they don't wanna get called racist. People are censoring and we have to stop doing that."
Rather than mandatory training sessions that create anxiety and division, Smith advocates for genuine dialogue where people can express their thoughts without being labeled racist or having their careers destroyed.
Stossel concludes by endorsing this approach: stop censoring and instead engage in real debate. He promises a future video featuring a longer debate with Inoue, the advocate against teaching standard English, demonstrating the kind of open discussion that DEI culture currently suppresses.
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