Anti-DEI rhetoric fuelled by misconceptions, N.B. job board founder says

The term "DEI" has become politically charged, but one New Brunswick business owner said it's sad the topic has become so polarizing.

"As someone who is part of a traditionally underrepresented group, as well as someone who works in this space, it's really difficult not to have a really emotional reaction to [anti-DEI policies]," said Shauna Cole, a human resources professional and the founder of Saint John company HireDiverse.ca, a job board with a focus on diversity and inclusion. 

The term DEI has been specifically divisive in the United States, where U.S. President Donald Trump recently directed all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off.

He has also called the programs "destructive" and insisted on restoring hiring based on "merit."

Trump also blamed DEI policies for a mid-air collision in D.C. And during the Los Angeles fires, tech tycoon and special U.S. government employee Elon Musk re-shared a news story on X about the fire department's first female head, writing, "DEI means people DIE."

DEI programs, sometimes called EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion), guide many organizations in their approach to hiring and recruitment, among other things.

Cole said there's a lot of misconceptions about DEI. The point of the initiative, she said, is to create fairness, rather than favouring one group over another.

"The purpose of these programs is to … give everyone a fair chance and to recognize that those from traditionally underrepresented groups have additional barriers that they face because they are subject to things like unconscious bias," said Cole.

Another misconception, she said, is that these programs are all about race, when they also include people who are disabled, come from a different socio-economic background and so on.

Cole said she has seen firsthand how many challenges people from underrepresented groups face at work and in society as a whole.

One thing that's struck her about the whole situation is the wording — saying DEI as an acronym instead of the full phrase of "diversity, equity and inclusion."

"We lose some of the weight of the words," said Cole. "If we say DEI, that is far less triggering than saying 'I'm opposed to diversity or I'm opposed to equity or I'm opposed to inclusion.'"

Along with changes at a federal level in the United States, some companies have also taken action to end DEI programs. 

For example, in January, Meta Platforms posted a memo to employees saying it was ending its DEI programs, saying the term "is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others."

Other major American companies, such as Walmart and McDonald's, have also been rolling back their diversity policies. 

And Canadian institutions have not been immune to the rollback of DEI or EDI policies. For example, the University of Alberta announced last month that the school will no longer be using the language or framework of EDI. Instead, it has created a new term: Access community and belonging. 

Cole said it's too soon to tell just how much of an effect the rollbacks in the United States will have on Canada.

"I think it's for sure we are going to see some impact, particularly with those companies that have cross-border workforces," she said. 

"But at the end of the day, I think what we're learning through this whole Trump era is Canada is distinctly its own country. So I remain really optimistic that we will stay strong and true to those values that we hold around fairness, kindness and equality."