I mean in this case I think it's fairly useful. I'm the exact demographic supposedly impacted by this. I've work for corporations for 20+ years, and watched the culture shift around me. I have friends and colleagues in several different industries. I've been a hiring manager for years. In all that time, literally the only complaints I've heard directly, or from people I know, are people complaining they can't be racist/sexist anymore.
For the record though, I'm 100% sure a white person hasn't gone a job because of their skin color. People suck, and that doesn't stop being true because of skin color or gender. My point is that DEI isn't some grand conspiracy against white people. They're for the most part well meaning policies intended to equalize a playing field that has been fundementally uneven for essentially all of human history.
As mentioned elsewhere, like Agile… it’s not hard to take a good idea and twist it into something bad, in fact happens often. My first reply has examples.
I haven’t seen or heard of any professional rascism, sexism, etc directly with my own senses either—in my whole life. Does that mean they don’t exist? Of course not, but that’s what your statements above sound like. “I haven’t seen => doesn’t exist.”
Of course it exists. Anytime you give people power someone is going to abuse it. That's never going to go away. And the people who are going to abuse that power will do it regardless.
I and people I know have directly observed racism/sexism in our careers, and they have without fail been exactly what DEI initiatives are intended to help prevent.
If someone is using DEI initiatives to abuse their power, that should be dealt with, obviously. But that's not indicative of some conspiracy.
I suspect if I ran down the extremely long laundry list of terrible things done by big corporations you wouldn't argue all corporations should be abolished.
These ideas already existed, as EOE and affirmative action. I support the first, and could support the second in limited cases. As a nationwide movement of unlimited scope and allegiance statements—definitely not. The incentive for favoritism is just too high.
For the record though, I'm 100% sure a white person hasn't gone a job because of their skin color. People suck, and that doesn't stop being true because of skin color or gender. My point is that DEI isn't some grand conspiracy against white people. They're for the most part well meaning policies intended to equalize a playing field that has been fundementally uneven for essentially all of human history.