This World Day of Social Justice is a great time to highlight the current state of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives in the US, how this will play out during the recruitment process, and the glaring issues that may occur as a result. 

Under US President Donald Trump, DEI initiatives have come under attack, after he has made executive orders to ban such efforts, amongst others like environmental justice programs. DEI will no longer be considered in federal hiring. 

CNN reports, “The fledgling Republican White House also ordered employees of federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices to be put on paid administrative leave. And DEI is in the crosshairs of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, who last year called DEI “just another word for racism.” This is a truly concerning opinion to hold whilst firing everyone who is female, of colour, etc.

Already, we’re seeing the effects of this as the workforce numbers plummet. This was of course to be expected. When you discriminate and start firing half of your workforce who happen to be female, people of colour or those with physical limitations, purely for those reasons, regardless of their abilities or skills, you should expect productivity to take a nosedive. It will be fascinating to see how those who voted for Trump react, to the discovery that they themselves constitute a DEI hire. 

Thankfully, in our fair country, fair hiring practices are held in higher regard. What do we mean by fair hiring practices? Hiring people based on merit. The skills, capabilities, experience and qualifications are what should be important when looking for an employee. How well they can do the job is what should be important. Not only because this is morally correct, it’s also illegal to discriminate on the basis of factors irrelevant to their skills, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. 

The Employment Equity Act says as much, “Prohibition of unfair discrimination.–(1) No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee, in any employment policy or practice, on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth.” 

Unfair discrimination refers also to giving preferential treatment on the basis of the above factors. Discrimination is defined by Merriam-Webster as “prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment or the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually”. This definition works both ways, refusing to hire, or refusing to hire anyone but those who adhere to a certain gender, race, etc is discrimination. 

Not only is unfair hiring illegal and ethically wrong, it also cuts out a vast pool of talent that could have done the job better than a candidate hired with prejudice. Holding fast to fair hiring practices allows for the very best candidates for the job to be chosen which ultimately benefits the whole organisation. 

Unfair hiring also puts your organisation at risk of severe reputational damage when these practices eventually come to light. The US’s policies, short-sighted as they may be, will be interesting to watch unfold, as they will offer real life insight into the consequences of unfair hiring practices for the rest of the world.