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Trump's War on Diversity is Here. Will it Take Us Back Decades?
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Feb 6, 2025
#dei #diversity #blackhistory The war against DEI is officially in full effect as President Trump has signed an executive order to end all federal DEI programs. Many companies are following his lead. But where will this lead us? Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future videos! Check out the books we love and recommend in our Black Excellence Book Club: https://www.blackexcellence.com/store/ Some links are affiliate links, which means we earn a very tiny commission if you make a purchase. __________________________________________________________ Sharing interesting and noteworthy stories in Black culture. All content provided by Black Excellence Media, LLC is for entertainment purposes only. None of the information or advice provided is to replace professional advice.
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I have a question how do you overturn
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hundreds of years of progress in only 3
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days and nobody can do it like me nobody
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if you listen to any conservative media
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Dei has become the new F-word diversity
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equity and inclusion although it might
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feel like Dei is the latest hot button
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issue diversity and Equity have been an
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intrical component of organizational
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culture and policy for decades these
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principles aim to Foster diverse
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representation ensure fair treatment and
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create inclusive environments across
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various SE ctors but critics believe Dei
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is all about giving a job to an
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unqualified person just because they're
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black or woman or whatever the
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qualifying thing is that makes you a
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minority in that sector the most common
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example against Dei I keep hearing is if
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you were on a flight would you want to
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know your pilot is a Dei hire as if
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being black is the only thing that would
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qualify you to fly a plane president
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Trump has made getting rid of De in the
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federal government a top priority with
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many private companies following his
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lead all federal employees working on
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diversity equity and inclusion programs
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and initiatives will be put on paid
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administrative leave our country is
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going to be based on Merit again
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diversity equity and inclusion are
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officially dead my friends so in today's
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video we will take a look at the history
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of Dei and go over what companies have
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announced their getting rid of their Dei
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programs and what companies are standing
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by theirs and at the end as always I
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will share my opinion on this issue I
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can't wait to read your opinions in the
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comments the roots of Dei in the
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workplace can be traced back to the mid
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1960s a period marked by societal
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movements and legal changes that began
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to reshape the corporate world the Civil
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Rights Movement played a pivotal role in
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advocating for equal rights leading to
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the implementation of policies aimed at
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promoting diversity and inclusion in
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various sectors in the 1970s and ' 80s
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gender diversity education began to
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emerge focusing on the inclusion of
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women in the workplace this period saw
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the introduction of training programs
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aimed at addressing gender biases and
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promoting equal opportunities by the way
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studies like the 2024 McKenzie and
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Company study have shown that white
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women have benefited the most from Dei
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programs because as we all know women
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are a minority in highlevel corporate
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positions the 1990s witnessed an
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expansion of diversity education to
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Encompass barriers faced by various
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identity groups including ethnic
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religious and lgbtq plus communities in
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recent years Dei initiatives have
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evolved to include a broader
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understanding of diversity encompassing
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aspects such as neurodiversity and
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disability inclusion and speaking of
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History let's not forget Good Old woodro
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Wilson probably one of the most
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destructive presidents that's hard to
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say cuz there's a lot of destructive
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presidents to black people but he did
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his fair share to really do some damage
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he set Dei progress back decades by
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segregating the federal government
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reversing gains made by black workers
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after reconstruction so the next time
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someone complains about the woke culture
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remember we have actually tried a lot of
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this stuff before and it turned out
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horrible there are instances of black
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people that were actually crucial to
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their jobs being put in cages so that
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whites didn't have to get near them look
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it up the big question is is Dei
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beneficial for organizations the impact
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of Dei on companies has notoriously been
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difficult to quantify but there has been
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studies that show the programs have a
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positive effect on the company overall
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they definitely have a positive effect
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on the community as a whole a recent
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study by Tech targets Enterprise
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strategy group showed Dei programs can
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enhance organizations's competitive
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position agility Innovation and brand
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perception and the more time the Dei
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program has meaning the more mature gets
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the more benefits the organization gets
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out of the program despite the
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recognized benefits of Dei recent de
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elements have seen some organizations
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re-evaluating their commitments to these
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initiatives political shifts economic
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pressures and debates over the
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effectiveness of Dei programs have
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contributed to this trend following an
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executive order by President Donald
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Trump to in federal Dei programs several
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large US companies including McDonald's
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Ford and meta have announced the
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discontinuation of their Dei initiatives
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this move has raised concerns within the
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financial services industry and Beyond
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with some leaders fearing a regression
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to less inclusive corporate structures
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retail giant Target announced that it
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would be rolling back its Dei policies
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joining other prominent American brands
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and scaling back corporate diversity
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initiatives I'm not sure if you guys
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remember but target has been a target of
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several social media controversies over
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items they have featured in their stores
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mostly having to do with the lgbtq plus
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community so this Dei reversal might be
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in response to that or simply Target
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might think they just have this
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diversity and Equity thing down and
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don't need the whole program for it I
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don't believe that you guys can try and
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believe that but I think they're all
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afraid of trump meta the parent company
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of Facebook is also rolling back its Dei
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programs meta Head Mark Zuckerberg I'm
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not sure if you guys saw him give that
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whole speech about how they're rolling
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back everything maybe an effort to be on
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Trump's good side especially when you
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know Trump makes threats that you might
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be going to jail when he gets into
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office Amazon and McDonald are also
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ending their diversity and inclusion
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initiatives McDonald's Diversity Program
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that's coming to an end is only 4 years
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old the company cited a US Supreme Court
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decision that outlawed affirmative
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action in college admissions other
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companies have taken steps to end their
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Dei programs months before Trump came
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into office these companies include
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Harley-Davidson Lowe's Ford Walmart come
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on Walmart and John Deere so
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disappointed in all of these companies
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especially McDonald's you have your
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nerve rolling back some Dei programs how
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much money have you made off the back of
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these communities selling crap food
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poisoning urban communities you should
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be giving back as much as you can to Dei
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programs a survey conducted by res.org
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found that one in eight companies plan
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to weaken their Dei commitments in 2025
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a lot of these companies initiated their
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Dei programs in response to social
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pressures after the killing of George
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Floyd in 2020 but not all companies are
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dropping their Dei Costco the only place
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on Earth where you could still eat for
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under $5 has maintained its Dei
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initiatives despite facing shareholder
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proposals to investigate these policies
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the company's board emphasized the
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importance of inclusivity for its
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300,000 employees and highlighted the
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economic benefits of Dei the heads of
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both JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs
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have recently defended their Dei
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programs and stated their commitment to
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continue on that path it's not going to
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change almost anything that we do and by
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the way I'm a red-blooded full-throated
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capitalist American Patriot so I'm not
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interested in other people you know
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saying what we're doing we reach out to
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communities we reach out to the Press we
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reach out to the black community we
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reach out to the LGBT community so it's
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not going to change these special
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programs and it lifts up you if you want
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to be a really good company your
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employees have to trust you your
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communities have to trust you your
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shareholders have to know you're trying
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to have to trust you that's what we do
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the future of Dei in organizations
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remains a topic of active discussion
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experts suggest that for Dei initiatives
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to be effective and sustainable
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organizations must move Beyond
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performative actions and integrate Dei
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principles into their core operations
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and values this includes setting
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measurable goals holding leadership
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accountable and creating a culture where
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all employees feel valued and included
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and for the record let's be clear Dei
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doesn't Force anyone to hire an
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unqualified person it's about making
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sure the best candidates have a fair
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shot regardless of their background if
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companies are only doing Dei to look
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good on paper or avoid social media
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backlash maybe they should just quit
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because true diversity equity and
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inclusion aren't PR strategies they're
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about basic respect and fairness and if
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your business can't handle that maybe
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the real problem isn't Dei it's you
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that's it for this video don't forget to
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like And subscribe and we'll see you on
8:24
the next one
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