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STORIES RIGHT NOW ON MATTER OF FACT. ONE OF THE FIRST EXECUTIVE ORDERS FROM THE NEW ADMINISTRATION ORDERED ALL AGENCIES TO, QUOTE, COMBAT ILLEGAL PRIVATE SECTOR DEI PREFERENCES, MANDATES, POLICIES, PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES. SEVERAL MAJOR CORPORATIONS, INCLUDING TARGET META PLATFORMS, THE PARENT COMPANY OF FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, AND WALMART, ARE ENDING DIVERSITY INITIATIVES, BUT RESEARCH FINDS THERE ARE REAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO THESE PROGRAMS. ALPHONSODAVID IS THE CEO OF THE GLOBAL BLACK ECONOMIC FORUM. IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK IN THE STUDIO. THANKS FOR JOINING ME. THANK YOU. I THINK PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THE REAL SCOPE OF WHAT DIVERSITY INITIATIVES ARE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT? ABSOLUTELY. SO IN THE 1960S, THERE WERE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS THAT WERE PASSED AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE AND SEX AND DISABILITY AND VETERAN STATUS. AND OVER THE YEARS, COMPANIES, IN RESPONSE TO THOSE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS, DECIDED TO IMPLEMENT WHAT WE NOW KNOW OF AS DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO PROTECT COMPANIES FROM DISCRIMINATION LAWSUITS AND ALSO, IN SOME INSTANCES, TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION. AND THE THE PROBLEM, I THINK, FOR HOW MOST PEOPLE THINK OF DIVERSITY IS THEY THINK IT’S LIMITED TO BLACK PEOPLE OR BROWN PEOPLE, AND THEY FAIL TO APPRECIATE THESE PROGRAMS EXIST TO ENSURE WIDESPREAD DIVERSITY. IS THERE A REAL CORRELATION BETWEEN DEI AND A BUSINESS’S SUCCESS? WE’VE HAD STUDIES DONE OVER DECADES WHICH SHOW THAT THE MOST DIVERSE BUSINESSES HAVE GREATER INNOVATION, HIGHER REVENUES, AND STRONGER CONSUMER SUPPORT. AND THERE ARE NUMBERS TO SUPPORT THESE. SO AS AN EXAMPLE, DIVERSE BUSINESSES OUTPERFORM THEIR COMPETITORS AT A RATE OF 36%. THEY INNOVATE AT A RATE OF 70%, HIGHER THAN NON-DIVERSE BUSINESSES AND HAVE AN ABILITY TO CREATE NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AT A RATE OF 84%. SO NOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF COMPANIES ANNOUNCING THAT THEY’RE ROLLING BACK THEIR DEI INITIATIVES, AND THESE ARE PRIVATE COMPANIES. I GUESS I’M A LITTLE PERPLEXED ABOUT WHY IT’S HAPPENING. THERE IS NO LAW THAT PROHIBITS DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS. THE PRESIDENT’S EXECUTIVE ORDER, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, SAYS A LEGAL, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS. WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. BUT I THINK THERE IS A THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY HERE, BECAUSE IF WE THINK OF FREE ENTERPRISE, I HAVE A BUSINESS. I DON’T WANT A LOT OF REGULATION. THAT HAS BEEN A CONCEPT THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY CONSERVATIVES FOR A VERY LONG TIME. AND HERE WE ARE, WHERE THERE ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO ADOPT FREE ENTERPRISE, EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF DIVERSITY. SO IF A COMPANY IS ACTUALLY LOOKING TO INCREASE THEIR REVENUES, THE ARGUMENT SHOULD BE LEAVE ME ALONE TO DO THE WORK THAT I KNOW IS GOING TO ADVANCE THE BOTTOM LINE. THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID HE WANTED THIS IDEA OF A, QUOTE, COLORBLIND AND MERIT BASED SOCIETY. RIGHT? WHICH SOUNDS AMAZING. OH YEAH. BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE ORIGINAL PHILOSOPHY AROUND DEI WAS TO GET CLOSER TO THAT COLORBLIND AND MERIT BASED SOCIETY. THIS SUGGESTION THAT WE NEED TO GET BACK TO MERITOCRACY SUGGESTS THAT THOSE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY OR POWER ARE ONLY THERE BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE OR THEIR ETHNICITY. I ACTUALLY FIND THAT FRAMING SO DEEPLY OFFENSIVE. HAS THERE BEEN A DOWNSIDE TO DIE FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR? YES. MANY PEOPLE OF COLOR FEEL THAT THEY ARE BEING TARGETED, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE QUALIFIED TO HOLD THE POSITIONS THAT THEY’RE IN. IN FACT, WE SHOULD NOTE THAT OF ALL OF THE ETHNIC AND RACIAL GROUPS, BLACK WOMEN HAVE MORE DEGREES THAN ANY OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP IN THE COUNTRY. THEY’RE MORE QUALIFIED TO HOLD JOBS IN EVERY INDUSTRY. AND YET WE’RE SEEING THIS NARRATIVE OF, IF YOU’RE BLACK OR YOU’RE BROWN, YOU ARE, QUOTE, A DEI HIRE. AND I THINK WE HAVE TO REMEMBER WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE. THE LAW HAS NOT CHANGED, BUT WHAT THE PRESIDENT AND OTHERS ARE ATTEMPTING TO DO IS REDEFINE THE CONCEPT OF RACE WITHOUT ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES.