Abstract

In response to the social uprisings in the early 2020s, institutions, organizations, and companies publicly embraced notions of DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion), which research shows has done little to address the fundamental ways in which these entities contribute to societal imbalances. Meanwhile, DEI has become its own industrial complex, upheld by and at the expense of people and communities that continue to suffer systemic marginalization. Rooted in this issue is the trend of entities embodying personal tone in their public relations as well as workplace policies and culture within these entities that compel employees to write and speak on behalf of a collective “we”—resulting in an increasingly thinned line between the Institution and the Self. Part historical account and part manifesto, this short essay retraces the rise of DEI, reflects on its contributions and ramifications to society, and imagines what it means to move forward as a people intact.