Diversity training increases hostility and division – study

Instead of reducing biases, DEI programs ‘heighten racial suspicion,’ research has found

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs that have become commonplace at US colleges and corporations and are meant to tackle discrimination could actually be counterproductive and incite racial tension, a new study has found.

The report by Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab and Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) published on Monday, found that certain DEI practices have led some participants to become irrationally confrontational.

“Across all groupings, instead of reducing bias, [DEI trainings] engendered a hostile attribution bias, amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice,” the report states.

According to researchers, this would manifest itself by participants demonizing those who oppose DEI initiatives as “oppressive, racist, or fascist” simply because they disagree.

“When people are supposed to see anti-racist material in the ideology, it looks like what happens is that they become more likely to punish for any evidence of wrongdoing,” study co-author and NCRI Chief Science Officer Joel Finkelstein told Fox News.

“That includes calling for dismissal... demanding public apologies... calling for relocation. These punitive measures are, in some cases, costing people their jobs,” Finkelstein added.

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According to the report, DEI training and materials frequently rely on the words of controversial anti-racist authors Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo. The two authors have faced widespread criticism for their promotion of Critical Race Theory.

The researchers concluded that Kendi and DiAngelo’s works promote divisive “core themes.” They include: “Normal institutions and Western ideologies are secretly enforcing racist agendas and White people are beneficiaries and entitled to the benefits of systemic white supremacy and racism,” “Western countries are compromised by virtue of their racist ideology and past,” and “Anti-racist discrimination is the only solution to racist discrimination.”

The NCRI also found that anti-Islamophobia material that comes from a Muslim advocacy group may cause individuals to believe Muslim people are being treated unfairly even if there is no proof of that.

“DEI narratives that focus heavily on victimization and systemic oppression can foster unwarranted distrust and suspicions of institutions and alter subjective assessments of events,” the study says.

About 52% of American workers are obligated to participate in DEI meetings or training at work, according to a 2023 study from the Pew Research Center.