The recent decision by President Donald Trump to end federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is an opportunity for companies large and small to streamline operations, return to a merit-based hiring system and emphasizes skills and qualifications rather than compliance with oppressive guidelines.
Those "guidelines," equate to stifling censorship and forced-mandated thought control.
In short, they are (or hopefully now we can say were) mafia-like in their edicts.
Business can now indeed . . . get back to business.
For many businesses, DEI programs led to unintended consequences.
Specifically, there was mounting pressure to adhere to specific hiring quotas.
The results?
Unqualified workers were onboarded to meet these standards.
Additionally, this placed a horrendous strain on company resources, leading to reduced efficiency and economic challenges.
Many businesses found themselves in a precarious situation, forced to balance regulatory compliance with the need to maintain a productive and effective workforce.
Moreover, the introduction of DEI brought with it broader societal and ideological discussions into the workplace.
Corporate CEOs began to shift away from their core business goals, becoming embroiled in political and social issues detracting from their primary focus: delivering quality products and services.
Labor unions capitalized on these policies, at times leveraging them as tools for strikes and boycotts — a practice that often prioritized political agendas over corporate growth and stability costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars in losses.
Furthermore, the workplace environment was affected, with the main objective of fostering inclusivity sometimes leading to divisive outcomes rather than cooperation.
Companies reported challenges with communication, particularly in service-oriented sectors, where customer satisfaction is paramount.
This often resulted in subpar customer service experiences, characterized by unqualified workers and increased waiting times, on company physical properties and websites.
Turning to the retail sector, DEI only served to make prospects and customers, uncopmfortable, even alienated.
This was especially the case with respect to those with strong religious beliefs.
This means they felt out of place in stores where inclusivity is prominently embraced.
This sense of unease was exacerbated by interactions with employees, including transgender staff, which was uncomfortable for some patrons.
Simultaneously, business owners encountered their own set of difficulties.
The push to integrate a more diverse workforce, while laudable in its intent, made business proprietors feel restricted in their hiring practices.
They perceived an underlying pressure to conform to progressive hiring norms, driven by the potential risk of lawsuits or backlash from government, and other vested interests.
With President Trump's recent executive order, there is now hope for businesses to regain control over their hiring practices and refocus on what they do best, provide a good product, excellent customer service — encompassing consistent reliability.
Perhaps we can now look forward to enhanced productivity and job satisfaction industry-wide. As businesses shed the legal entanglements associated with DEI compliance, the potential for economic growth is poised to rise resulting in a stronger workforce and a robust economy.
Being freed of ideological regulatory mandates is a great place to start.
Let the prosperous and harmonious marketplace — and economy begin.
Duvi Honig is founder and chief executive officer of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, a global umbrella of businesses of all sizes, bridging the highest echelons of the business and governmental worlds together, stimulating economic opportunity and positively affecting governments’ public policies. His work has been recognized by both Presidents Obama and Trump. Read Duvi Honig's Reports — More Here.