The Great DEI Hustle: White Americans Are the Real DEI Hires

White women, men, and predominantly white institutions have leveraged Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs to maintain and, in many cases, expand their advantages. When America talks about diversity, it really means, “Let’s make sure white folks get their fair share of equity, too.” Even when white people “lose,” they somehow find a way to win.

For decades, the narrative usually framed DEI as a corrective — a necessary intervention to uplift marginalized groups in a society that has systemically disadvantaged them. Primarily focused on recruiting efforts, DEI programs were designed to give people left out of the mainstream, including rural white people, Black and Latino Americans, LGTBQ+, and Indigenous Americans, a fair shot. Yet, if we take a hard look at the numbers, it becomes clear that the biggest beneficiaries of these initiatives have been — drumroll, please — straight white people.

White Women: The OG Beneficiaries of Affirmative Action

Let’s start with white women, who have successfully leveraged affirmative action policies and DEI initiatives for personal and professional gain. A 1995 study from the U.S. Department of Labor found that white women accounted for more than 6 million of the 7 million jobs created through affirmative action policies. Source: U.S. Department of Labor

White women continue to see the most gains from DEI hiring initiatives today. While Black and brown women remain severely underrepresented in executive leadership, white women have made significant progress, outpacing all other racial and gender groups in promotions to the C-suite. McKinsey’s “Women in the Workplace” report found that although white women hold 30% of senior leadership roles, Black women and Latinas hold just 4% and 3%, respectively. Source: McKinsey & Company

White women have also fully benefited from federal contracting set-asides. The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program, designed to help underrepresented women entrepreneurs, has disproportionately benefited white women, many of whom have gamed the system by leveraging partnerships with minority-owned businesses. Meanwhile, Black women-owned companies still struggle to secure funding and procurement contracts. Even when DEI is meant to help all women, the benefits mysteriously concentrate among white women.

White Men: Winning by “Losing”

Now, you might be thinking: “But what about white men? They’re the ones complaining the loudest about DEI ruining their lives!” Ah, the great con. White men have perfected the art of playing the victim while maintaining their iron grip on power.

Let’s talk corporate America. Despite all the hand-wringing about DEI “stealing” jobs from qualified white men, white men still hold more than 75% of C-suite positions and over 60% of corporate board seats. From leading bank failures to bankruptcies, these dudes have shown they can’t all be meritorious. Even in supposedly progressive industries like tech and entertainment, white men remain dominant. In the Fortune 500, only 6% of CEOs are nonwhite. Source: Fortune

And while DEI programs have created new consulting gigs and training sessions, guess who’s making money off them? White men! The DEI industry is worth over $8 billion annually, and many of the most lucrative contracts go to white-led consulting firms like McKinsey, Korn Ferry, and PwC — firms that, ironically, often lack diversity themselves. Source: Harvard Business Review

Even in education, where affirmative action was supposed to level the playing field, white men have continued to benefit through legacy admissions — a system that overwhelmingly favors them. While affirmative action policies for race have been gutted by the Supreme Court, legacy admissions, which disproportionately benefit white applicants, remain untouched. Source: The Atlantic

The Economic Benefits of “Diversity” for White People

At this point, some might argue, “Well, at least DEI programs make workplaces more inclusive and fair.” But let’s be clear: DEI isn’t hurting white people — it’s making them richer.

Numerous studies show that diverse companies perform better. McKinsey’s 2020 report found that companies with diverse leadership teams were 36% more profitable than their less diverse counterparts. So when white male executives embrace DEI, it’s not because they’ve had a moral awakening — it’s because diverse teams boost their bottom line. Source: McKinsey & Company

And let’s not forget workplace culture improvements. Many of the workplace benefits we now take for granted — flexible work policies, paid parental leave, mental health support — were fought for under the banner of DEI. But guess who benefits from these the most? That’s right, white men in high-paying jobs.

When DEI Is About Everyone, It Benefits White People First

The irony of DEI in America is that it was supposed to address racial and economic injustice, but it has been systematically co-opted to benefit white people first and foremost.

• White women got the lion’s share of affirmative action’s employment gains.
• White men retained power while using DEI to expand their economic and social influence.
• White-led consulting firms made billions off of diversity training.
• White businesses profited from government contracts meant for minority-owned businesses.
• White male executives benefited from the increased profitability of diverse teams.

Meanwhile, Black and brown workers continue to be disproportionately underpaid, under-promoted, and underrepresented in positions of power.

The Hard Truth: The Anti-DEI Movement is a Snake Eating Itself

At the end of the day, DEI benefits white Americans more than anyone else. Yet, the current anti-DEI movement will only hurt the white people who are veterans, women, those with disabilities, rural residents, and any other white person not from the right side of the tracks of life in the U.S. And Black and brown people? We’re left with “diversity” slogans and little structural change.

So, the next time someone tells you that DEI is about “equity,” ask them: equity for whom? Because from where we’re standing, the answer is clear: white people, maybe not all, but enough, are still winning the game — even when they pretend to be losing.

The Receipts:

• U.S. Department of Labor: www.dol.gov
• McKinsey & Company: www.mckinsey.com
• Fortune 500: www.fortune.com
• Harvard Business Review: www.hbr.org
• The Atlantic: www.theatlantic.com
• McKinsey & Company: www.mckinsey.com