First, you confuse DEI with affirmative action. They are absolutely not the same thing. Affirmative action (before the Supreme Court ruling) focused on proactively including demographic factors to correct past wrongs. DEI's goal is to remove the hidden barriers that minorities, women, people with disabilities, and others face under the old system, and to create an inclusive culture. DEI is about fixing the system, not managing the demographics.
Second, based on my experience as a hiring manager, DEI initiatives are explicitly designed to make the process more meritocratic. You call for a colorblind meritocracy, but if a system overlooks qualified candidates due to bias against their skin color or background, then by definition, it is not colorblind. It is selectively blind to its own biases. DEI aims to find the best possible talent by identifying and eliminating those blind spots.
