W(h)ither Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?

"This phrasing, and the industry surrounding it, seem to have emerged almost accidentally from the chaos of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision. With no majority opinion, Justice Lewis Powell's brief and idiosyncratic intervention-though joined by no other member-turned out to be the decisive fifth vote against the University of California. Powell denied that UC Davis's set-aside program was sufficiently narrowly tailored to pass strict scrutiny but granted that "the goal of achieving a diverse student body" was a compelling state interest."

"The third was President Kennedy's Executive Order 10925 (1961), which required Federal contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." But despite also establishing committees and commissions "in furtherance of said policy," none of these documents includes the words "diversity," "equity," or "inclusion.""

Early executive orders prohibited discrimination in defense industries (EO 8802), banned discrimination in the Executive Branch and integrated the armed forces (EO 9981), and required federal contractors to take affirmative action (EO 10925). None of those orders used the terms "diversity," "equity," or "inclusion." The contemporary DEI formulation emerged largely through Supreme Court case law rather than through those executive documents. Justice Lewis Powell's concurrence labeled "the goal of achieving a diverse student body" a compelling state interest without providing a constitutional foundation. Years later, that remark became the primary constitutional justification for affirmative action.

Read at Apaonline