Spiked Reports: At this very moment, someone, somewhere is being put through an expensive and time-consuming training session, under the banner of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). DEI has become a big business in recent years. In the US, the DEI industry was worth an estimated $3.4 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $17.2 billion by 2027.

DEI initiatives are supposed to make traditionally marginalised groups feel welcome in an organisation or business. But there’s little evidence they work. In fact, as one critique points out, DEI initiatives are likely increasing workplace tension. Training sessions can make employees aware of ethnic, national or racial stereotypes of which they would otherwise be ignorant.

Meanwhile, teaching fashionable theories about ‘white privilege’ can encourage people to look down on low-income white people. Indeed, as Jesse Singal noted in the New York Times last month, DEI training often seems ‘geared more toward sparking a revolutionary reunderstanding of race relations than solving organisations’ specific problems. And they often blame white people – or their culture – for harming people of colour.’