The Dangerous Trend of DEI: Decoy, Not Change

Something has become obvious – DEI is a trend. Yes, it may have been obvious for some time now that DEI, to an extent, is a tick-boxing activity. But beyond its tokenistic nature, we may have to face the risk that it may also just be a trend.

The issue with trends is that they are fickle. They don’t stand the test of time. It takes one new trend to displace another. Beyond being fickle, trends can have detrimental effects. Take fast fashion, for example: What started as a response to consumer demand (Trend) quickly spiralled into this abysmal possibility - the ability to turn over fashion so rapidly that it became a threat to our environment, perhaps even our welfare. Trends are fickle, and trends can be detrimental.

Many organisations in America that proudly championed DEI after George Floyd’s murder dropped these initiatives when the political climate shifted. Why? Because it was never about equity - it was a performance, a trend that became disposable when it no longer served their image.

So yes, DEI has been trendified. It’s a shame, but it’s a fact. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, for many organisations, is reduced to mere performative gestures. DEI should never have been about keeping up appearances; it should be about justice, fairness, and dismantling deeply embedded inequalities. But what do we see instead? Initiatives are launched, hashtags are created, and diversity is paraded - yet beneath the surface, little changes. In fact, we often witness a progressive decline in equity.

The biggest barrier to true equity is the illusion of equality.

Victor Ray perfectly captures this illusion when considering the Racial dimensions of DEI. In his work on racialised organisations, Ray explains that organisations are not neutral; they are designed around racial hierarchies, where whiteness functions as an asset that confers power and legitimacy. This positioning allows organisations to engage in performative DEI practices while preserving the same structures they claim to challenge. To fully grasp this, you will have to consider 'whiteness' not as a racial category but as an asset of supremacy and DEI initiatives functioning as a tool of benevolent disadvantage.

Like many organisations, the education system is now riddled with performativity, regardless of the form it takes. A new intervention here, a few diverse authors added to the curriculum there, posters around the school for Black History Month, or my new favourite: creating a DEI department - complete with a Head of DEI. At first glance, these efforts might seem progressive, but they are deeply disconcerting. Parents should be very worried, and here’s why:

DEI, in its current performative state, is less about bringing true equity and more about deflection. It allows racialised organisations to avoid addressing systemic issues while pretending to care. The problem is that this facade does not just fail marginalised groups - it actively harms them. Worse still, it becomes a weaponised stick used to beat white students under the guise of fairness.

Here’s how it happens: In the name of equity, resources are diverted almost exclusively to Black and Brown students based on the assumption that they are inherently lower in ability. Meanwhile, white students who need those same resources are left behind. The focus on 'ticking the box' has become more important than genuinely addressing the needs of all students. This is evident in the steady decline in attainment data for White students, who are often ignored. At the same time, Black students face a diminished sense of self-efficacy due to the benevolent disadvantage imposed on them by performative policies.

DEI Initiatives keep people focused on symbolic victories - like representation or diversity campaigns - while failing to dismantle oppressive systems. As long as there is a decoy, we will always miss the target. DEI is that decoy - a distraction that redirects attention from power redistribution and real equity.

Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist argues that policies, not people, create inequity. This is a great way to show that DEI, when reduced to awareness campaigns or workshops, does nothing to address policy-level change, which is where true equity is achieved.

So, where does this leave us? If DEI is nothing more than a decoy - a shiny distraction from meaningful systemic change - then we need to start asking harder questions. Performative equity work won’t dismantle the deep-rooted inequalities it claims to address. It only reinforces the very structures it’s supposed to challenge.

The biggest barrier to true equity is the illusion of equality, and DEI, in its current state, plays a central role in sustaining that illusion. It’s time to move beyond trends and into transformative action. We need to stop celebrating representation without redistribution, hashtags without hard work, and symbolic gestures without substance. Real change is uncomfortable, slow, and messy - but it’s the only way forward.

Equity isn’t a trend. It’s a commitment. And if we can’t hold our institutions accountable to that, we risk leaving the next generation trapped in the same cycle of inequality disguised as progress.

Are you a parent, guardian, educator, school staff, or student who wants to work against this performativity train? The next time your school or university announces its next "ground-breaking" DEI initiative, ask these three critical questions:

1.     What problems led to this solution, and how imminent was the problem?

2.     What do you aim to achieve from this new initiative?

3.     How will you measure success and real change?

These questions aren’t just conversation starters - they are accountability tools. If the answers you receive are vague or overly polished, you might be witnessing yet another performance. True change begins when we refuse to settle for appearances and start demanding substance.