How Diversity And Inclusion Came Under Attack

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are under fire from both sides of the political spectre: efforts are dismissed as ‘woke’ on the right and as a corporate checklist substituting real change on the left. How have these principles of diversity become so politicized?

The death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday marks a tragic low point in the culture war surrounding diversity and inclusion policies. In the United States, the Trump administration is rolling back such policies, while in the Netherlands, major corporations are pulling out of events such as Amsterdam’s Canal Parade. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are under fire from both sides: efforts are dismissed as ‘woke’ on the right and as a corporate checklist substituting real change on the left.

The diversity principle holds that societies, institutions and democracies are strengthened when people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives engage with one another. But how to get there, when this very notion has become so politicized?

Tonight we look at the role that universities have played in the ideas and policies on diversity, equity and inclusion. Professor David B. Oppenheimer wrote the book The Diversity Principle, which chronicles how diversity became a foundational value of higher education over the last two hundred years, from quota for Jewish students at Ivy League schools to the desegregation of schools in the American South after the civil rights movement. He will enter into conversation with Dr. Ivana Isailović, who examines how neoliberalism is incorporating emancipatory thoughts and movements.

David B. Oppenheimer is a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and Co-Director of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law. He is the author of The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea.

Ivana Isailović is Assistant Professor of EU law and the academic coordinator of the Sustainable Global Economic Law (SGEL) interdisciplinary research project. Her research sits at the intersection of law, gender studies, critical theory and political economy. Her ongoing research examines the interplay between law, political economy and gender based inequalities in global contexts.

Samira Rafaela is a former Member of the European Parliament, international speaker and advisor advocating for better women’s health. She also conducted research into the gender pay gap as a visiting researcher at Cornell University in the US.