Four Common Arguments Against DEI and How to Dismantle Them

Teaching in Higher Ed

Amira Barger shares four common arguments against DEI and how to dismantle them on episode 525 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.

Quotes from the episode

Many people who are at the margins often know from lived experience that the playing field is not level, and that there are biases that leaders and individuals across any and every institution have to mitigate.
-Amira Barger

Many people tend to view the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion as this sort of a 0 sum game. That idea of we’re lifting someone else up means you have to push or bring someone else down. And that’s not at all what we’re trying to do this work.
-Amira Barger

It really is about leveling the playing field. It’s not about taking things away, but it’s about understanding.
-Amira Barger

What are you creating so that others can see themselves represented in the spaces they’re in with you?
-Amira Barger

I try to very intentionally surround myself with people who believe and think differently than I do so that I can understand where they are coming from.
-Amira Barger

Resources

• 4 Common Arguments Against DEI and How to Dismantle Them, by Amira Barger
• To Overcome Resistance to DEI, Understand What’s Driving It, by Eric Shuman, Eric Knowles, and Amit Goldenberg
• The Curb-Cut Effect
• How AI is Transforming DEI – and What Leaders Should Keep in Mind, by Amira Barger
• Navel Gazing: John Dickerson’s Notebooks: Sending Our Son to College
• Navel Gazing: John Dickerson’s Notebooks: Remembering George and Defending the Morning
• Navel Gazing: John Dickerson’s Notebooks: The Sneaky Pitfalls of the To-Do List
• The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change, by Michelle Mijung Kim
• The Moth Storytelling Podcast