DEI is a numbers game

DEI ideologues and grifters won't stop even if their utopian goals are met.

Diversity, equity, inclusion. Taken individually, each has a meaning that we can all embrace. Taken together, however, they represent something else entirely- the ideology of DEI. By ideology, I mean a belief so strong that it brooks no challenge or dissent. It is not hyperbole to call it a religion. If you do not subscribe to that ideology, you are an apostate and deserving of all the opprobrium advocates of DEI can throw at you. These include epithets, such as racist, misogynist, transphobe, xenophobe; censoring; and even the threat of, or actual, physical violence.

What is the ideology of DEI? After spending more hours studying it than I care to admit or imagined I ever would, I have come to a simple conclusion. DEI is a numbers game. That’s it. Don’t believe me? Look at the facts.

The most recent census was in 2020 and the next won’t be until 2030. According to the US Census Bureau, estimates for the demographic makeup of the US for 2024 are as follows:

White alone- 58.4%

Black alone- 13.7%

Hispanic/Latino- 19.5%

Asian- 6.4%

American Indian/Alaska Native- 1.3%

It adds up to 99.3%. The remainder is a mix of Pacific Islander, Hawaiian, and miscellaneous others. Even within those categories there is a mix. As the son of a Brazilian mother, I know that Brazilians distinguish themselves from other ethnic groups in South and Central America. Each country does the same. Among blacks, there are native-born blacks, Caribbean, and African blacks. Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans do not consider themselves to share the same demographic.

This is one of the biggest of all the lies of DEI: that each demographic is somehow homogenous, ignoring the great differences within them.

Although DEI advocates deny they are seeking quotas with their programs and initiatives, this lie is easy to disprove. Whenever the issue of DEI is discussed, at some point proportionate representation will come up with numbers to demonstrate disparities. In an Instagram rant by a number of female physicians to a recent Tucker Carlson interview, the statistic was given that less than 3% of physicians and less than 2% of surgeons are black women. The latter figure is interesting because I did a Google search for “What percent of surgeons are black women”. Google now gives a Generative AI response at the top and this stated, “According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), as of 2019, approximately 1.7% of surgeons in the United States were Black women. This represents a significant underrepresentation, as Black women make up around 13% of the U.S. population.” This is patently false. Blacks, as a whole, make up 13% of the US population and we must presume that only half of those are women. Furthermore, only a much smaller percent can be actively practicing medicine, if one excludes the very young and very old.

So what is the real proportion of black women in medicine? Who knows? It Depends on your source. According to DEI, however, if there is under-representation of a particular demographic, it means that it is being discriminated against. Full stop.

Think about it. Unless we have exactly the same proportion of representation of races, ethnicities, and genders in any group, then some form of discrimination must be the cause, at least according to DEI. To deny that this equates to quotas is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, a bald-faced lie.

In my own profession of plastic surgery, 19% are women. Sounds very sexist, doesn’t it? That is, until you look at the number of plastic surgeons in training where the percentage is now up to 46%. It won’t be long before we have parity. The same changes are occurring in medicine in general with classes now comprised of more than 50% women.

What about other professions and organizations? In construction, 11% of workers are women. The number is 5% for skilled trades, e.g. electricians and plumbers. 70% of players in the NBA are black. 100% of players in the WNBA are women. 90% of elementary school teachers and nurses are women. Are these all racist or sexist? Could there be other reasons beyond discrimination to account for these disparities?

Of course. There are biological, sociological, cultural, class, racial, and ethnic differences, among others, which have nothing to do with discrimination and dictate things like aptitude and career proclivities. These are ignored in DEI. Such perfect proportionate representation and equity are pipe dreams and the efforts to achieve them have been incredibly damaging to human flourishing and society in general.

Once you get past the superficially appealing, high-minded, moralistic posturing of DEI advocates, it all boils down to the numbers. They will always revert to quoting numbers. A question I have to ask is: what happens to DEI once we have achieved perfectly proportionate representation, say, in medicine? Will DEI go away? I think not. If human history tells us anything, it is that conflict is a constant across all cultures and societies and radical ideologues will always find some alleged injustice to justify their beliefs and behavior. Some of us, at least, appear to be addicted to conflict. Once the zealots achieve one goal, they always move on to another.

Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS

My book, The Making of a Plastic Surgeon- Two Years in the Crucible Learning the Art and Science, is now available on Amazon in eBook and Paperback. It will give the reader a glimpse into the fascinating world of plastic surgery and its origins.