The death of DEI, ESG and other like programs

[rosarugosa]

Catherine: I think that's a great analogy about the scales.
Early: I'm with you on the Golden Rule providing a good guideline for those of us who are not religious.

I used to do a fair bit of hiring into entry-level positions for my Fortune 100 employer. We had a pretty rigid set starting salary.

[LDAHL]

DEI is a way to solve for the reality that we all have biases and prejudices whether we recognize them or not.

Does it really “solve for the reality”, or does it just seek to establish and enforce another system of biases and prejudices?

[catherine]

Does it really “solve for the reality,” or does it just seek to establish and enforce another system of biases and prejudices?

Well, here's a company solving for the reality: One of my big clients is a marketing group that addresses healthcare inequalities in underserved communities. They have a marketing arm of their business and also a foundation that seeks to "right-size" clinical trial enrollment of underrepresented communities because, historically, they have not been adequately represented. Research has proven that there are vast healthcare access disparities in those communities. Do you really feel that addressing the following is "just another system of bias?" Or is it only trying to level the playing field for people whose lives should be deemed as valuable and worthy of healthcare as any other race/ethnicity?

Because I don't feel like spending a lot of time looking the statistics up, I asked ChatGPT to outline relevant statistics showing health disparities in Black and Hispanic populations.

Following is its response:

Here are six relevant statistics that highlight health disparities among Black and Hispanic populations in the United States:

1. Chronic Health Conditions: According to the CDC, Black adults are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes compared to White adults. Hispanic adults also face higher rates, with approximately 50% more likelihood than their White counterparts.

2. Obesity Rates: The prevalence of obesity is significantly higher in these communities. As of 2021, approximately 49.6% of Black adults and 44.8% of Hispanic adults are considered obese, compared to about 42.2% of White adults.

3. Cardiovascular Disease: Black individuals are disproportionately affected by heart disease. The American Heart Association reports that Black adults are 30% more likely to die from heart disease compared to White adults.

4. Mental Health: A study showed that only about 24% of Black adults with mental health symptoms sought treatment, compared to 43% of White adults. For Hispanic individuals, the access to mental health resources is often limited, contributing to stigma and lower rates of treatment.

5. Infant Mortality Rates: The CDC reported that in 2019, the infant mortality rate for Black infants was 10.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 4.5 for White infants. For Hispanic infants, the rate was 5.0, indicating a significant disparity in outcomes.

6. COVID-19 Impact: During the COVID-19 pandemic, data indicated that Hispanic individuals were 2.3 times more likely to die from the virus compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. Black individuals also experienced higher rates of hospitalization and mortality.

These statistics reflect systemic issues, including socioeconomic factors, access to care, and the impact of structural racism on health outcomes in these populations.


My second probe to ChatGPT was to ask about the underdiagnosis of chronic diseases in the Black population:


Research suggests that Black people are often underdiagnosed and undertreated for chronic diseases compared to White individuals. Several factors contribute to this disparity, including:

Access to Healthcare: Black patients may have less access to healthcare services due to socioeconomic factors, geographic location, or lack of health insurance, which can lead to fewer opportunities for diagnosis and management of chronic conditions.

Healthcare Provider Bias: Implicit biases among healthcare providers can result in Black patients receiving less thorough assessments or being less likely to be referred for necessary diagnostic tests.

Cultural Factors: Differences in cultural perceptions of health and illness, as well as historical distrust of the medical system, may contribute to why individuals in Black communities might avoid seeking care or presenting symptoms.

Health Literacy: Variations in health literacy can influence how individuals understand and manage their health, which can affect the likelihood of seeking diagnosis and treatment for chronic diseases.

These systemic disparities can result in higher rates of advanced disease at diagnosis among Black individuals and underdiagnosis of conditions that warrant attention and management. This illustrates the importance of addressing both individual and structural factors to improve health outcomes for Black populations.

--end ChatGPT--

Bottom line: DEI is not some kind of feeble Kumbaya feel-good effort. It saves lives. And I'm not sure how correcting these imbalances could be considered "just another bias."

[nswef]

Thanks Catherine.

[LDAHL]

Well, here's a company solving for the reality: One of my big clients is a marketing group that addresses healthcare inequalities in underserved communities. They have a marketing arm of their business and also a foundation that seeks to "right-size" clinical trial enrollment of underrepresented communities because, historically, they have not been adequately represented. Research has proven that there are vast healthcare access disparities in those communities. Do you really feel that addressing the following is "just another system of bias?" Or is it only trying to level the playing field for people whose lives should be deemed as valuable and worthy of healthcare as any other race/ethnicity?

Because I don't feel like spending a lot of time looking the statistics up, I asked ChatGPT to outline relevant statistics showing health disparities in Black and Hispanic populations.

Following is its response:

Here are six relevant statistics that highlight health disparities among Black and Hispanic populations in the United States:

1. Chronic Health Conditions: According to the CDC, Black adults are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes compared to White adults. Hispanic adults also face higher rates, with approximately 50% more likelihood than their White counterparts.

2. Obesity Rates: The prevalence of obesity is significantly higher in these communities. As of 2021, approximately 49.6% of Black adults and 44.8% of Hispanic adults are considered obese, compared to about 42.2% of White adults.

3. Cardiovascular Disease: Black individuals are disproportionately affected by heart disease. The American Heart Association reports that Black adults are 30% more likely to die from heart disease compared to White adults.

4. Mental Health: A study showed that only about 24% of Black adults with mental health symptoms sought treatment, compared to 43% of White adults. For Hispanic individuals, the access to mental health resources is often limited, contributing to stigma and lower rates of treatment.

5. Infant Mortality Rates: The CDC reported that in 2019, the infant mortality rate for Black infants was 10.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 4.5 for White infants. For Hispanic infants, the rate was 5.0, indicating a significant disparity in outcomes.

6. COVID-19 Impact: During the COVID-19 pandemic, data indicated that Hispanic individuals were 2.3 times more likely to die from the virus compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. Black individuals also experienced higher rates of hospitalization and mortality.

These statistics reflect systemic issues, including socioeconomic factors, access to care, and the impact of structural racism on health outcomes in these populations.


My second probe to ChatGPT was to ask about the underdiagnosis of chronic diseases in the Black population:


Research suggests that Black people are often underdiagnosed and undertreated for chronic diseases compared to White individuals. Several factors contribute to this disparity, including:

Access to Healthcare: Black patients may have less access to healthcare services due to socioeconomic factors, geographic location, or lack of health insurance, which can lead to fewer opportunities for diagnosis and management of chronic conditions.

Healthcare Provider Bias: Implicit biases among healthcare providers can result in Black patients receiving less thorough assessments or being less likely to be referred for necessary diagnostic tests.

Cultural Factors: Differences in cultural perceptions of health and illness, as well as historical distrust of the medical system, may contribute to why individuals in Black communities might avoid seeking care or presenting symptoms.

Health Literacy: Variations in health literacy can influence how individuals understand and manage their health, which can affect the likelihood of seeking diagnosis and treatment for chronic diseases.

These systemic disparities can result in higher rates of advanced disease at diagnosis among Black individuals and underdiagnosis of conditions that warrant attention and management. This illustrates the importance of addressing both individual and structural factors to improve health outcomes for Black populations.

--end ChatGPT--

Bottom line: DEI is not some kind of feeble Kumbaya feel-good effort. It saves lives. And I'm not sure how correcting these imbalances could be considered "just another bias."

DEI, at least in its current incarnation, tries to solve complex issues like you (or at least ChatGPT) mention with the crude tools of race essentialism. Disparate outcomes are treated by putting a thumb on the scale of justice by empowering institutions to allocate rewards rather than ensure universal rules of fairness. The large infrastructure of people whose paycheck depends on enforcing “equity” had become so onerous that public resentment of it’s essential unfairness help Trump eke out his win.

[catherine]

DEI, at least in its current incarnation, tries to solve complex issues like you (or at least ChatGPT) mention with the crude tools of race essentialism. Disparate outcomes are treated by putting a thumb on the scale of justice by empowering institutions to allocate rewards rather than ensure universal rules of fairness. The large infrastructure of people whose paycheck depends on enforcing “equity” had become so onerous that public resentment of it’s essential unfairness help Trump eke out his win.

Historically, those "universal rules of fairness" have been well and good in theory but not in practice for large swaths of the population--in fact, they have been blatantly ignored and suppressed. Sometimes the pendulum has to swing the other way to ultimately find its way to the center.