Anti-Bias Trainings Work
False Assumption: Diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings effectively reduce bias and discriminatory behavior.
Written by FARAgent on February 09, 2026
In the early 2010s, following high-profile incidents of racial injustice, corporate leaders, university administrators, and policymakers embraced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) trainings as a straightforward fix for entrenched biases. They argued that these sessions, often drawing on concepts like implicit bias and antiracism from scholars such as Ibram X. Kendi, would help participants "confront racial inequities" and foster more inclusive workplaces. Proponents cited studies showing that diverse teams boosted innovation and profits, framing DEI as a mild corrective to historical discrimination without major disruptions. Media outlets amplified this view, with headlines praising trainings as essential tools for building equitable societies. By the mid-2010s, companies mandated these programs for millions of employees, believing they would measurably reduce discriminatory behavior.
Implementation spread rapidly, but reports of backlash began to surface by the late 2010s. Participants, including white male millennials entering the job market around 2015, described sessions that sometimes heightened divisions rather than healing them, with exercises perceived as shaming or reverse discrimination. Career paths in fields like academia and media narrowed for some, as hiring practices prioritized diversity metrics over other qualifications. Social psychologists like Michael Inzlicht, who had long taught prejudice reduction, started publishing research in 2011 and later that questioned the trainings' efficacy, noting they often failed to change behaviors and could provoke resentment.
Growing evidence now suggests these programs may not deliver as promised, with an influential minority of researchers arguing they risk unintended consequences like alienation. Critics point to studies showing minimal long-term impact on bias, yet many institutions continue the trainings amid ongoing debates. The conversation persists, as some experts call for reforms while others defend the original framework.
Status: A small but growing and influential group of experts think this was false
People Involved
- Ibram X. Kendi emerged as a leading voice in the antiracism movement during the 2010s, arguing that individuals must actively confront racial inequities or else tacitly support racism through inaction. His books and public talks framed diversity trainings as essential tools for dismantling systemic bias, influencing corporate and academic policies that mandated such programs. This perspective gained traction amid social justice movements, though growing evidence later suggested these coercive approaches could heighten resistance rather than reduce prejudice. [3][4]
- Michael Inzlicht, a social psychologist who had taught prejudice reduction courses for over a decade, initially explored ways to combat bias through empirical studies. In 2011, he led research showing that mandatory, coercive messaging in diversity efforts actually increased prejudice among participants compared to neutral controls. Despite this early warning, his findings were largely overlooked as institutions pushed forward with similar trainings, though an emerging body of replications has increasingly validated his critique. [3]
- Robin DiAngelo built her career in the late 2010s promoting the idea that white individuals perpetuate racism through fragility and denial, advocating for active anti-racism workshops to address these dynamics. Her work, including the bestselling 'White Fragility,' shaped corporate training programs that emphasized confronting privilege as a path to equity. While her framework was widely adopted, subsequent studies have suggested it may foster backlash, contributing to a growing recognition of such methods' limitations. [4]
- Steven Pinker, a prominent Harvard psychologist, spent years critiquing the expansion of DEI bureaucracies in academia starting in the 2010s. He argued that mandatory diversity statements and trainings enforced ideological uniformity, purging independent thinkers from universities. His public warnings highlighted how these practices, intended to reduce bias, instead promoted conformity, and emerging critiques have begun to echo his concerns about their ineffectiveness. [8][12]
- Alexandra Kalev, an organizational sociologist, analyzed diversity programs in hundreds of companies from the 2000s onward, concluding that mandatory trainings often provoked resentment and increased bias. She advised that firms might fare better by skipping such interventions altogether, positioning herself as an early skeptic amid widespread adoption. Her research has gained influence as more evidence mounts against the assumption that these trainings deliver on their promises. [3][8][12]
- Anthony Greenwald, co-creator of the Implicit Association Test in the 1990s, initially championed it as a tool to uncover hidden biases driving discrimination. By the 2010s, he publicly acknowledged that interventions based on the test, like implicit bias trainings, lacked evidence of effectiveness and could be seen as ineffective remedies. This shift has contributed to an emerging consensus questioning the foundational tools of anti-bias efforts. [5][12]
▶ Supporting Quotes (25)
“Compact magazine has an excellent piece by Jacob Savage on diversity hiring over the last decade or so.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“Here’s an excerpt from an essay in The New York Times by Ross Douthat.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“Meanwhile, in The Atlantic, Thomas Chatterton Williams adds an important wrinkle to Savage’s argument.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
““As Kendi argues, ‘One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist.’"”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“I got into social psychology specifically to reduce prejudice. My dissertation was about the educational experiences of marginalized groups. I created and taught a course called the Psychology of Prejudice for nearly 15 years.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Research I conducted over a decade ago, with my former students Lisa Legault and Jennifer Gutsell, now both tenured professors”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Sociologists Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev discuss how people often respond to mandatory diversity programs with anger and resistance, with many participants reporting more racist attitudes, not less.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
““One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist.””— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“At its core, anti-racism makes arguments rooted in the work of scholars like Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald et al. 1998)”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Oswald and colleagues conclude that ‘the IAT provides little insight into who will discriminate against whom, and provides no more insight than explicit measures of bias’ (2013, 18).”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Edouard Machery (2017b), for example, describes an ongoing “rescue mission” within the field, implying that the relevant research is in peril of being discredited.”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“We argue that while there are significant challenges and ample room for improvement, research on the causes, psychological properties, and behavioral effects of implicit bias continues to deserve a role”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Democrats might be advised to distance themselves, as Barack Obama has done, from both cancel culture and Critical Race Theory.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“Steven Pinker (source): Many of the assaults on academic freedom (not to mention common sense) come from a burgeoning bureaucracy that calls itself Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion while enforcing a uniformity of opinion... And since overt bigotry is in fact rare in elite universities, bureaucrats whose job depends on rooting out instances of it are incentivized to hone their Rorschach skills to discern ever-more-subtle forms of “systemic” or “implicit” bias.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“As Alexandra Kalev observed, “A company is better off doing nothing than mandatory diversity training.””— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
““I’m concerned about trigger warnings’ rapid spread, despite a complete lack of evidence they help... We should be talking about things that matter more [like] how to encourage people to access evidence-based care for PTSD.” Payton Jones”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“As the Harvard law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen reported in 2014, about a dozen of her colleagues at multiple institutions had dropped rape law from their criminal-law courses.”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“its authors are advocates of DEI, and include a university president - Ora Hirsh Pescovitz - and three faculty leaders: David Dulio, Mark Navin, and James Naus. All are from Oakland University in Michigan.”— Reforming DEI
“here’s something I wrote a few years ago in response to a request for feedback on proposed EDI initiatives at my own university.”— Reforming DEI
“Many of the assaults on academic freedom (not to mention common sense) come from a burgeoning bureaucracy that calls itself Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion while enforcing a uniformity of opinion...”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
““There’s no evidence that anything like that works. Those cures are of the snake oil variety.””— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“For Jason Low, publisher of Lee & Low Books and coauthor of the survey, the top-line number of publishing becoming less white marks “a tangible through line that’s going in the right direction, and shows a commitment on behalf of publishers to hire inclusively.””— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
““The good news is that the publishing community has started to develop a blueprint for progress,” she says. But she also cautions that progress is a marathon, not a sprint.”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
““Slow but immense,” says Barney, who is now an associate publisher at Penguin Random House (PRH). “Also not enough at the same time.…A lot of different states of progress can exist at the same time.””— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
Organizations Involved
Universities across the United States began institutionalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings in the mid-2010s, presenting them as evidence-based methods to foster fair hiring and reduce bias in academic decisions. These institutions enforced mandatory sessions for faculty and staff, often tying them to promotions and job applications, under the belief that such programs would actively dismantle discriminatory behaviors. As adoption spread, however, growing critiques pointed to their potential to stifle dissent and homogenize thought, though the debate remains ongoing. [1][8]
Google took a firm stance in 2017 by firing engineer James Damore after he circulated a memo questioning whether discrimination fully explained gender imbalances in tech, enforcing the assumption that diversity trainings were necessary to address such biases. The company positioned these programs as essential for creating an inclusive workplace, influencing other tech firms to follow suit. Emerging evidence has since suggested that such enforcements may not reduce bias and could even exacerbate divisions. [7]
Mozilla ousted its CEO Brendan Eich in 2014 over a past donation supporting traditional marriage, aligning with the broader push for DEI principles that trainings were meant to instill. This action reinforced the idea that institutional power should promote active anti-bias measures to ensure equity. While it signaled commitment to inclusion, later analyses have highlighted how such moves contributed to a culture of conformity, with increasing recognition of unintended harms. [7]
Harvard University implemented DEI policies that drastically reduced white men in humanities tenure-track positions from 39 percent in 2014 to 18 percent by 2023, using trainings and statements to justify these shifts as bias-correcting. The institution wielded its prestige to promote these practices nationwide, embedding them in academic culture. Growing evidence now challenges their effectiveness, suggesting they may have introduced new forms of exclusion. [2]
▶ Supporting Quotes (13)
“Universities offer workshops aimed at reducing bias, for example, in hiring. They claim their interventions are based on empirical findings, citing studies.”— “Focus like a laser on merit!”
“In 2011, the year I moved to Los Angeles, white men were 48 percent of lower-level TV writers; by 2024, they accounted for just 11.9 percent.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“The Atlantic’s editorial staff went from 53 percent male and 89 percent white in 2013 to 36 percent male and 66 percent white in 2024.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“White men fell from 39 percent of tenure-track positions in the humanities at Harvard in 2014 to 18 percent in 2023.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“mandatory corporate diversity training”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“two-thirds of those aged 18–25 agreed with Google’s decision to fire James Damore for questioning whether discrimination explains the underrepresentation of women in computer programming.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“the 2014 ouster of Brandon Eich, Mozilla’s CEO, who donated to California’s antigay marriage Proposition 8 in 2008.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“About half of those in the Qualtrics survey had taken diversity training, and a quarter had received training that involved concepts such as white privilege and patriarchy, which are linked to Critical Race Theory or Critical Social Justice.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“the requirement in some U.S. universities to provide DEI statements in job applications. Many have pointed out that this functions as a political litmus test”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“A statement by the American Association of University Professors captured the problem well: The presumption that students need to be protected rather than challenged… is at once infantilizing and anti-intellectual.”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“All are from Oakland University in Michigan.”— Reforming DEI
“According to the Lee & Low Diversity Baseline Survey, that commitment made some difference. From 2019 to 2023, the number of white people in publishing decreased from 76 percent to 72.5 percent”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
“Pinkney says that employee resource groups (ERGs) have been a “game changer” for this purpose at Scholastic. According to a document shared by a company spokesperson, the publisher boasts 14 ERGs”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
The Foundation
In the early 2010s, proponents of diversity trainings drew on cherry-picked studies claiming broad benefits from diversity initiatives, framing them as essential interventions to combat systemic bias in workplaces and institutions. These studies were cited to argue that such programs not only reduced discrimination but also enhanced organizational performance, gaining credibility amid rising awareness of inequities. However, systematic reviews have increasingly shown no strong evidence of effectiveness, with growing evidence suggesting they overlooked cases where trainings proved counterproductive. [1]
The Implicit Association Test, developed in the late 1990s, was held up as a reliable measure of stable implicit prejudices that drove discriminatory behavior, with early assumptions linking it directly to real-world actions. Advocates believed it revealed hidden biases against groups like Blacks and women, justifying trainings to address them. But emerging meta-analyses have revealed poor test-retest reliability and weak correlations with behavior, challenging this foundation though not universally accepted. [5][11][12]
Anti-racism frameworks gained traction in the 2010s by asserting that passive non-discrimination perpetuated racism, requiring active efforts like mandatory trainings to dismantle inequities. This seemed persuasive given documented systemic issues, leading to the sub-belief that coercion through social pressure would foster change. Growing evidence from studies now suggests this approach often backfired, increasing prejudice due to reactance, though the consensus is still forming. [3][4]
Concepts like microaggressions and trigger warnings were integrated into trainings, based on psychological studies positing that they caused emotional harm and that warnings could mitigate it. Proponents argued warnings allowed preparation or avoidance, presenting them as supportive tools. However, meta-analyses have increasingly indicated no reliable effects on distress and potential harms like heightened anxiety, contributing to doubts about the underlying assumptions. [6][9]
▶ Supporting Quotes (22)
“Now they can cite articles saying diversity is wonderful, and therefore, we need to have this training. Yes, you can cherry-pick articles about the wonders of diversity, but then you’re systematically ignoring the ones where diversity is ineffective or counterproductive.”— “Focus like a laser on merit!”
“the entire liberal establishment insists that nothing actually happened, that the “mild” correction was in fact no correction at all, and that any white man harmed in the process was in fact “mediocre.””— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“gatekeepers have typically favored women or members of racial minorities, but only those equipped with a prix-fixe menu of progressive values and beliefs.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“In this view, passive non-discrimination isn't enough. The framework requires a commitment to actively fighting racism; if someone chooses the path of non-prejudice or non-racism, they are unwittingly supporting passive racism.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“The extrinsic motivation pamphlet used the language of prejudice-reduction that was common on campus in the late 2000s. It urged participants to “combat prejudice” and comply with social requirements to control stereotypical impulses, using terms like “erase racism” and “stop prejudice.””— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“In this view, passive non-discrimination isn't enough. The framework requires a commitment to actively fighting racism; if someone chooses the path of non-prejudice or non-racism, they are unwittingly supporting passive racism.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Estimates of average correlations between individuals’ scores on implicit measures and measures of behavior have varied, from approximately r = .14 to r = .28 (Cameron et al. 2012; Greenwald et al. 2009a; Oswald et al. 2013).”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Individuals’ scores on implicit measures fluctuate considerably over time. Multiple longitudinal studies have demonstrated low correlations between individuals’ scores on implicit measures across days, weeks, and months”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Results indicate that diversity training, as currently practiced, needs to be reformed or abolished in organizations as it heightens employee anxiety and advances contentious beliefs.”— THE POLITICS OF THE CULTURE WARS IN CONTEMPORARY CANADA
“Cultural socialism is the idea that public policy should be used to redistribute wealth, power, and self-esteem from the privileged groups in society to disadvantaged groups, especially racial and sexual minorities, and women. This justifies restrictions on the freedom and equal treatment of members of advantaged groups.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“Most anti-bias interventions haven’t been tested, and of those that have, many don’t work and some backfire, increasing bias rather than reducing it.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“Some argue that trigger warnings help trauma victims and others to emotionally prepare for upsetting material. Knowing that it’s coming, people can brace themselves for it. Others, however, argue that trigger warnings instead increase distress in response to the material... According to the gold-standard meta-analysis on the topic, neither side is!”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“Some argue that trigger warnings are useful because they give people - trauma victims in particular - the option to avoid upsetting material. Others, however, argue that although trigger warnings do indeed do that, this is a bad thing rather than a good thing because avoidance helps maintain trauma. Trigger warnings may therefore be countertherapeutic... The preponderance of evidence suggests that trigger warnings don’t reliably lead people to avoid potentially upsetting material.”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“the use of trigger warnings could bolster the misguided view that people who’ve experienced traumatic events are inevitably scarred by them and psychologically fragile forever more, and it could reinforce trauma victims’ belief that their trauma is central to their identity... trauma survivors who view their traumatic experience as central to their life have elevated PTSD symptoms.”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“interventions that research shows don’t work and may even make things worse (e.g., mandatory diversity training; implicit bias training; trigger warnings)”— Reforming DEI
“One important reason for skepticism is that the IAT has poor test-retest reliability - that is, the same person will often get very different results each time they take the test.”— Why Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work
“The main finding was that the dominant form of bias wasn’t bias based on race, class, or age, but rather bias based on sex. And it wasn’t bias in favor of men and against women; it was the opposite: bias in favor of women and against men.”— Why Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work
““[H]undreds of studies dating back to the 1930s suggest that antibias training does not reduce bias, alter behavior or change the workplace.””— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
““Implementation of DT [diversity training] has clearly outpaced the available evidence that such programs are effective... [M]any studies reveal the potential for adverse effects following DT.””— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“Tests of implicit bias (like the IAT) have low test-retest reliability: People typically get different scores each time they take the test.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“Though implicit bias interventions may change people’s implicit biases to some degree – or do so, at least, in the short-term – the effects of such changes on behavior are trivially small or non-existent, even in the immediate wake of the intervention.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“From 2019 to 2023, the number of white people in publishing decreased from 76 percent to 72.5 percent, the survey found. The shift was driven by an increase in biracial and multiracial respondents from 3 percent to 8.4 percent. Most other racial groups saw little change, except for Latinx respondents, whose numbers declined from 6 percent to 4.6 percent.”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
How It Spread
By the mid-2010s, diversity trainings spread rapidly through institutional mandates in academia, media, and entertainment, often presented as proven solutions to bias amid a surge in social justice awareness. Universities and corporations enforced them via hiring requirements and workshops, with younger generations entering the workforce amplifying support through their backing of related policies. This propagation relied on media anecdotes rather than rigorous data, though emerging critiques have begun to highlight the lack of evidence sustaining it. [2][7]
Corporate sectors propagated the assumption via mandatory diversity sessions and public shaming mechanisms, framing them as necessary to combat prejudice with phrases like 'erase racism' and 'combat bias.' Social pressure in workplaces enforced participation, with liberal media dismissing criticisms as invalid. Growing evidence suggests this coercive spread may have fueled backlash, but the idea persisted through institutional dominance. [3][4]
The implicit bias concept migrated from psychology labs to popular culture in the 2000s and 2010s, fueled by HR departments, politicians, and media stories that touted it as a scientific certainty. This created a multimillion-dollar training industry, with universities proposing mandatory sessions in DEI plans. While widely adopted, an increasing number of academic meta-analyses and philosophical arguments have challenged its validity. [5][11][12]
Following the 2020 racial reckoning after George Floyd's killing, publishers and other industries accelerated the spread through public vows for diversification and trainings, positioning them as tools for empowerment. Private sector workshops marketed as certainties further disseminated the idea. Emerging survey data and studies now question this rapid propagation, pointing to unintended consequences. [1][13]
▶ Supporting Quotes (17)
“Offers from the private sector look like pseudoscience. We found workshops involving unconscious bias trainings that costs between $1.000 and $5.000 (9, 10, 11).”— “Focus like a laser on merit!”
“In retrospect, 2014 was the hinge, the year DEI became institutionalized across American life…”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“Especially when the entire liberal establishment insists that nothing actually happened”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“This approach manifested in mandatory corporate diversity training and diversity statements, public shaming for even simple mistakes or misunderstandings, and attempts to get people fired or not hired for opinions that went counter to the anti-racist approach.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Some of the methods used to reduce prejudice relied heavily on public accountability and social pressure, creating approaches that felt coercive while leaving little room for grace.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Headlines in the popular press have been even more pointed. New York Magazine reports, ‘Psychology’s Favorite Tool for Measuring Racism Isn’t Up to the Job’ (Singal 2017); the Chronicle of Higher Education asks, ‘Can We Really Measure Implicit Bias? Maybe Not’ (Bartlett 2017); and most pointedly, the Wall Street Journal describes ‘The False “Science” of Implicit Bias’ (Mac Donald 2017).”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Machery argues that leading methods for studying and theorizing about implicit bias need to be rethought from the ground up, writing that we should not ‘build theoretical castles on such quicksand.’”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Those who have taken diversity training are significantly more woke than those who have not;”— THE POLITICS OF THE CULTURE WARS IN CONTEMPORARY CANADA
“In a controversy dominated by anecdotes and headlines, it is vital to systematically gather and analyze survey data on public experiences and attitudes toward culture-war issues.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“Younger people are substantially more likely to support cultural socialism than older Americans, even when controlling for ideology and party identification. As today’s college graduates enter large organizations, they will mount an increasing challenge to freedom of expression.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“staff at my university were invited to give feedback on the institution’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plans.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“Once confined to the academy, trigger warnings have long since escaped into the wider world, and are now familiar to almost everyone and almost everyone’s dog... I’m concerned about trigger warnings’ rapid spread, despite a complete lack of evidence they help.”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“Some DEI programming can promote ideological conformity by presenting contested concepts around identity and oppression as indisputable. This can cause people who question those narratives to be labeled as bigoted or insensitive, which contributes to self-censorship, conformity and exclusion.”— Reforming DEI
“The concept of implicit bias has long since made the leap from psychology labs and journal articles to the wider culture. The phrase can be found on the lips of HR managers, politicians, and characters in stories and movies. Meanwhile, implicit bias training, which seeks to root out the biases supposedly lurking in our unconscious minds, has become a multi-million dollar industry.”— Why Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work
“interventions that research shows don’t work and may even make things worse (e.g., mandatory diversity training, implicit bias training, and trigger warnings)”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“interventions that research shows don’t work and may even make things worse (e.g., mandatory diversity training, implicit bias training, and trigger warnings)”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“In 2020, as America dealt with a racial reckoning spurred by the killing of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, publishers vowed to diversify their workforces.”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
Resulting Policies
Starting in 2014, U.S. universities enacted policies mandating diversity trainings and statements for hiring and promotions, framing them as vital to reducing bias and ensuring equity in academic environments. These requirements often weighed DEI contributions in evaluations, serving as litmus tests for commitment to anti-bias principles. While intended to foster inclusion, growing evidence suggests they may have promoted ideological conformity instead. [8][10][12]
Corporations implemented mandatory diversity training programs in the 2010s, requiring employee participation to actively dismantle prejudice based on anti-racism assumptions. These policies extended to diversity statements in some sectors, enforcing public commitments to equity. Emerging research indicates potential backfire effects, though adoption continued amid institutional pressures. [3][4]
Publishers responded to the 2020 social movements by enacting diverse hiring pushes across departments, including editorial roles, and supporting internal groups like employee resource networks. Initiatives such as salary increases and surveys were justified as progress toward reducing bias through inclusion. Increasing recognition of flaws in these approaches has sparked debate about their long-term impact. [13]
Canadian organizations, influenced by cultural shifts post-2015, mandated diversity trainings to enforce norms around equity and inclusion. These policies aligned with broader efforts to address systemic issues through active interventions. Growing evidence now challenges their effectiveness, suggesting they may not deliver the intended reductions in bias. [6]
▶ Supporting Quotes (11)
“Because the mandates to diversify didn’t fall on older white men, who in many cases still wield enormous power: They landed on us…”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“Diversity training is especially ineffective when it requires mandatory participation.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“mandatory corporate diversity training and diversity statements”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Diversity training is especially ineffective when it requires mandatory participation.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Results indicate that diversity training, as currently practiced, needs to be reformed or abolished in organizations”— THE POLITICS OF THE CULTURE WARS IN CONTEMPORARY CANADA
“Another proposal is to use DEI contributions in promotion decisions... the requirement in some U.S. universities to provide DEI statements in job applications.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“On campus the definition of what constitutes a trigger has expanded dramatically from stimuli that induce symptoms of PTSD to any material that might elicit “difficult emotional responses”… [P]olicies like these would impede meaningful engagement with difficult topics.”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“DEI initiatives have come under increasing fire in recent months... conceptions of DEI that prioritize some identities over others”— Reforming DEI
“Recently, staff at my university were invited to give feedback on the institution’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plans.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“An overview of the case against implicit bias training.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“Publishing’s 2020 wave of diverse hiring was not its first... Editorial departments saw the biggest shift in racial makeup in recent years, according to the Lee & Low survey. Those roles decreased from 85 percent white in 2019 to 72 percent in 2023.”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
Harm Caused
Mandatory diversity trainings in corporations and institutions, rolled out widely in the 2010s, often backfired by increasing prejudice and racist attitudes among participants, as studies showed greater resistance compared to no intervention. Participants reported heightened anger and more biased views, contributing to a surge in hate crimes against various groups over 15 years. Growing evidence suggests these coercive methods alienated rather than unified, though the full extent remains debated. [3][4]
In academia and professional fields, DEI policies disproportionately affected white male millennials entering careers around 2014, leading to career barriers and a sense of disenfranchisement that fueled grievances. Fields like media and humanities saw sharp declines in their representation, creating a cohort of potential counterrevolutionaries. Emerging analyses indicate this may have bred new biases, exacerbating divisions. [2]
Trainings and related practices fostered self-censorship and chilling effects in workplaces, with a third of workers fearing job loss for expressing views and over 70 percent agreeing political correctness had gone too far. Conservatives and Trump voters in left-leaning environments heavily self-censored, limiting open discourse. Increasing recognition points to reduced trust in institutions as a consequence. [7][8]
Trigger warnings and expansive DEI programming, adopted in universities from the 2010s, increased anticipatory anxiety and led faculty to drop sensitive courses, depriving students of learning opportunities. They reinforced views of fragility, potentially worsening PTSD symptoms through avoidance. Growing evidence suggests these harmed academic freedom and expertise development. [9][10]
▶ Supporting Quotes (17)
“With an adversarial collaboration team, we have just published a paper that evaluated the effectiveness of such DEI programmes... We found there’s no evidence. And many of the anti-bias trainings haven’t been evaluated.”— “Focus like a laser on merit!”
“This particular attempt at revolution has created a cadre of potential counterrevolutionaries with a clear material grievance against the entire system, especially against its claims to moral superiority on issues related to race.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“This isn’t a story about all white men. It’s a story about white male millennials in professional America, about those who stayed, and who (mostly) stayed quiet.”— People Are Getting Tired of Discrimination - Even Against White Men
“the pamphlet with the then-current anti-prejudice messages—the more coercive approach—actually increased prejudice compared to doing nothing at all.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Hate crimes in the U.S. have surged over the past 15 years, targeting Black people, Jews, LGBTQ folks, Arabs, Latinos, pretty much every protected group you can name. The same pattern shows up in Canada”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“the pamphlet with the then-current anti-prejudice messages—the more coercive approach—actually increased prejudice compared to doing nothing at all.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Those who have taken diversity training are significantly more fearful of losing their job or reputation for what they say than those who have not;”— THE POLITICS OF THE CULTURE WARS IN CONTEMPORARY CANADA
“A majority of Americans oppose cancel culture, but a significant minority—about a third—support it, backing decisions to fire employees for legal speech that they regard as unacceptable.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“people who report having attended diversity training are significantly more worried about losing their jobs or reputations for present or past speech than people who have not had this training, even when controlling for partisanship and demographics. They also feel less free to share their political views on questions like immigration or transgenderism.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“fewer than three in 10 Trump voters would tell a coworker how they voted.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
“Mandatory training is particularly likely to backfire... making universities even more politically homogeneous than they already were; reducing public trust in universities.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“One thing they reliably do is increase anticipatory anxiety... If you’d genuinely be traumatized by the content of a university course, you don’t need a trigger warning; you need therapy... about a dozen of her colleagues at multiple institutions had dropped rape law from their criminal-law courses because students were complaining the material was “triggering.””— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“By contributing to a misguided safety-and-security model of education, trigger warnings ultimately deprive all students of the most powerful learning opportunities.”— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“Critics from both the Right and, increasingly, the Left charge DEI with indoctrinating students, repressing alternative viewpoints and undermining academic values… Moreover, in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, many have also criticized DEI for helping to cultivate antisemitism… contributes to self-censorship, conformity and exclusion.”— Reforming DEI
“implicit bias training... has become a multi-million dollar industry.”— Why Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work
“seeing the damage this kind of thing has done there - making universities even more politically homogeneous than they already were; reducing public trust in universities”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“In a 2018 survey of 200 publishing professionals conducted by People of Color in Publishing and Latinx in Publishing, 73 percent of respondents said they had experienced microaggressions at work, and 61 percent said they modified their speech, dress, hair, or other characteristics to fit into the workplace culture... Several Black women who stepped into high-profile roles at various publishers in the diversity push have since resigned, been dismissed, or been laid off. Baker’s own position at Amistad was eliminated in 2022.”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
Downfall
As early as 2011, studies by social psychologists demonstrated that coercive diversity messaging increased prejudice compared to controls, with replications confirming mandatory programs provoked resistance and racist attitudes. This early evidence went largely unheeded amid the push for anti-bias trainings, but it laid the groundwork for later critiques. Growing recognition of these backfire effects has begun to undermine confidence in such interventions. [3][4]
By 2013, meta-analyses exposed the Implicit Association Test's weaknesses, showing weak correlations with behavior and poor test-retest reliability, labeling it a poor predictor of discrimination. Longitudinal studies further revealed temporal instability, challenging the stability of implicit attitudes. An emerging body of work now questions the test's role in justifying trainings, though defenders maintain its value. [5][11]
In 2019, comprehensive meta-analyses found that changes in implicit scores from interventions did not translate to behavioral shifts, and hundreds of studies since the 1930s showed little evidence of effectiveness. Even the IAT's co-creator later deemed related remedies ineffective. This accumulating data has fueled a growing consensus that the assumption is flawed. [5][8]
Post-2020 developments, including a 2023 Supreme Court ruling and political shifts like Trump's 2024 win, intensified backlash against DEI, leading to rollbacks in companies and high attrition among diverse hires. Surveys revealed majority opposition to related practices, splitting voter bases and enabling political wins. Increasing evidence suggests these events exposed the unsustainable nature of unproven trainings. [7][13]
▶ Supporting Quotes (17)
“We didn't believe the results at first, so we ran a second study and replicated the same pattern: positive effects for the intrinsic approach, but a clear backfiring effect”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Sociologists Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev discuss how people often respond to mandatory diversity programs with anger and resistance, with many participants reporting more racist attitudes, not less.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“We didn't believe the results at first, so we ran a second study and replicated the same pattern: positive effects for the intrinsic approach, but a clear backfiring effect for what we might now recognize (by today’s standards) as mild anti-racism messaging.”— When Good Intentions Alienate: The Unintended Consequences of Anti-Racist Zeal
“Recent meta-analytic reviews suggest that the Implicit Association Test is a ‘poor’ predictor of behavior (Oswald et al. 2013)”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“changes in scores on implicit measures may not be associated with changes in behavior (Forscher, Lai, et al., 2019).”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“This instability—a reflection of ‘test-retest’ reliability—is particularly pronounced on implicit measures of racial attitudes.”— Understanding Implicit Bias: Putting the Criticism into Perspective
“Heavier social media users are significantly more woke, even controlling for ideology, age, and numerous other factors;”— THE POLITICS OF THE CULTURE WARS IN CONTEMPORARY CANADA
“Republicans have an incentive to highlight culture-war issues, as arguably took place in Glenn Youngkin’s Virginia gubernatorial campaign.”— The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America
““[H]undreds of studies dating back to the 1930s suggest that antibias training does not reduce bias, alter behavior or change the workplace.” Even Anthony Greenwald, co-creator of the Implicit Association Test (IAT), agrees that implicit bias training is ineffective: “There’s no evidence that anything like that works. Those cures are of the snake oil variety.””— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“According to the gold-standard meta-analysis on the topic, neither side is! ... “you should never do anything that doesn’t work, period, even if it doesn’t do harm. If it’s not actively helping, encouraging its use would essentially be engaging in clinical pseudoscience.””— 10 Arguments Against Trigger Warnings
“interventions that research shows don’t work and may even make things worse (e.g., mandatory diversity training; implicit bias training; trigger warnings)… The Brauer Group Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has put together an excellent online resource summarizing evidence on which diversity-and-inclusion measures work and which don’t.”— Reforming DEI
“The evidence [for implicit prejudice reduction] is thin. Together with the lack of evidence for diversity training, these studies do not justify the enthusiasm with which implicit prejudice reduction trainings have been received in the world over the past decade. -Elizabeth Paluck et al. (2023, Annual Review of Psychology).”— Why Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work
“As the psychologist Paul Bloom quipped, “If you take the test and don’t like the result, just take it again.” This challenges the idea that the IAT is measuring prejudice. We usually view prejudice as a fairly stable trait.”— Why Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work
“None of this is what most people expect when they think of implicit bias. Yet those who take the IAT seriously should take these findings seriously as well.”— Why Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work
“Expert review: Prejudice-reduction interventions have little or no effect after correcting for publication bias.”— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“Even Anthony Greenwald, co-creator of the Implicit Association Test (IAT), agrees that implicit bias training is ineffective: “There’s no evidence that anything like that works. Those cures are of the snake oil variety.””— Feedback on DEI Plans at My University
“In 2023, the Supreme Court ended race-conscious admissions in higher education. Following that decision, conservative groups began targeting corporate DEI programs with lawsuits. In November 2024, after Donald Trump’s election win, Walmart... announced a major rollback of its DEI policies... coincide with a downturn in sales for children’s books, and an onslaught of demands to remove books featuring characters of color”— Gaining Ground? Diversity in Publishing
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Reforming DEIopinion
Steve Stewart-Williams · Steve Stewart-Williams Substack · 2024-04-26
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Related False Assumptions