There is a saying attributed to novelist Robert Heinlein that contains considerable wisdom. He puts it in the mouth of a recurring Heinlein character, Lazarus Long.
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
I was reminded of that saying by the following reseach done in Canada and reported in the Toronto Sun.
A critical examination of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training programs suggests they often make racism in the workplace worse, according to a report by David Haskell, an associate professor of digital media and journalism at Wilfrid Laurier University.DEI instruction has been shown to increase prejudice and activate bigotry among participants by bringing existing stereotypes to the top of their minds, or by implanting new biases they had not previously held …
“Simply put, numerous studies show that when DEI-type workshop leaders instruct participants to suppress their biases — be they existing or newly implanted — many will cling to them more tightly and mentally generate additional justifications for their presence.”
A likely result of mandatory DEI training is to increase employee dislike of those imposing the requirement, those delivering the training, and those the training is designed to protect. Voila, you've annoyed the pig and made worse the very things you'd hoped to make better.
