DEI Isn’t the Enemy of Meritocracy. But Bias Is.

There’s a familiar refrain echoing through boardrooms, Slack channels, and think pieces these days: “We believe in merit-based hiring.”

Here’s the thing—so do I. I absolutely believe that we should hire individuals qualified for opportunity, leadership, based on expertise and experience.

But what I don’t believe in is the myth that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) undermines meritocracy. Because when we tell that story—when we frame DEI as some kind of detour around excellence—we're not just wrong. We're willfully ignoring the deeply flawed systems that have kept highly qualified people out of tech for decades.

Let’s start with a simple truth: bias undermines meritocracy.

If we had a level playing field, we wouldn’t need DEI. But we don’t. And we know this. Allow me to share two examples: 

• One of my mentees—sharp, credentialed, and ready to work—was told she couldn’t land a job in tech because she wears a hijab. Not because of her GitHub commits. Not because she failed a whiteboard test. But because her religious practice didn’t “fit” someone’s biased expectations.

• Another mentee was told her accent made her un-hireable. In tech. Where the literal language is code. That’s not just bias. That’s ignorance disguised as selectivity.

If “merit” can be tossed out due to a scarf or an accent, let’s stop pretending that the system is purely about performance.

Hiring for Representation Is Not a Compromise. It’s a Correction.

There’s this lingering, toxic belief—amplified by anti-DEI voices and whispered by many others—that hiring a Black woman means you’re lowering the bar.

Let’s flip that myth on its head.

📌 Black women are one of the most educated demographics in the country. 

📌 Women are outpacing men in college completion across every major racial and ethnic group.

📌 And yet, Black women with degrees still earn less than white men without them.

So, explain to me again how DEI is diluting merit?

The reality is this: meritocracy without representation isn’t meritocracy—it’s exclusion dressed up as excellence. And the minute someone like Alexandr Wang can say that “MEI” (merit-based equity) is the future—while ignoring the past and present barriers to actual access—we need to call that what it is: performative, privileged misinformation.

The Numbers Don’t Lie—But the Narratives Do

Let’s talk about tech.

According to the EEOC, white men make up 83.3% of executive roles in the tech sector. Women, particularly women of color, remain dramatically underrepresented—especially in leadership, even as they earn computing degrees at higher rates.

If DEI were truly hurting men in tech, wouldn’t we see a drop in their representation?

Instead, what we see is resistance to sharing space, not a loss of access.

Even in 2023, the The New York Times published a “Who’s Who in AI” article that featured zero women. Not:

• Fei-Fei Li - inaugural Sequoia Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University, and a Founding Co-Director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute. Dr. Li is the inventor of ImageNet and the ImageNet Challenge, a critical large-scale dataset and benchmarking effort that has been widely regarded as one of the three driving forces of the birth of modern AI and deep learning revolution.

• Allie K. Miller - accomplished AI entrepreneur, advisor and investor, with a rich background in AI, ML, human-computer interaction, technology, cognitive science, analytics, product and user experience, consumer insights, startups, and venture capital. 

• Claire Delaunay - Ex-VP of Engineering at NVIDIA, Claire Delaunay has 20 years of experience in robotics and autonomous vehicles. At NVIDIA, Delaunay was responsible for the Isaac robotics initiative, leading a team to bring Isaac to market for roboticists and developers around the world.

• Cynthia Breazeal - robotics scientist and entrepreneur, former chief scientist and chief experience officer of Jibo, a company she co-founded in 2012 that developed personal assistant robots. Also, Dean for Digital Learning at MIT, where she leverages her experience in emerging digital technologies and business, research and strategy to lead Open Learning’s business and research and engagement units.

NOT ONE. And these are just four of several. But none were identified. What’s up with that?

We are not lacking in talent. We are lacking in visibility, opportunity, and willingness to disrupt outdated ideas of who gets to lead.

Tech Has Everything to Gain from Representation

This isn’t about charity. It’s about ROI.

Research from Harvard Business Review makes it plain: diverse teams are smarter. They challenge stale thinking. They innovate more. They outperform.

If your scrum team, your strategy session, your beta testers all look the same—guess what? Your product probably doesn’t work for everyone. And you're leaving serious money on the table.

You cannot build inclusive tech in an exclusive workplace.

Is Tech Really Ready to Say: “It’s Not Our Problem?”

We’re facing a growing talent shortage in tech, across every sector.

So let me ask this:

• Are we really ready to say that equitable access to education, broadband, and training isn’t our responsibility? 

• That communities historically excluded from tech pipelines should just "figure it out on their own?" 

• That automation’s impact on low-income workers is unfortunate, but hey, not our department?

Because that’s the logical conclusion of a hollow version of meritocracy: one that erases context, dismisses history, and leaves potential on the sidelines.

And if we go down that road, we better be prepared when those same communities build their own tools, platforms, and futures—without the companies who ignored them.

Here’s What’s Real:

DEI doesn't dilute merit. DEI expands the lens of who gets to be seen as meritorious.

Providing a homeless person with a sandwich isn’t a solution to systemic poverty—but it is an act of shared humanity. Likewise, a DEI initiative doesn’t fix centuries of inequity—but it is a signal that we see the harm, and we’re willing to do better.

If you truly believe in merit, then fight for systems where merit can actually be recognized. Because right now? Too many brilliant people never even get in the room.

And that’s not just a loss for them. That’s a loss for all of us.