DEI is not good in principle. It rests on the ultimate conspiracy theory that any deviation from an "ideal" composition of a team or company must be the result of some active discrimination. It doesn't really bother proving this huge assumption before prescribing heavy-handed, costly and humiliating countermeasures. It rarely bothers justifying the "ideal" composition, either.
There IS discrimination in the workplace. The only good way to fight discrimination is to fight discrimination. Find it, prove it and target it. "There are too few women in tech" is as good a proof of discrimination as "There are too few woman in beick laying".
You are describing an implementation, one that is common, at least in the myth. I have not experienced this myth personally. I dislike your take as much as the ones from overzealous activists the have permeated HR.
Both sides need to chill their tone and rhetoric. DEI done right starts by ceasing the demonization of the other side and coming together to talk like adults and find common ground.
This is absolutely not a myth. I have been personally directed by recruiters to discriminate on the he basis of race and gender. And two of the three companies I've worked at set explicit quotas on the basis of gender.
While there are companies where DEI isn't a dog whistle for racial and gender discrimination, they're the minority in my experience.
There IS discrimination in the workplace. The only good way to fight discrimination is to fight discrimination. Find it, prove it and target it. "There are too few women in tech" is as good a proof of discrimination as "There are too few woman in beick laying".