NC labor commissioner does his best Trump impression on DEI | Opinion

Shortly after North Carolina Labor Commissioner Luke Farley announced he was ending “DEI” at the state’s labor department, I asked what precisely that meant.

The department would no longer use “DEI metrics,” he tweeted.

I asked him for a few examples of “DEI metrics.” He didn’t answer, though quickly responded to conservative firebrands who thanked him for his superficial red meat announcement.

Maybe he didn’t see my question, so I followed up with a message to his office. I haven’t heard back, despite his putting a banner headline on the department’s website: “Commissioner Luke Farley ends DEI at the N.C. Department of Labor.”

Given that this is Black History Month and I’m trying to be charitable, instead of getting stuck on the possibility Farley has already become one of President Donald Trump’s sheep, I’ll pass along a quick lesson about real DEI. New state auditor Dave Boliek made a similar anti-DEI announcement, suggesting if Trump jumps off a bridge, Boliek may jump to try and catch him.

But I digress.

Jackie Robinson is maybe the best example of a DEI hire in U.S. history. I’m not talking about the DEI distortion Trump, Farley and Boliek are referring to, or what corporations such as Target and Walmart had been practicing but cowardly decided to dump in the new Trump era.

I’m talking about the principle that is diversity, equity and inclusion.

Only qualified people can be DEI hires.

When legendary Brooklyn Dodger Branch Rickey came calling, Robinson was one of the best baseball players in the world. He was better than most of the players in Major League Baseball. And yet he had been denied access because of the color of his skin.

Rickey chose Robinson to break baseball’s color barrier because he was immensely qualified for the role, and in part because of the color of his skin. In a sane society that had always valued merit, Robinson’s race would never have been a consideration. But this is the United States of America, a country forged in a contradictory compromise, the belief that all men are equal but that Black people are inferior.

If the U.S. had always — or ever — been primarily about merit, DEI hires would never have been necessary. But diversity, equity and inclusion aren’t just about hiring. They are about identifying and removing unnecessary barriers that keep talented people out of positions they’ve earned, as well as rethinking organizational structures and practices to ensure once diversity takes root, an environment that makes it possible for everyone to reach their full potential takes root as well.

There are a number of ways to ascertain whether an organization has cultivated such an environment, or what it needs to change in order to. If everyone in your organization is similar, there’s a good chance your organization needs revamping, and not just for appearances.

McKinsey & Company, the largest business management consulting firm in the world, surveyed 1,265 companies in 23 countries. Their findings are clear. More diverse companies overperform and are better able to adapt in a changing world than less diverse outfits. They found that in 2015, 2018, 2020, and again in 2023. And each time, the relationship between performance and diversity strengthened.

Conducting implicit bias training sessions, hiring a motivational speaker, or making your organization “look like America” might factor into DEI decisions but are far from enough and not the most important steps an organization can make.

Diversity, equity and inclusion work together. Those principles are designed to build on each. The N.C. Department of Labor, which has about a 25 percent job vacancy rate, would benefit from a true DEI environment.

Though it took a long time after Robinson made his debut — and relentless, ugly resistance and mockery from white players – MLB now attracts and cultivates the best players from around the globe.

But it took a strong, visionary man like Rickey Branch to get the ball rolling despite that resistance and mockery.

Farley is too busy mimicking Trump to become a man like that.

This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.