A new DEI alternative movement called “MEI” has been picking up steam in the wake of it being endorsed by tech billionaire Elon Musk last month.
MEI stands for Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence and is being seen as a response to DEI which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Hiring for MEI
In a viral X post back in June, CEO of Scale AI Alexandr Wang shared a codified MEI hiring policy that ran counter to DEI principles and was seen over 5 million times.
“Today we’ve formalized an important hiring policy at Scale. We hire for MEI: merit, excellence, and intelligence.” Wange wrote on X.
Guiding Principle
Wang asserted that at Scale, MEI is going to become a permanent policy and guiding principle.
“Hiring on merit will be a permanent policy at Scale. It’s a big deal whenever we invite someone to join our mission, and those decisions have never been swayed by orthodoxy or virtue signaling or whatever the current thing is. I think of our guiding principle as MEI: merit, excellence, and intelligence,” said Wang’s X post.
Treating Everyone as an Individual
According to Wang, what sets MEI apart is that instead of treating people as a group, MEI makes judgments on character and merits.
“We treat everyone as an individual. We do not unfairly stereotype, tokenize, or otherwise treat anyone as a member of a demographic group rather than as an individual,” Wang wrote. “We believe that people should be judged by the content of their character — and, as colleagues, be additionally judged by their talent, skills, and work ethic.”
Not Anti-Diversity
Wang attempted to head off criticisms that MEI as inherently against diversity in his post, saying that MEI will naturally lead to hiring employees with diverse perspectives.
“There is a mistaken belief that meritocracy somehow conflicts with diversity. I strongly disagree. No group has a monopoly on excellence. A hiring process based on merit will naturally yield a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas,” wrote Wang.
Musk’s Endorsement
Elon Musk responded with support to Wang’s post, expressing agreement with the ideas that were outlined.
“Great!,” Musk wrote in response to the post. “Thank you Elon! This means a lot as a founder to get your support,” Wang replied.
Others Will Follow
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, also complimented Wang’s post and asserted that others will be following in its footsteps.
“Well said! I expect others will follow,” wrote Armstrong.
MEI Approach
Now this week, a Wall Street Journal piece by Callum Borchers documents multiple CEOs who are embracing an MEI philosophy and approach to hiring employees.
“I really don’t believe that diversity on the basis of skin color or gender is a goal,” said Matt Cole CEO of Strive Asset Management. “It’s a likely—but not guaranteed—byproduct of a meritocratic process.”
Opposition to MEI
Supporters of DEI have come out against MEI as it has started to gain popularity, seeing it as a coded way to discriminate against minorities.
“Saying you hire for merit, excellence and intelligence is really saying people who are historically underrepresented are not worthy,” said Seena Hodges, a DEI consultant who calls herself the Woke Coach.
Recent Backlash
After being adopted by major US companies and put into workplace training across the country, a recent rising backlash has been forming against DEI.
Recently, Microsoft announced the complete shuddering of its DEI team, saying in an internal email that DEI is “no longer business critical.”
Political Wave
In addition to a growing rejection of DEI among American companies, political opposition to DEI has also been on the rise.
As of May, there were 30 bills across the country targeting DEI, and 10 such bills have already been signed into law.
Why are People Against DEI?
While DEI purports to be a movement of inclusion that promotes equity for all, critics of DEI feel that it often accomplishes the opposite and divides Americans.
“The Left tells us DEI stands for ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.’ But as practiced, it more closely represents ‘Discrimination, Exclusion, and Indoctrination,’ Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on X.
