When ‘DEI’ Is Another Way of Saying ‘Quota’

It is as though someone flipped a light switch and suddenly revealed what had been hiding in plain sight: Racial discrimination in favor of minority groups is still racial discrimination (“Is Your Company’s DEI Program Lawful?” by Michael Toth, op-ed, July 3). The Supreme Court has finally punctured weasel words such as “broaden knowledge, foster innovation and enhance empathy” as nebulous nattering rather than measurable results of race-based college admissions. The stated lofty objectives of many company diversity, equity and inclusion programs are just as bogus.

Gregory Marshall

Marietta, Ga.

The problem of DEI is rampant at big law firms, whose websites say they don’t discriminate on the basis of sex, race, sexual orientation or gender identity. Really? As a former member of two silk-stocking law firms, I was frequently reminded by management to minimize the number of cis white males.

Marketing professionals were trained to filter client pitches for gender and racial balance. If an important pitch was unsuccessful, management would rebuke us for including too many whites or cis males. The practice is reinforced through performance reviews, which score partners on gender- and race-appropriate staffing categories. Once, at an off-site retreat, I asked whether this violates the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. That drew a roomful of angry looks and a change of subject.

William L. Stern

Berkeley, Calif.

Mr. Toth writes that United Airlines launched a plan in 2021 to “train 5,000 new pilots by 2030, at least half of them women and people of color.” When I’m 35,000 feet in the air, I really don’t care what gender and race the pilot is, so long as standards haven’t been lowered to achieve some corporate goal.

Lou Innamorato

Philadelphia