Should DEI statements be included in faculty selection? Exploring legal, diversity, and validity issues

Abstract

Many public and private employers have been using Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements during the selection process as part of their mission of having a diverse workforce. This paper focuses on the use of DEI statements in public and private higher education. The paper reviews several key issues relative to the use of DEI statements ranging from the First Amendment to management considerations.We explore several dilemmas that arise due to the use of DEI statements. We note

Addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Contributions in Academic Review

“…University of California, Berkeley9 also developed a rubric for evaluating such statements. Ficht and Levashina10 offer several recommendations for use of diversity statements as their impact continues to be understood. These are summarized in Table 1.…”