In recent years, a variety of efforts have led to the slow diversification of government, academic, and corporate spaces. Individuals from historically underrepresented groups occupy a growing number of seemingly powerful positions in these institutions. Nevertheless, there isn’t a significant change in the lives of minoritized and marginalized people—governments continue oppressive practices against them, academia remains exclusionary and elitist, and corporations continue to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few; all three function together to maintain the status quo. Power might look more diverse than it used to, but is it justice and liberation if all we achieve is a more diverse group of people enforcing the same imperialistic neoliberal global order?1
In this month’s issue of Just Physics? we critically consider the origins, implicit goals, and repercussions of mainstream diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in STEM that merely diversify erstwhile white spaces without challenging the...
