What Middle-Class Diversiphobes Want — To Stay Right in the Middle

Diversiphiles & Diversiphobes — The Economic and Political Realities of The Middle Class (Image: Playgroundv2.5)

[This story was originally posted on my blog site in 2013. I’ve since made updates and archived it here on Medium.com in 2020. The SHRM’s recent deletion of the “E” from DEI prompted this repost, and directing LinkedIn followers here.]

Without question, the growth of “diversity” has been the trend for a long time in the U.S. The question was never really whether the population was diverse, but that was and remains one of the ways that demographic diversity has been used and positioned politically, economically as well as geographically.

A report entitled “An Equity Profile of the Kansas City Region: An Agenda for Rebuilding America’s Older Core Cities” (PolicyLink 2011) begins with a rationale typical of social imperatives with an underlying economic agenda. Its preamble begins:

“…communities of color are driving the region’s population growth, making their economic inclusion essential to the region’s success. While the region demonstrates overall economic strength and resilience, wide racial gaps in income, health, and opportunity — coupled with declining wages, a shrinking middle class, and rising inequality — place its economic future at risk.”

That opening paragraph is a “mash-up” of stats not necessarily correlated or even interdependent but often…