Vista Equity Partners Chairman and CEO Robert F. Smith believes diversity will overcome.

 As AFROTECH™ previously told you, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts are being dismantled, causing a ripple effect across various sectors. According to a news release, the White House issued executive orders to end all DEI practices in the federal workforce and in federal contracting and spending. This resulted in federal employees in DEI roles being placed on paid leave. A Maryland federal judge has since blocked portions of Trump’s executive orders, including a halt on federal contracts tied to DEI and restrictions on private companies with DEI programs, according to JD Supra.

 Furthermore, some companies have shifted their policies to align with the Trump administration, which some attribute to political pressures from conservative groups and figures such as Robby Starbuck. Companies that have adopted anti-DEI agendas include Target, which led to the retail giant being sued by its shareholders. Other companies following suit include Amazon, Meta, Lowe’s, Toyota, and Walmart.

In conversation with Julie Hyman of Yahoo! Finance during a fireside chat at the Economic Club of New York, Robert F. Smith, the second richest Black man in America, explains what he believes the real issue is regarding DEI. He states that 340.1 million people reside in the United States and argues against excluding certain groups. This also applies to the 63% of white women who held DEI leadership roles.

 “You’re going not to include them?… No, you are. People are just maybe offended by the way that certain of the programs were administered,” Smith told the outlet. He also mentioned, “America should be a place of meritocracy, but not just meritocracy in race, but meritocracy in an opportunity set.”

Smith says companies will continue to hire top talent, which he believes will drive the onboarding of diverse candidates because “people have now been educated and have opportunities, and so the best people are very diverse now relative to what it was maybe 40, 50 years ago when people didn’t have access to education and educational opportunities to enable them to be successful in the workforce,” he explained.