DEI Leader in Florida Says New State Policies Have Left Industry in Freefall
“We’re in trouble”
I’m just glad that someone is finally admitting that this is an industry.
The Miami Herald reports:
‘We’re in trouble’: Miami DEI leader says state policies left the industry in freefall
Miami Shores resident Roni Bennett launched South Florida People of Color in 2015 to educate businesses and universities about marginalized communities and help them learn why diversity, equity and inclusion — DEI, for short — is important to the foundation of any company or organization.
A decade later, Bennett has seen her work limited by Florida legislation affecting DEI that has been supported by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, including the 2022 Stop Woke Act. She estimates that her annual revenue, which once hovered around $300,000, has been cut in half because of the legislation.
“We’re in trouble,” said Bennett, 54.
Before Stop Woke, Bennett said South Florida People of Color had sufficient revenue to organize community events. That quickly stopped, she said, after DeSantis signed the act into law in 2022. Many of the businesses that she served stopped requesting the organization’s services.
And with the reelection of Donald Trump, an opponent of DEI measures, many Florida DEI leaders like Bennett are concerned about the future of their educational programming.
Before creating South Florida People of Color, Bennett worked in corporate America as a marketing director for IBM and HP. She found that companies often did not speak about diverse experiences like her own, and that bristled her.
“I know how it is,” she said. “You’re usually the only Black person in a department.”
The 2003 birth of her son Michael changed her perspective. Living and working in Silicon Valley meant that she was spending much of her time around people unlike her and her Jamaican family. Moving to Miami allowed Bennett’s family to better connect with their Caribbean roots.
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Comments
Because it’s not a viable industry without constant government handouts for “training”
It’s why it will always be a grift where the “work is never done” to ensure more payments.
Nor is it viable when major corporations and mine are both realize they no longer have to count out to this crowd by buying training courses from them or be branded racist.
Free fall?
I know a guy with a helicopter who could use the work.
“I know how it is,” she said. “You’re usually the only Black person in a department.”
When you’re a member of a demographic group that only comprises ~13% of the population (way, way less than that in Silicon Valley) I’d think you’d kind of expect that.
The fact that there is an industry built around DEI says everything you need to know about it. It’s not a movement, it’s a grift.
Clearly the current message is that her DEI skill-set is not valued. Then for Roni Bennett perhaps it is time for her to find out what sort of value-added work is within her skill-set.
Why should Bennett have to change. The world should change to meet her requirements. Yeah, that’s the ticket
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