How Equality Wins with Kenji Yoshino

In this episode of *Your Working Life*, host Caroline Dowd-Higgins interviews Kenji Yoshino, co-author of *How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America*, about the current crisis facing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the U.S. Yoshino traces the decline of DEI momentum to the 2023 Supreme Court decision in *Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard*, which ended race-conscious affirmative action and shifted legal precedent toward an 'anti-classification' view of equality. Despite this, Yoshino argues that much of the work of DEI remains legally viable under a framework he calls 'organizational equality'—focusing on leveling the playing field through bias-free systems rather than lifting marginalized groups with group-specific advantages. He critiques both the political backlash against DEI and the internal orthodoxy within the movement, advocating instead for dissent, inclusion of new identity groups, and strategies like structured interviews and blind evaluations. Drawing on demographic trends—majority-minority projections, rising female college graduates, and growing LGBTQ+ identification—Yoshino expresses cautious but firm hope that the nation’s increasing diversity will inevitably demand new skills in bridging differences, ensuring that the 'project of equality' endures. Key takeaways include: 1) DEI is not dead—many practices remain legal and effective under a 'leveling' strategy; 2) Replace 'lifting' (group-specific advantages) with 'leveling' (removing systemic bias for all); 3) Embrace dissent to strengthen inclusion and build resilient allyship; 4) Expand the DEI tent to include claims of enforcement (e.g., religious identity), symmetry (e.g., men’s mental health), and extension (e.g., socioeconomic status); 5) Demographic inevitability will drive the need for cross-difference collaboration. The episode concludes with a call to action: reframe the conversation around practical, inclusive strategies that prioritize human connection over ideological purity.