Diversity, equity, and inclusion are actually three separate Gen Z demands for their workplace.

Solution: Collectively society must emphasize the process to see the difference, understand the difference, and accept the difference.

The military is no stranger to acronyms. We likely have more than any other organization in the world. They serve an excellent purpose when used tactically to abbreviate long-worded actions over the radio. Our fellow citizens in the civilian sector understandably aren't as good at making acronyms with actionable meanings. They sometimes clump together drastically different nouns in the hope that they coalesce around one central message, often accidentally obfuscating the individual words. During my summer internship at Goldman Sachs, the senior partners had some of us junior Zers work on defining ESG since it was the raging new topic for Wall Street investing. When putting together our final presentation decks, we discovered that while people do care about environmental, social, and governance issues when they put money into companies, the three words as a whole have very little to do with each other.

More than this, there is a new buzz acronym that is generating controversy and discussion amongst employers: DEI, standing for diversity, equity, and inclusion. While similar and certainly related, it’s important to break down what each of these words mean. Especially for organizations and leaders unfamiliar with these concepts, it will be important to understand that each word is a separate Gen Z demand for their workplace and larger society. The concepts are related, and their relationships to each other matter. So I will explore each word in isolation and in connection. Overall, they call for a process of seeing the difference, understanding the difference, and accepting the difference among fellow Americans…

Matthew Weiss is currently an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His book, “We Don’t Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” is available on amazon in paperback, e-book, and audiobook format.