However, I don't understand what DEI programs inside a company post hiring are supposed to "DO" and I think a lot of expectations around them start to very quickly expose some absurdities and amorphous nature of the idea surrounding internal private company DEI programs.
In the end private companies can't undo racism, they can't undo the past, that's a human problem that private companies whose job it is to make money just aren't equipped to address in a way that would satisfy folks concerned with other social problems.
For Shopify:
>Wavering internal support turned into concrete action in recent months when entire teams dedicated to helping Black and Indigenous entrepreneurs were laid off.
Is that even helpful? Is Shopify the right choice for Black and Indigenous entrepreneurs? Shopify is just a product. Shopify isn't a charity, they're not necessarily going to produce a positive outcome for every customer ... so emphasizing customers among a minority, is that a net positive for sure?
That's the weird aspect I wonder about DEI and external efforts.
Internally, it feels like a private company having resource groups for specific minorities again runs into a similar issue where that's not the company's motivation, or even competency ...
I think private companies can help, but their reach is very limited and larger social problems are just not theirs to solve and they're the wrong people / not equipped to do it.