Montgomery County, which added four new positions to its Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion office last month, was featured by The Philadelphia Inquirer today in an article titled “Why Montco is doubling down on expanding its DEI office while Trump pushes against diversity policies“.
According to the story, the investment includes two chief deputy officers, one managing training and another managing data, an administrative assistant for the office, as well as the county’s first director of immigrant affairs.
The positions allow Montgomery County “to increase its use of data to measure DEI outcomes, improve internal training, and help improve inclusivity and accessibility of county services”, county officials said last month.
The county could spend up to $509,000 annually on salaries for the four positions, according to county records.
Republican Commissioner Tom DiBello voted against the positions and cited broad concern that the county was overspending, The Inquirer said. Christian Nascimento, the chair of the Montgomery County GOP, said the initiative is a waste of money.
“I think it’s a pretty transparent response to be kind of anti-Trump and anti-federal government actions,” he told The Inquirer.
Democratic Commissioners Jamila Winder and Neil Makhija, as well as current DEI chief Donna Richemond, declined interviews with The Inquirer.
An excerpt from the article’s “Why is DEI controversial?” passage:
In recent years, DEI has become a focus of GOP ire, even as the work itself and its impacts are often misunderstood. DEI efforts are often designed around correcting for institutional bias and establishing policies that are broadly inclusive, but Republicans have panned the work as discriminatory toward white people and straight men.
Josh Blakesley, the executive director of the Hatboro-based Welcome Project PA, which provides DEI training, said that by expanding the office, Montgomery County sent a clear message that DEI work is important regardless of political controversy.
During a county board of commissioners meeting last week, Winder and Makhija defended the expansion. They argued DEI work results in more qualified candidates for county jobs by ensuring everyone has access to the same opportunities and allowing the county to recruit from a wider candidate pool.
More information on the county’s DEI office can be found here.
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