It’s a shame that some of our politicians are being disingenuous about the definition of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

DEI was never intended to ensure that underqualified individuals who are in DEI categories must be hired even if they are un- or under-qualified. The intent of DEI has been to ensure that people in those categories are at least afforded an opportunity to apply for various positions. Appropriate knowledge and the ability to do the job should always take precedence and DEI does nothing to override that.

In today’s political environment, however, we should probably add a category that takes hiring precedence over DEI candidates. It’s called incompetence.

Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.