INDIANAPOLIS DEI, or diversity equity, and inclusion, aims to make workplaces and the government a more welcoming place for everyone. Some organizations say DEI does the opposite which is why they want to see it eliminated. It comes as one of Governor Mike Brauns's first executive orders was to shift from DEI initiatives to a focus on Merit, Excellence, and Innovation (MEI)."If you just pursue merit and excellence then you will naturally have diversity," Ethan Peck, the Deputy Director of the Free Enterprise Project, said.The Free Enterprise Project buys shares in companies and often submits proposals for changes they would like to see. The organization recently has been trying to convince large corporations to eliminate DEI from their training and practices. They say DEI is bad for business.The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) goes further, labeling DEI as illegal, particularly when companies implement hiring quotas for specific demographic groups. The NLPC argues that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already provides sufficient protections for marginalized individuals."The equity thing basically is substituting equity for equality," Paul Kamenar, the Chief Legal Counsel of the NLPC, said. "Equity means they are going to have mandated results regardless of the merit of the applicant." The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana defends DEI initiatives, stating they do not create mandatory hiring quotas. The ACLU warns that dismantling DEI could negatively affect workplace productivity."Those workplaces are going to revert to ones where folks don't feel welcome and have a hard time doing their best work," Chris Daley, the Executive Director of the ACLU of Indiana, said. Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodrick Bray reports rising requests from constituents to eliminate DEI initiatives. "We need to make sure that whatever we do is not discriminatory in nature and is merit-based, and I think that is the effort of these DEI bills trying to get us there," Bray said.Senate Democrats offer a different perspective, arguing that the push to eliminate DEI is driven more by political motivations than doing the right thing. "These are culture wars that score political points, but the only folks who lose in the end are Hoosiers," Senator Shelli Yoder, Democratic Minority Leader, said. This week, two DEI-related bills advanced out of committee and will soon face debate on the Senate floor, where discussions are expected to be extensive.