In my 20+ years as a DEIJ trainer and consultant, I have always believed in “the power of one.” As an increasing number of individuals take a stand to foster a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just workplace, we will also surely witness the transformative impact that the “power of many” can collectively bring about.
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There is a misconception that DEIJ is some convoluted concept that was created to be divisive and that ultimately does more harm than good. Acronyms can be easily misunderstood when a lack of understanding causes people to fill in the blanks in ways that distort the original purpose.
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I can only conclude that too many white men, whether consciously or unconsciously, are buying into The Great Replacement Theory, and they fear losing power and dominance. If we do not uphold our democratic principles, we will all lose in the end.
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Abandoning DEIJ efforts is not an option. Only by persevering, even in this volatile and polarizing environment, can organizations continue to make progress in this field: achieving non-trivial results that benefit not only the underrepresented groups but the organization as a whole. Here are just two examples from the largest organizations continuing these initiatives and reaping the benefits DEIJ can bring.
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Imagine this: Your HR Manager announced that one of your employees, Christian, has decided to embark on a journey of gender transition and will now be transitioning to a female identity named Christina. This will, no doubt, send ripples through your organization and will require thoughtful planning and support. What should the next steps for the company be?
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Every business and every industry are unique just as each employee, and this needs to be considered by everyone working in this field. In order for DEI to be successful, it is important that you have the stakeholders’ buy-in at all times. Let me offer some framework on what to develop and implement to support an inclusive workplace…
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The current anti-diversity rhetoric became very loud only after organizations pledged to focus on racial diversity after the murder of George Floyd. Diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts center on many dimensions of identity in addition to race including gender and gender identity, military status, people with disabilities, religion, and generational differences. Diversity objectives are about all employees, not just those who are protected by legislation.
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DEI training, in the absence of an inclusive company culture, can lead to defensiveness, discomfort, and worse, including frustration and distrust if employees feel that the training will not be followed by concrete plans demonstrating leadership’s accountability and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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In recent weeks, DEI consultants and facilitators have been inundated with requests for educational sessions responding to the current racial and sociopolitical climate. This learning is essential and long overdue. And it also has the potential to be transformative for individuals and organizations alike—when it’s done right. It is critical that those tasked with designing learning experiences leverage these best practices in service of racial justice understanding.
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We recognize that the words we use to talk about our work and the interpretations of the words and concepts are critical to making progress. In the context of decolonizing DEI work, it is imperative that we begin to muster up the courage to call out language that perpetuates injustices and inequities, whether intentionally or not. It is important to stop using language that sanitizes meanings in service of white fragility or to satisfy those in power—and replace it with heretofore taboo terminology, especially in the corporate world.
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Beyond the why of this work, practitioners also need to rethink the how. DEI work almost always starts in the C-Suite, by far the least diverse area of organizations, with women and people of color holding only 28% of those positions. That means the people who have most benefitted from privilege and inequity are the ones tasked with spearheading the effort to break down those very systems. A top-down DEI plan for an organization makes a critical assumption that should make the conscientious practitioner uncomfortable: that those with decision-making power know what is best for marginalized employees.
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While the “business case” may be an effective way for the largely white-dominated fields of D&I and HR professionals to connect to largely white corporate audiences, centering the economics of diversity and inclusion over justice inherently monetizes, and risks further marginalizing, indigenous peoples and people of color. This is what we mean when we say D&I has been “colonized.” As an industry, we are making a case for corporate success as the endgame, with equity and justice as a byproduct rather than the goal.
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