How has the shifting landscape of DEI impacted you at work?
Could you use some more conversation with like-minded peers on how to proceed?
It’s a hard time right now for those who have been advocating for belonging, justice, inclusion, diversity, kindness, smart talent development, and the many other names by which we know "DEI." And we can be forgiven for not having “the answers” at the moment. Especially with guidance shifting so rapidly.
I find it profoundly demoralizing and distressing to witness the resulting confusion, demonization, and withdrawal of vital resources across society. And I know I'm not alone. It's so disheartening to watch the about face of corporate leaders. These are some of the same ones who responded to the murder of George Floyd, and before that the #Metoo movement, with increased attention to racism and other systems of discrimination--however incomplete those efforts were. Now that the political winds have shifted, the cowardice and lack of integrity of some key corporate leaders set a cynical tone.
As in other moments of destabilization and lack of leadership (or scary leadership) at the top, it's up to us to keep our values alive in our workplaces and our communities.
A full-frontal attack on the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion is obviously succeeding in important ways, through the sheer use of power and resources.
But this attack runs up against reality in ways that are hard to sustain. You can't change people's commitments and beliefs that quickly. This is especially true if we figure out how to keep advocating for the values that many of us know by the acronymn DEI. Call those values by different names, as many organizations are feeling the need to do. But we know what they are. They’re the core values that not only promote justice but also animate spaces of civility and even community at work, dynamism and innovation, and new leadership and ideas.
We also have decades of research showing that organizations that promote values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and create real opportunities for people of various backgrounds to thrive and lead are the organizations that DO BETTER! They’re more profitable and innovative, and serve their stakeholders more effectively.
In a Pew survey in 2023, more than half of U.S. workers (56%) said that DEI efforts in the workplace were largely a positive thing. In that same survey, “by double-digit margins, more say being a woman, being Black or being Hispanic makes it harder than [those who] say it makes it easier to be successful where they work.” It’s also true that in 2024 surveys, a plurality of Americans had more negative views of DEI, and support was declining overall as the political rhetoric escalated.
But it’s hard to really undo what more and more people have come to understand. A crackdown on people’s efforts to make their workplaces more kind, humane, just, and inclusive can succeed in the short term, and it is doing harm to people most marginalized in ways that we have not had time to even begin to evaluate. But it’s not sustainable.
And we are not powerless, though of course some of us have more power and privilege than others.
There are thought leaders out there helping remind us of this, people who are finding ways to use the moment to keep pivoting, and keep finding a way. Latasha Morrison, for example, author of Be the Bridge and Brown Faces, White Spaces, had this to say in an interview with Forbes: “As DEI practitioners, we're not married to the current terminology. Our goal is to create a culture of belonging for every employee, regardless of race, gender or disability. Broadening DEI to include more than race and gender helps bring more potential allies into the conversation."
And Lily Zheng, writing in Harvard Business Review, says, “People want more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces, but the initiatives and approaches common to mainstream DEI are far from the only way to achieve them.” Zheng is the author of Reconstructing DEI and DEI Reconstructed, and her article creates fascinating food for thought and conversation.
How are you supporting yourself and others during this stressful time?
What conversations are you having in and beyond your workplace?
Are your needs for these conversations being met at work or in your own circles, or are you feeling the need to widen your circle and get some support?
We can be vision keepers through this time, and we can support one another.
Let's meet the moment together!
Please reach out if you'd like to learn about peer roundtable opportunities for support and inspiration across organizations and industries.
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