As a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) practitioner for the last decade, I have watched the depressing evolution of the field. It started as a way to address embedded discrimination in the workplace, at schools and in communities, then turned into a catch-all cure for systemic injustices around the world.
3 Events That Helped Create the Attack on DEI
- The U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings, in 2023, against anti-discrimination admissions policies in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina
- The rise of anti-wokeism
- The rebranding of DEI as critical race theory
These days, DEIB is a political scapegoat during a contentious election year.
The March 2024 United States House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing, titled Divisive, Excessive, Ineffective: The Real Impact of DEI on College Campuses, has been one of many coordinated efforts to silence and stop DEI, not only in education, but everywhere. At this writing, 30 states have either passed or introduced legislation that curtails DEI efforts at workplaces, in schools and in government.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina to effectively end affirmative action in higher education institutions, workplaces have become the next target.
Job postings for DEI roles dropped by as much as 63 percent in 2023, according to a New York Times report. Yet rigorous research conducted by various organizations, from the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center to Pew Research Center, indicates that most Americans believe in DEI. In other words, despite all the anti-wokeism language, support for DEI still exists.
This raises the question: Do workers still want DEI? And if so, how can tech leaders champion DEI even as activists and politicians fight against it?
The Politicization of DEI
To understand what’s going on with DEI, take a look at the United States’ extremely partisan political scene.
Fifty-six percent of American workers believe DEI is important, according to data from a 2023 Pew Research Center study. However, while more than three-quarters (78 percent) of Democrat workers agreed with this sentiment, only 30 percent of Republican workers did.
The reality is that DEI has become more controversial as political actors have stoked community fears about children and young adults questioning their gender identities, their parents’ roles in perpetuating systemic racial injustice, and their responsibilities to those outside of their communities in order to fund campaigns and win elections. Rebranding DEI as critical race theory, a legal framework for looking at race that very few are familiar with or taught, has bolstered vocal pushback against strategies and initiatives that are mostly viewed as favorable.
Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission clearly stated that the Harvard and UNC decisions have no bearing on employers’ DEI initiatives, the decisions have emboldened conservative state attorneys general to hit corporations with subpoenas and lawsuits, especially regarding hiring quotas, identity-specific programs, and performance evaluations that hold managers accountable for diversity.
The decline of worker power is another political and socio-economic issue at play when we consider the growing attack on DEI. In 2020, the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing national protests coincided with an economic resurgence after a period of significant downturn, leading to an 18-month period during which there were fewer eligible workers than the market demanded. This resulted in real growth in the minimum wage, more job opportunities per worker, and increased momentum for unionization, including widespread public support.
Then, the pendulum swung in the other direction as the market shifted in 2022 and 2023, leading to mass layoffs at organizations like Amazon, Google and Apple. The supposed decline in support for DEI has less to do with workers no longer believing in or desiring initiatives, but rather that their employers have more leverage in an uncertain job market.
Developing Durable DEI Strategies and Practices
In my experience, workers support DEI because it fills many of the gaps necessary for better working conditions when executed well and maintained. Ultimately, only through improved protections, broad-sweeping reform and the development of a more robust social safety net can many of the most significant issues for workers from all groups truly thrive in workplaces.
In the meantime, DEI is among the few tools available to employees to advocate for themselves. It’s why despite claims that DEI is dead, no CHROs plan to scale back their DEI initiatives and 63 percent plan to focus on attracting a more diverse workforce, according to Conference Board research.
So, what does a well-executed and durable strategy look like?
Overall, it’s structural and focused on improving foundational issues above more superficial ones. Here are five top strategies that also happen to appeal to a broad group of employees, regardless of their political affiliations:
- Conduct compensation and pay equity analysis every two years with an express commitment to immediately adjusting gaps between roles.
- Create and enforce a customer code of conduct that protects workers from unsafe and discriminatory interactions with the people they serve.
- Train managers on how to eliminate bias in their day-to-day management practices, especially around hiring, performance reviews and terminations.
- Invest in creating physically and digitally accessible spaces that all employees can easily use.
- Partner with employees to design the policies that govern them, from leaves and sick time to advancement criteria.
As mentioned, all groups are likely to benefit from these strategies. Still, those at risk of experiencing discrimination and misconduct will see the most significant impact.
Moreover, these strategies are rooted in processes, meaning turnover may not doom them to fail or disappear. What they also have in common is that they take a significant amount of time and commitment to adopt. This is why choosing fewer initiatives to deliver greater results is an essential step in developing DEI that weathers the changes in the political and social tides.
For the last four decades, the onus for addressing a bad culture or toxic work environment has rested on employees, who are told to work elsewhere instead, despite the real problem many cannot afford to leave, especially in challenging job markets.
Too much of DEI follows the same patterns and assumptions of a system of work that is broken. For example, a common DEI strategy is to focus on increasing diversity at the top of the recruitment pipeline rather than looking at why people from diverse backgrounds don’t stay with the organization or advance as quickly as others.
Similarly, the emphasis on semi-annual anti-bias workshops rather than engaging in real-time, daily on-the-job training with managers tries to address an entrenched issue with a superficial treatment.
To rise above the attacks on DEI to launch and maintain effective initiatives, leaders must build an environment where people from all identities want to work and want to stay.
