A Few Words About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
George Floyd’s murder in the spring of 2020 fueled an already-developing awareness of the need to correct rampant societal issues of disparity and inequity. Workplaces were pressured to take a stand, at least verbally, about their commitment to creating just, inclusive, diverse environments. Many of them did so with a flourish, but a quick glance through the headshots of C-suites, partners, boards, and executive teams in major organizations reveals that lip service about diversity does not equate to changes at the top. White heterosexual cis-gendered men are still running most everything.
A (Very) Brief History:
Let’s take a brief look at how this came to be. When the United States was founded in the 1700s, white men were the only ones who could own property. (Black folks and white women were considered the property of white men.) When these property owners died, their white sons were the only ones who could inherit their property, thus launching a system in which white males started amassing wealth with a leg up.
If this doesn’t make sense to you, let’s talk about it in a modern-day context. Did you grow up with parents who were literate? Did your parents have bank accounts? Did you always have some form of food on your table and roof over your head? Did you have books, magazines, or other reading materials in your house? Did you have access to higher education, even if it meant taking out student loans? If so, you started out ahead of the game compared to many minorities in this country. These may seem like small advantages, especially if you didn’t grow up with wealth, but they still put you in a position of privilege. And privileged people tend to know other privileged people, leading to more opportunities for networking around employment, education, and social status.
If you have thirty dollars in your bank account until your next paycheck, you are more concerned with the cost of groceries and utilities than you are with the stock market or the price of real estate. However, if you have a cushion of savings, you experience less existential stress and perhaps you can think about investing money and growing your net worth. If you were fortunate enough to have an inheritance, you got that extra financial boost without having to work for it. Obviously not all white men received an inheritance in the 1700s and 1800s, but zero women and black folks received one. Laws began to change in the mid 1800s, giving more rights to black people and to women, but the playing field was far from being leveled (and remains unequal 150 years later).
Think of it this way: white men had an opportunity to board a train that left the station in the 1700s, and that train has been moving forward ever since. Women and minorities started being allowed to board their trains in the mid 1800s, with some still denied boarding until almost the 21st century. Even if their trains travel rapidly, they have so much catching up to do it’s going to take a long time.
Why the Resistance to DEI?
The slow nature of this change is one of the reasons C-level executives may be likely to drift in their commitments to DEI initiatives. Creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization takes a lot of sustained effort. DEI has to be completely institutionalized, woven into the fabric of the organization, and viewed as an ongoing journey without a finish line. It’s not a crash diet, it’s learning to practice healthy eating for a lifetime, which can be a harder sell because it’s less flashy.
It’s easier to give something away when it doesn’t require a sacrifice. If I have a whole pack of gum I feel great about offering you a piece; but when I have one stick left and it’s either me or you, that’s a tougher decision. Am I going to ask my (white) friend to step off the board so I can appoint someone who brings more diversity? How will I tell my best friend I’m passing his son over for a promotion in order to move a black woman up the ranks? Am I willing to give up my seat in order to distribute the power differently? Finding justification for not wanting to do these difficult things has kept us stuck in the systems that perpetuate the current system of power.
Why Put Time and Money Into DEI?
With all this talk about sustained effort, what is the incentive for companies to put time and money into DEI initiatives? First and foremost, it’s the right thing to do. Going out of your way to acquire and promote diverse talent is one way of beginning to right a system that has been skewed for centuries. But there are also more practical and tangible reasons why DEI is a good investment.
Statistics show that companies with meaningful DEI initiatives create stronger relationships between the organization and its stakeholders. Consumers have a more favorable view of diverse companies, and demonstrate this with their buying power. Employees report having more trust and loyalty when they perceive their company is actively involved in DEI efforts. Employees also report higher levels of morale and job satisfaction when their workplace demonstrates a commitment to diversity. This increase in morale and job satisfaction leads to decreased turnover, thereby making a significant impact on the company’s bottom line.
Increased awareness and comprehensive training are important pieces of creating a DEI initiative in your workplace. However, without a meaningful commitment to making changes, these efforts won’t yield significant results. You don’t want to get so sidetracked with raising cultural sensitivity that you forego taking concrete action to recruit diverse talent and create diverse leadership.
Assessing your company’s current DEI efforts and designing a tailored initiative to make them a top priority can sometimes be done from within the organization. However, you usually can’t read the label from inside the bottle. Having objective outside consultation is highly recommended to gain the best results.