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Has anyone else noticed the quiet decline in traditional corporate approaches to diversity, equity and inclusion over the last few years? As a former Chief Diversity Officer, it feels like we’re heading for a reboot of some sort, and that’s fine with me.
Despite the significant initiatives and programs developed over the last two decades, we’re still aspiring for more progress. No doubt our collective actions were well-intended, and I know many individuals who grew professionally from the investments that were made. But if you asked me if those programs made the broader organization more diverse, more inclusive, more equitable? I’m not so sure.
It's taken me years to simplify the language in my own head. I hope my distilled definitions are useful to you.
Diversity (D) = representation
This is the counting of categories of people, based on a demographic attribute.
Inclusion (I) = behaviors
This is how we treat one another, heavily influenced by the social and neuroscience of innate biases.
Equity (E) = processes
These are systemic policies, procedures and practices that enable ongoing, organization-wide decision making (also influenced by innate biases.)
Belonging (B) = emotions
These are the feelings and sense of shared identity that result from how DEI is operationalized — or not.
Reimagining DEIB
The research about diverse teams is clear: they are more innovative and productive, but they are harder to be a part of, as they require slowing down, seeking differing perspectives and taking purposeful actions that help mitigate our innate biases. The good news is there’s plenty of evidence that organizations have been willing to invest. However, a palpable shift appears to be underway.
Firms are currently rethinking their values to incorporate their post-pandemic, contemporary views of work — and DEIB is ripe for reimagining. I continue to believe most organizations really do care about this space. However, DEIB appears to have faded as a priority, somewhat concurrent with the global pandemic. That decrescendo seems counterintuitive.
I’ve been fortunate to have professional friends who are “different” from me who are willing to share their lived experiences. It’s so instructive and eye-opening, as sometimes good intentions get lost in execution. Reflecting on what I’ve heard from other professionals in this space, the gaps often occur because of flawed assumptions — or the absence of empathy — during the design process. I remember being struck by the clarity of a 28-year-old, African American colleague during an employee experience focus group when he said, “I will not be used as the company’s Instagram marketing bait anymore.” So powerful yet so frustrating at the same time. His courage opened the door for the real conversation, and the sentiment was not isolated to him. There was a genuine decoherence between what individuals were told when they were hired and their actual lived experience once they were on the job.
Related Article: Is DEI Sustainable in the Workspace?
How We Can Shift Our Approaches
Building on our good intentions, what might we fundamentally change about our approaches? Strong recruitment is not enough. The goal is for diverse talent to stay, thrive and influence our collective success. Here are four shifts that I believe are worthy of consideration.
Context is essential to success.
Programs and initiatives that aren’t explicitly tied to organizational culture are destined to fall short. Link your DEIB commitments to successful business outcomes and be transparent about the “why” behind those decisions. The human brain craves certainty and without it, ambiguity can create stress. Behavioral science research has shown that people are more likely to cling to the status quo if they don’t understand why change is happening. Share the why.
Take a holistic approach to your people ecosystem.
If you want diverse talent to feel a genuine sense of belonging, it requires empathy and a bit of design thinking. An employee’s experience is formed not only by what happens to them directly, but also by what they observe happening to others at work. Training colleagues on implicit biases is a good step, but insufficient on its own. Two areas that need more focus are 1) embedding inclusive behaviors in developmental programs and rewarding their use, and 2) ensuring equitable HR policies that include process steps for mitigating unconscious biases.
Related Article: Are You Developing Diverse Talent?
Develop talent in the diverse teams that reflect their daily reality.
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Dedicated programs for diverse talent can foster psychological safety and potentially build life-long friendships. The same is true for affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs). However, developmental programs that isolate diverse talent are likely doing them a disservice, perpetuating “other” status as another form of exclusion. For individuals to succeed, they need networks, relationships and visibility across the full depth and breadth of the organization.
Adopt a growth mindset.
Put less focus on proving your commitment to others and instead, celebrate ongoing progress which includes learning from your successes and failures. There’s no substitute for shared meaning — which only happens when we talk with and learn from one another.
