In a Nutshell…We must stop treating DEI as a stand-alone initiative. It’s not, and it was never meant to be. DEI is part of the DNA of the best workplaces in the U.S., but for the reasons we will describe here, its role as a core success factor has been lost in many cases. Meanwhile, DEI has been falsely blamed as a destructive force designed to divide us or as a form of reverse racism against dominant group members. To survive, DEI must be repositioned as part of – not separate from – each organization’s strategy. Repositioning it also insulates it from the contrarian “cancel” culture that has of late gripped and paralyzed far too many companies.
“Cancel Culture” Attacks DEI
Today, instead of more companies leveraging DEI as part of the organization’s strategy, many are closing their DEI offices, letting go of their staff, and even banning discussion about DEI as they succumb to external forces determined to attack and eliminate anything perceived as “woke.” This puts executives and organizational leaders in a double bind, not wanting to appear too progressive or too conservative to attract and retain employees on either side of the spectrum.
To better understand what caused the hypersensitivity to DEI, we need to backcast four years to mid-2020: Civil rights and the disproportionality of equity and justice for people of color compared to whites came into sharp contrast. Inclusion hires during this era increased by 55%. Over 75% of chief diversity officers hired during that time were White people (which should have been another indicator of a more profound and significant problem).
People took to the streets in peaceful protest as the Black Lives Matter movement became the most significant social movement in U.S. history. We celebrated DEI’s renaissance without noticing the subtle cue that not everyone was on board with what was happening. Disaffected white people, for example, felt left out, targeted, or blamed for being racist, sexist, or homophobic. To them, “DEI” became the problem, and any program or policy supporting social progress or equity in the workplace became labeled as a “woke” or a threat to the majority group.
Meanwhile, corporate investment in DEI-related efforts increased, especially for programs that raised understanding and engagement among straight, white men. Instead of creating forums for DEI dissenters to work through their concerns, many organizations made DEI training mandatory, further fueling the backlash.
Capitalizing on the resentment and fears of this disaffected and unsatisfied group, pundits, self-conferred experts, and social media trolls jumped on the DEI dogpile by singling out successful DEI programs and turning the mob against them. One of their favorite weapons is the “anecdotal fallacy” tactic of lifting the personal experience of isolated individuals as evidence as if the story represents the prevailing truth.
The goal of the trolls isn’t to enhance organizations or our society but to preserve the white-centered, multigenerational supremacy mindsets that got us into this mess in the first place. Our short attention spans and disdain for fact-checking make their job easy.
What to Do? Re-Structure, Re-Center, Re-Brand, Re-Think, and Reinforce
Attempting to relitigate the misinformation spewed by the trolls is a waste of energy. Instead, we recommend shifting the focus back to the ‘prime directive’ of building and running great companies with motivated, talented employees who know they are valued, respected, and safe.
Re-Structure and Re-Center: If your DEI program is under threat, consider making the structural and role changes that de-center DEI and re-center the organization’s strategic direction and intent. Restructuring roles and titles may feel performative, but doing so will be much less painful than being forced to shut down your program.
Re-Brand: Go further by rebranding the CDO position into its twin, the Chief Talent and Culture officer.
Re-Think “Training”: Drop unconscious bias training while expanding leadership development activities that help managers see and work around their assumptions and focus on fairness and psychological safety – terms that are synonymous but less triggering than “equity” and “microaggressions.”
Reinforce: Continually share your strategy commitment to creating an organization that solves the most important problems and attracts and retains the best people. If you want to talk about DEI, make sure to include it with the other elements of your strategy, like LEAN, safety, or agility.
Reassure: Don’t be surprised if you hear employees from underrepresented groups express concern that restructuring and rebranding is actually a form of collusion or “selling out” rather than sticking to the core terms and plans. They’ve got a point; try to listen without justifying or defending. Enlist their help in shifting the terms, without losing the potency of their meaning. Remind them of the “prime directive”: To create workplaces where everyone can belong.
The irony in all of these machinations is that DEI is more critical today than it ever has been. Shutting down a DEI program to mollify nervous customers or boards is a tragic waste of resources and energy. It also needs to send a better message to customers or prospective employees who see the value and believe in DEI.
The more we learn about the organized efforts to dismantle DEI in our society and systems of commerce, the clearer it becomes that these plans are a Blueprint for Disaster.
We urge you to work through the complexities of rebranding DEI rather than sacking it. Nothing proves a point as well as results.
Effenus Henderson is an internationally recognized global diversity thought leader, speaker, author, and expert and was the Chief Diversity Officer for Weyerhaeuser.
Jim Morris is a DEI strategist, author, consultant, speaker, and coach who focuses on engaging insiders in DEI.