In 1996, Training magazine published an article of mine called “Ending the Workplace Diversity Wars.” And while we all know that some battles have been won, the diversity wars are not over yet. What more can we do?
Then and now, the goal remains the same: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is still about changing daily business habits and behaviors so we all build workplaces where differences are welcomed and appreciated, and individuals are fully engaged with and included in their workplaces as trustworthy colleagues. I believed then and still believe that practical training is a critical element of these objectives.
However, my opinion back in 1996 was that the training component of many diversity programs too often undermined the outcomes it intended to create. As I review current DEI efforts, two critical issues from long ago remain and are limiting further progress in stopping the war. And organizations won’t make the progress they desire until they deal with these challenges head-on.
Uniting Rather Than Dividing
You can’t unite by dividing people. Yet much of the training currently being delivered includes stereotypes around race and gender or gender identity; for example, the stories embedded in the training show people of a given race or gender all behaving a certain way. This approach does the opposite of what it intends; it makes the people of that race or gender feel even more isolated or alienated from the organization. And that spawns resentment and backlash that interfere with progress and undermine business objectives.
What unites people are commonalities that allow for differences. What can do that? In the workplace, we need to focus on shared goals, organizational values (such as respect and inclusion), and common core behaviors with standards that are applied equally to everyone.
The training component of any initiatives must communicate that DEI is a business issue for the enterprise. It must convey expectations regarding behaviors that will produce the best business performance—behaviors linked to organizational mission, vision, values, and the rights and responsibilities of corporate citizenship. Establishing these principles brings people together and opens a pathway that allows for a deeper understanding of differences in the context of what individuals share when they come to work every day.
Avoiding Risk vs. Changing Behaviors
Here in 2022, just as in 1996, published stories, case studies, and research indicate that many diversity initiatives, though well intended, are ineffectual in changing leader and team behaviors back on the job.
Organizations must acknowledge that training is necessary but not sufficient to change behavior. You can’t alter day-to-day habits with a single dose of “training medicine.” Live learning experiences, in-person and virtual, and online programming can help set basic standards and ideas. But they must be reinforced regularly back on the job by leaders and team members alike for them to change “cultural” behaviors in a lasting, meaningful way.
To that end, leaders and team members need to talk about DEI issues just as they do any other business topics, establishing improvement goals, crafting strategies, identifying challenges, and so on. The core of this work must involve the leaders employees deal with daily; lasting cultural change can’t be delivered by subject matter experts alone. It takes reinforcement in the form of regular discussions led by leaders around acceptable (and unacceptable) behaviors and support for people as they try to turn ideas into actions.
Changing behavior also requires ongoing learning and application. People need to know what to do on the job to prevent problems, discuss them and work them out when they arise whenever possible, and move forward.
Also, the everyday experience of DEI is woven into the fabric of everything going on in the workplace. Therefore, DEI efforts cannot be isolated from other behavior-related business topics. The ability to create a welcoming environment where everyone can contribute to their fullest is not just about DEI. While that’s part of the picture, it also involves everything from EEO and civil rights to safety and civility in everyday interactions.
In short, to be effective, DEI training can’t be just about DEI alone. The training needs to focus on the shared values and behavior expectations that will unite people. Training that focuses on one silo at a time just makes it harder for people to understand what they should do day in and day out as they try to perform their work.
And this must be driven by a structured commitment where leaders model how to live out the organization’s values daily. That way, employees at every level see DEI as essential to the business, not just something talked about by experts in a training program.
A Path Forward
In the last few years, organizations in every sector have announced or renewed their commitment to DEI workplace initiatives. How employers, leaders, and team members approach DEI will determine whether their actions will lead to lasting cultural change and better operational results, divisiveness, and negative workplace impacts.
Too many organizations spend too much energy trying to check the box on DEI training. When it comes to DEI and behavior change, it’s time to chuck the box to ensure that DEI is not just something that gets talked about in the classroom or in online courses.
The positive outcomes can be achieved only if DEI training helps to unite rather than divide and is treated as a part of a larger picture where leaders and team members are using a shared commitment to core values and behaviors to create lasting change and improve the organizational, team, and individual results.
