Suddenly DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is in the news, and the news from some sources is that DEI is a dangerous toxic movement undermining our society. Organizations are being threatened for promoting DEI, even though they have demonstrated tangible benefits from their DEI initiatives.
There is so much misinformation that we need to take a step back and objectively review DEI to decide if it is a danger or enhancement to our organizational and societal well-being. As leaders in Training and Development, you are critical gatekeepers in helping your employees and organizations succeed during these turbulent times, with accurate information about the subject. Since the topic may be new to many of your employees, this column will provide a brief overview and clarification of the basics.
Diversity
Diversity is all of us. Humans have the unique ability to control a part of their destiny. We can create social environments that are conducive to providing the benefits of humanity to all or to a very few. For example, cancer is a medical disease that afflicts all humanity while bigotry, bias and discrimination are social cancers created by humans to isolate and insulate us from one another. This will keep us weak and ignorant, leading us to apply our creativity, ingenuity, and resources to build walls and weapons rather than building opportunities to learn from each other. Bias can build intragroup solidarity and intergroup hostility. This will keep us weak and ignorant, leading us to apply our creativity, ingenuity, and resources to build walls and weapons rather than building opportunities to learn from each other.
There isn’t a person or group who has not been the object of discrimination and bigotry. The status of any group is based on history, location, and power. Diversity is not simply a matter of skin color, religious persuasion, gender, sexual orientation, or any one of the hundreds of factors that has been used by one group to feel superior and/or threatened by another group. There clearly are those from any group who are ethnocentric and preach the superiority of their group over others. No one group is inherently superior or inferior to any other group; it all depends on context. One way of understanding context is by considering the meaning of the term, “minority group.”
A minority group is any group that is singled out for differential treatment based on physical, cultural, or social factors and sees itself as an object of discrimination. The key difference between a minority group and a dominant group is power.Power is the ability to control one’s future and, in most contexts, power is not distributed equally. Those in power typically try to retain and increase their privileged position to the detriment of those with less power. In some cases, those in power are not even aware of their “unseen privileges.” DEI is not going to end inequality of power. But it will help us to understand the cost and harm bias has on our common destinies. Any initiative to help us overcome our biases should be celebrated as it adds value to us all.
Equity
Equity is creating an environment where there are the same opportunities for all. Equity is not the same as equality. Equity is giving everyone an equal opportunity to be unequal. For example, in some countries, all schools get the same budget per pupil, teachers get the same pay, there is a common curriculum, and support is given to anyone who wants extra help at no cost. While this does not result in everyone being equal, it does improve the opportunity for each individual to succeed and to make a greater contribution to the whole of the society. Societies that allow wealthy children to get a significantly better education than those with less wealth are creating a society that must be unequal even if the same measures of “merit” are used in college admissions, hiring, advancement, etc.
Inclusion
Inclusion also can be referred to as belonging. Inclusion is the active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with all diverse group members, especially those who are prevented from full engagement with the group. For example, leaders provide opportunities for professional development only to those who are in a similar social class, religion, race, etc. Those who are not members of the “in” group will be excluded and will be more likely to leave their jobs, which will prove they are less loyal and justifies not promoting them. This process of “blaming the victim” is well known to those who are not part of the “in” group. For example, in many cases, people who work at headquarters get better professional development opportunities than those who work in distant locations simply because they have better access to leaders and information. This is referred to as “proximity bias,” and organizations can take actions to remedy this.
Training and Development
DEI education and training has helped create more inclusive organizations by giving diverse employees the opportunity to be heard and increase their chances to make a meaningful contribution to the organization. Diverse perspectives improve all aspects of the organization, including employee engagement, marketing, innovations, and other success factors. One of the largest sporting goods brands believed that only men would buy their products until the organization appointed its first female member to its board of directors. The new board member convinced the company to offer products aimed for females. The company now sells more products to women then to men. In the past decades, we have learned much from veterans, those with unseen disabilities, and others, which helps us to build more inclusive organizations.
Next Steps
Each person reading this will have to make difficult decisions about providing education and training around DEI. To make your job a bit easier, here is a link to many of my “Best Practices” articles published by Training magazine: https://trainingmag.com/author/neal-goodman/. These short articles provide practical information, as well as insights into areas such as:
- Measuring the Impact of Diversity Training
- Should Diversity Training Be Illegal?
- How to Have Difficult Conversations
- Unconscious Bias
- Selecting a DEI Trainer
I want to invite all readers to write to me with any questions regarding DEI. I will answer them confidentially and privately and at no cost. We all must do our best to build on and defend the progress our society and organizations have made in diversity, equity and inclusion. As leaders in professional training and development, we must do what we can to call out bigotry and bias at work and in our communities, and provide the training and development that helps all of us to reach our full potential.