Why diversity programs fail & what you can do about it
Discover how embracing all employees is the sign of an organization truly committed to diversity initiatives.
While many organizations began their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) journey long before the Summer of 2020, the social justice movements that took place after George Floyd’s murder have forced many leaders and companies to initiate a DEI journey for the first time or to accelerate or redefine their plans to better understand and address their employees’ needs and begin the hard work of creating equitable and inclusive work cultures.
As a management consultant that has partnered with hundreds of clients across dozens of industries and sectors, I’ve seen many reasons that diversity programs fail. However, three reasons have particularly stood out over the past year, and each of them is preventable.
No. 1: Lack of commitment from leadership
Leadership sets the example, and if they aren’t authentic and onboard, then the team will view whatever DEI initiatives as disingenuous. DEI efforts must be handled with care, sincerity, and commitment and not seen as just another line item or something mandatory that must be completed by a particular date. When DEI efforts contain well-designed newsletters, communications and presentations but lack connection and sincerity, it will appear — and it will be viewed — as performative. The worst part? Employees and key stakeholders alike see right through performative DEI efforts.
What to do instead: Decide as a leadership team if you will commit to a DEI journey, understand why you are doing it and be genuinely invested. Understand that commitment means not only providing the capital to hire staff, external consultants and other support needs, but it also means being visible as leaders. Showing up at DEI planning meetings, acting as an active sponsor that employees can come to and role modeling inclusive leadership mindset and behaviors. You have to have a certain “gotta wanna” energy about DEI as a leader, role model inclusive behaviors and hold each other accountable towards progressing forward. If you are not ready, do not do it. We typically see what I call a honeymoon phase with DEI efforts. The team gets inspired, people feel heard and important, and then a couple of weeks later, the culture reverts to a problematic default with no mechanism to correct bad behavior. As a result, it deflates morale and creates distrust in leadership because the team won’t view it as a failed effort but as a disingenuous one. In my experience, things can be worse starting a performative DEI journey than not starting one at all.
No. 2: Lack of vision
We find that many organizations, not knowing what to do about DEI but knowing they must do something, make three big mistakes beginning a DEI journey. Mistake one is going out and token hiring underrepresented employees to “appear” more diverse, only to have those individuals leave within a year or less because the organization has unaddressed, deeply seated biases and microaggressions within its culture that made it an unbearable place for underrepresented employees to succeed in the first place. Mistake two is hiring an outside expert to conduct one training workshop on topics like unconscious bias, forcing all employees to attend that one workshop, and believing DEI has been accomplished within their culture as a direct result of that one workshop. Mistake three is doing a lot of tactical things all at once, such as holding DEI events, establishing employee resource groups, doing diversity recruiting, without a clear understanding of how all these activities align to the business strategy, nor a way to measure their impact in terms of successful outcomes.
What to do instead: Leaders must understand that DEI is not a fad diet; it is a lifestyle change. You must determine your DEI vision and how it aligns with your business strategy. DEI is also broader than just an HR topic. Consider how DEI is embedded across systems and practices in other parts of your business such as procurement, marketing and IT. Once you have defined a DEI vision, ensure your employees understand what the DEI vision is alongside short-term and long-term goals. The best DEI vision is one where employees have a seat at the table in helping shape your DEI journey through assessment tools like focus groups, interviews and surveys. Lastly, make sure you measure success and actively monitor progress along the way to make course corrections as required. With a sincere and well-crafted effort, companies will be able to improve their workplace morale and create a welcoming and equitable environment that’s beneficial to everyone.
No. 3: DEI being viewed as a political weapon or a zero-sum game of winners and losers
Especially with the events of 2020, I find that more than ever, DEI has become one of the most misunderstood concepts in the workplace, creating fractures amongst employees. We find that DEI ideals have been politicized and weaponized, being viewed as a zero-sum game that yields racial/gender “winners or losers” when it comes to access to opportunities, advancement and career sponsorship.
In many companies, the trend is all too familiar: On one side of the spectrum, there are a group of passionate employees that say leadership is not doing enough about DEI, and on the other side of the spectrum, another group of employees that think DEI is political, divisive and even racist. Then there are a large majority of employees in the middle that believe in DEI but do not know what to do or even know what it really means in action.
What to do instead: When true DEI is underway at an organization, it is about embracing all employees, regardless of their differences, and ensuring that all practices, policies and rewarded behavior creates equity, fairness and inclusion. Many of my clients are surprised to find out that they are included in the conversation about DEI because, in their mind, DEI is applicable for a select few. Expand the definition of what DEI is and what it is not at your organization. If applicable, seek to decouple the concepts of DEI with politics within the walls of your organization. Should your organization decide to lead with a political stance within DEI, make sure to explain why to employees and how they are all brought along the journey. Ensure your employees understand what DEI means at your company and consistently seek to reinforce behaviors and practices that speak to those ideals and core values.
Opinions expressed here are the author’s own.
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