Is DEI in your Business Progressive Wokeism, or is it Good Business Sense?
I facilitated a 'lunch and learn' event at a client site recently on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - "DEI." They'd had a committee on the topic for a while now but it lacked representation from some key roles within the company. They also wanted to expand the conversation to the whole staff to start broadening engagement around the topic.
This is a bit of a tricky undertaking in the sense that everyone is coming to the conversation with their own concept of what DEI means out in the world, and what it means to them personally. Therefore, we kept it simple.
The premise, I told them, is that certain stakeholder groups have been left out. This costs us. This costs includes an emotional toll of course on those who have been left out, but it is an opportunity cost for everyone. Wikipedia says it more formally, here:
Diversity, equity, and inclusion refers to organizational frameworks which seek to promote "the fair treatment and full participation of all people", particularly groups "who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination" on the basis of identity or disability.
Before I shared this premise with the group, I risked my credibility and told them that I actually wasn't a "DEI expert." I explained that while I do consider myself an expert in harnessing diversity of thought within teams, and inclusive leadership behaviors, I wasn't someone who represents or speaks often about DEI as a social movement.
I told the group that I shared this, even though it might risk undermining my credibility that day, because I wanted to model for them one of THE MOST IMPORTANT concepts about DEI work: you don't have to be an expert and you're almost guaranteed to not feel like one in order to engage the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It's a learning journey. If you stick with the mentality of "that's that thing that other people know about and care about and there's so much about it that I don't get" then, well, we will all just stay in the same place.
Once we can relate personally to the concepts, even if we're not a member of a systemically marginalized group, we are on our way to greater awareness. Over the next three blogs in this series, I'll share with you the definitions and stories I told the group.
So is DEI work just progressive wokeism? Let’s define “DEI work” first: engaging the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and often includes stepping into uncharted, unfamiliar territory for oneself. Well, it is progress, but it doesn't have to be political. And it does build one's awareness, but it doesn't have to be put in the "woke" bucket which, to me, ironically implies an in-group and an out-group.
Is DEI work good business sense? Yes, according to Deloitte (1). An inclusive culture is:
2x more likely to meet financial targets
3x as likely to be high performing
6x more likely to be innovative and agile
8x more likely to achieve better business outcomes
If you would like to start -- or continue -- along your own DEI learning journey, do it. There is no right way. And it will of course make you a better leader.
Look out for the rest of the posts in this series where I will walk you through a definition, personal story, and thought-provoking question for each of the three values - diversity, equity, and inclusion.
