As the number of organizations gutting, shuttering, and micromanaging DEIA programs increases, many of us—experts, practitioners, employees, customers, students, members, et al—wonder what can we do to stop the dismantling of initiatives that protect rights, empower diversity, and encourage inclusion?
The overwhelming barrage of negative information and disinformation can result in people shutting down. It is entirely understandable to want to limit our exposure to painful, hateful words (actions). But, there are many ways to refute and resist lies and hate speech and doing so feels much better than stewing in silence!
On July 29, 1992 when I was the E.E.O. Director for the City of New York’s Department of Transportation, Ray Kerrison, a reporter for the New York Post, wrote an article attacking our establishment of an affinity group for LGBTQi employees, entitled, “City has $$ for gays, not potholes.” We had enough money for filling potholes and for E.E.O. initiatives including providing antidiscrimination education that created an inclusive and safe place for employees.
The same words and tactics are being used now, thirty-three years later. Extremists are blaming the devastation of the massive fires in California on DEI and being “woke.” I won’t amplify any of those voices by quoting them or linking to sources that do amplify them. I will say clearly and affirmatively that these tactics did not work thirty-three years ago, and they are not working now.
I will continue to develop and facilitate education on antidiscrimination and to support my clients in the creation of strategic plans that incorporate the importance of having a diverse community, the value of being inclusive, the ethics of equity and justice, and the positive results of having an organizational culture that helps people to feel like they belong and matter.
For those of you who are not DEIA experts and wonder what may happen if your employer succumbs to this unhealthy ‘anti-inclusion’ trend, here are some recommendations. First, I would ask myself the following questions:
1. Have I benefited by being in relationship with people who are different from myself (ethnically, racially, educationally, economically, culturally)?
2. Have I improved my communication skills and professional interaction through learning about microaggressions, unconscious bias, allyship, and other DEIA subjects?
3. Do I believe that people deserve to be protected from bullies, sexists, racists, homophobes, islamophobes, and antisemites?
4. Do I believe that there are barriers to full inclusion for BIPOC, LGBTQi, and other people including their national origin, religion, and other characteristics?
If you have answered “yes” to any of the above questions, BRAVO!
The next step is to determine how effective your organization’s DEIA efforts are. I have been ranting about this for years: not all programs are the same. A twenty-minute video may be sufficient to teach me how to create a pivot table on a spreadsheet, but is unlikely to help me to understand and navigate our long and painful history of racism. In other words, quality matters and so it is critical that those who are leading DEIA efforts are truly experts in this complicated and challenging field. Organizations that have made a solid commitment (aka investment) in sustainable, strategic DEIA cultures, including genuine support for their DEIA teams, have reaped the rewards. The qualitative and quantitative benefits are apparent as survey after survey shows. In our own case, more than 90% of the more than 10,000 attendees of our workshops have responded to the evaluations stating that their experience was positive and beneficial to their role in the organization. So, who do you think employers will ultimately listen to in the battle for organizational culture?
But Wendy, I am not a DEIA expert! What can I do? Well, there is quite a bit. If you are employed by an organization whether public, private, or non-profit, let the decision makers know that you have benefitted by the organization’s DEIA efforts and want them to continue. Let them know that you want to work in an organization where diversity is valued, inclusion is intentional, equal opportunities based on your experience and knowledge are the standard, and accessibility for everyone is expected. Do not wait for a statement on social media about your organization going back in time to speak up. Speak up now! If there is an anonymous employee feedback mechanism (for those of you who may not feel safe to speak out openly), then use that and encourage your co-workers to do so as well.
Employers will not want to risk losing their top employees or worse, having a mass exodus of employees because they sought to win favor with a temporary regime. Most employers know that they are doing much better because of diversity than they were before. There is a great deal of data to prove this. Now, you have an excellent opportunity remind them of this.
This applies to college students, customers and members of all types of organizations. We must ask if an organization which receives our resources: time, money, energy, and support is aligned with our values and beliefs. If not, we must exercise our right to choose the organizations that we can and should belong to.
Just as every vote counts during an election, every voice counts during times of cultural change. Rather than the one negative sound bite that is repeated incessantly on corporate media (whether cable or social media), think how incredible it would be if a multitude of voices expressing the belief that being ‘woke’ and diverse and inclusive and equitable and having access while belonging to a healthy organization is a fantastic thing!
By the way, I wrote the New York Post in response to the misinformation that they published. In that letter, I invited Ray Kerrison, the author of the article to attend one of my workshops. He never responded, although the paper did acknowledge the errors in his article. Additionally, the employee who led our LGBTQi group also wrote to the paper to clarify the facts regarding the minimal cost of the initiative (all members of the group participated voluntarily, at no cost to taxpayers) and the New York Post printed his letter.
Today is the perfect day for you to speak up. I expect that if you do, you will find that there are many, many other people who are in harmony with you.
Onward!
Wendy