Why “Diversity and Inclusion” Sets the Bar Too Low
A practical perspective on corporate diversity from a Black woman in business
Diversity: companies want it. In fact, they know they need it. Study after study shows that diverse teams provide better outcomes for organizations, even improving bottom-line earnings. Corporations tout taglines like “merit-based promotion” and “ideas over hierarchy”, they hire Chief Diversity and Inclusion officers, and they cast a wider net in their recruiting efforts to reach more diverse candidates. Yet here we are, faced with stark disparities and inequities in senior-level positions across nearly every industry in our economy.
Let’s start by admitting that diversity in itself is not an achievement, and frankly, neither is inclusion.
As a Black woman in business, I’ve seen many (usually white, male) executives’ attempts to navigate this issue with the best of intentions. Many ask where they can find these “unicorn” minority and women superstars who have advanced degrees and management skills. Others blame the “pipeline”, claiming that those individuals don’t exist. And some of the best leaders set aside corporate funds for employee engagement groups around topics like Women Engineers and Black Tech Leaders, but they themselves don’t participate.
So together, I’d like to debunk the myth that by launching Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, your company will suddenly look like a UN summit.
Let’s start by admitting that diversity in itself is not an achievement, and frankly, neither is inclusion. As a former mentor of mine used to ask, “what’s the ‘so what’ here?” — meaning, you’ve presented me some information, but does it really have significant meaning?
Having diversity among your employees just means a random sampling might look more like the rest of the population; it has nothing to do with the success of those employees. And inclusion is such a vague and wide-ranging term, it can mean anything from company-hosted Soul Food-themed potlucks during Black history month, all the way to mandatory anti-discrimination training for employees. Not to mention, D&I leaders are typically sidelined into their own corner of HR, rather than the high-profile spotlight and prestige of business-line ownership.
Worst of all, Black people, women, parents, the LGBTQ community, and members of other marginalized groups are typically asked to lead employee engagement efforts with no compensation for doing so — all while their white male colleagues spend that extra time on other interests or possibly, getting promoted in their place. I’ll dive deeper into many of these issues in Parts 2 through 4.
These are some of the few reasons that Diversity and Inclusion initiatives lack the impact that other businesses initiatives often do: they’re vague, defined differently by different people, and don’t set targets that business leaders are used to seeing (read: translating effort into revenue, brand equity, etc). Real and lasting change comes from three more ambitious and concrete ideas: Equity, Sponsorship and Accountability. These concepts are measurable and can drive actual career impact for women and minority employees when done well.
So what do these words mean?
- Equity means equal access and transparency to pay, benefits, perks that equalize the playing field for different marginalized groups
- Sponsorship means advocacy for women, minorities and other marginalized groups from executives and leaders with business-line ownership, who are in the room when performance reviews, and who have “skin in the game” for those outcomes (a.k.a., Accountability)
- Accountability means structuring corporate incentives, bonuses, and promotion models that incentivize said executives and leaders to advocate for underrepresented employees. Example: if your Black employee engagement group is comprised entirely of Black employees, there’s no accountability for the white employees to advance the careers of their Black counterparts.
For each of these concepts, I’ve constructed a simple playbook for how to corporations can create measurable, high-impact goals that move the needle for employees and business results. Note that I said “simple” but not “easy”. These efforts take real work and investment from leaders at all levels of an organization.
But if you’re ready to put vague terms in the rear-view mirror, start here.
This is Part 1 of my 4-part series. Read the others here:
- Part 1: Why ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ sets the bar too low
- Part 2a: “Equity in Opportunity is not Equity in Power.”; an interview with Dr. Clarence Braddock III, M.D., M.P.H.
- Part 2b: Measure your business on equity, not just diversity
- Part 3: Give us sponsors, not mentors.
- Part 4: Accountability is like a televised ultra-marathon.
