Politicized attacks on DEI are rapidly infiltrating the workplace, and executives are scared.
The unstable and uncertain economy is not the real reason. Yet it is being used as an excuse to fire chief diversity officers. Significantly reduce DEI budgets and personnel. And we are committed to a race-free, all-lives-value workplace culture. It's happening in a variety of industries, most intensively in large companies. but why? And why now, just three years after business leaders so boldly declared their commitment to DEI and anti-racism after the killing of George Floyd? Below are 10 explanations.
That promise wasn't real
Black employees were understandably skeptical of what leaders said in June 2020 about the organization's newly revealed DEI efforts. Past experiences in such work environments left them and other employees of color wondering why a switch had been flipped overnight. It felt performative, as if the company was simply jumping on the bandwagon to avoid seeming racist. Those leaders weren't really committed, at least not over the long term.
George Floyd’s efforts to address corporate DEI were haphazard
Many companies pledged millions of dollars (more than $200 billion in total) without a clear plan on how to invest that money. Many other companies hired their first chief diversity officer without a clear vision of what they wanted the professional to do. Other companies have established DEI councils made up of employees in appropriate positions, but they lack the subject matter expertise to develop a sustainable DEI strategy. There is no doubt that I was not qualified.
Too much anti-racism at once
Before the killing of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin forced a national conversation about systemic racism, employees and leaders in most workplaces intentionally avoided discussing race. . The sudden shift from racial avoidance to conversations about uncomfortable racial realities overwhelmed organizations that had long maintained a culture of avoidance. Mandating DEI workshops for all employees frustrated people who didn’t want to talk about or learn about these topics. Many people want a return to pre-2020 workplace norms.
anti blackness
Desegregation in the summer of 2020 took place in response to the killing of an unarmed Black man by a white police officer, so much of the DEI work at the time focused on anti-racism. However, it is important to note that gender, accessibility, and LGBTQIA+ programming continued, in addition to highlighting the important Stop Asian Hate movement and efforts to eradicate anti-Semitism. Still, the DEI agenda has become decidedly too black. What is happening now is the downplaying of racism and the decentralization of black employees. The removal of a Black CDO and the largest possible percentage of the Black professionals he or she employs is just one example of how anti-Black movements play out in many companies.
white rush
in him new york times bestselling books, american white rush, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery persuasively explores how white Americans have historically and contemporaryly responded to racial advances that have benefited people of color. I am recording. Their resistance results in a seemingly endless series of three steps forward and two steps back for our country. At most large companies, boards of directors, executives, and senior and mid-level leadership are comprised mostly (and in some cases entirely) of white people. Many white leaders are forced to act defensively, sometimes even decisively, because they believe they place too much emphasis on race. In summary, they are having an allergic reaction to his DEI progression.
transphobia
There are very few experts who can accurately disentangle sex and gender, or clearly explain the differences between transgender, genderqueer, and drag queens, and they don't want to learn. Transgender and genderqueer employees have always been present in the workplace, but coworkers have failed to recognize them, accept them, and make the company safe. In recent years, it has become expected to include pronouns in email signatures. Attending a gender inclusion workshop that contradicts what you learned in your family or church. Carefully avoiding misgendering co-workers is disorienting for many employees.
The horror of replacement theory
There is great concern that as America's workforce becomes more diverse, many white men will lose their jobs and be shut out of leadership opportunities. Even though there is little evidence to confirm that it is actually happening, the mere possibility of a zero-sum game is scary for those who have always benefited the most. Many also worry that the white, masculine, heterosexual, ableist culture that was created in corporations so long ago no longer exists, and that the people who created it will no longer have a place. .
Misinformation and disinformation
An example of a DEI facilitator telling white workshop participants that they were racist was widely circulated on social media and misinterpreted as something that happens at all companies. It has been. it's not. Nevertheless, the one-off example is used to strategically fabricate a broader narrative of his DEI ridiculousness and extremism. Therefore, people become opposed to things they have heard of but have not directly observed. For example, how many of the members of Congress who recently voted to pass a bill banning DEI initiatives in the military have actually undergone such training or reviewed their curriculum? Or?
The culture wars are now working.
DEI is under attack in K-12 schools, universities, the military, and communities across the country. Corporations and other workplace organizations are not exempt from this highly organized and well-funded political campaign. Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who is running for president of the United States, has declared a “war on the woke.” Other Republicans have also copied and pasted Mr. DeSantis' blueprint, spreading like wildfire from public education and state agencies to other organizations, including private companies.
Executives don't have the courage to fight back
Politicized attacks on DEI are rapidly infiltrating the workplace, and executives are scared. Too many people are standing up against misinformation and disinformation, defending DEI efforts, and refusing to capitulate to anti-woke critics who are too ignorant of what's really going on in business. there's only a little. The recent damning letter sent by 13 Republican attorneys general to Fortune 100 CEOs about racial discrimination in hiring will have a chilling effect on corporate DEI efforts more broadly. That was the intention. Management fears lawsuits and becoming the next target of conservative news outlets and social media. Watering down DEI efforts or abandoning them entirely is easier, more comfortable, and perceived as less risky for executives.
This list of explanations is not exhaustive, but everything it describes is pervasive. These and other rationales will become more deeply understood as companies continue to withdraw their DEI commitments previously made. Leaders don’t need to continue this trend. In fact, they can be dedicated and expect all employees to promote and sustain his DEI initiatives. There are enough of them, and collectively, they have enough power to fight back against politically motivated efforts to reduce diversity, equity, and inclusion in American companies. Masu. Which leaders have enough integrity and courage to actually do it? Let's take a look. Those who do so with integrity, courage, and strategy will play a critical role in saving our democracy.
