How can D&I leaders make progress against a backlash?
By Jo Faragher on 8 May 2024
Diversity and inclusion programmes have come under attack from some of the loudest voices in recent months. Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has called DEI “another word for racism”, and even joked on April Fool’s Day that he had joined Disney as chief DEI officer, shortly after he had called for the sacking of the company’s CEO for withdrawing advertising. The UK is not immune, with headlines proclaiming that major employers such as the civil service and NHS are scrapping DEI programmes as they feel they don’t deliver value for money. Some newspapers have even called it a “war on woke”.
In March 2024, however, a report co-authored by the University of Oxford, the UCL Policy Lab and social justice campaigners More in Common, seemed to reach a counter-conclusion. It examined a sample of more than 6,000 people in the UK, finding that Britons are five times more likely to express positive views about DEI and that they feel the initiatives are beneficial to them. That said, less than a third thought it was helpful to criticise people for making mistakes while discussing diversity issues, suggesting communication around such issues may be problematic for some.
Political polarisation
Commenting on the study, Professor Tim Soutphommasane, Oxford’s chief diversity officer, said: “Progress on EDI has become more challenging amid political polarisation. But it is possible to have a sensible conversation grounded in evidence and experience. And it is possible to have a commitment to EDI, while also supporting freedom of speech. Getting this right is essential to building sustainable support for EDI and to EDI success in the future.”
With so much negativity seeming to surround DEI, how can those who work in the sector battle against the noise? Asad Dhunna, founder of The Unmistakables, has been monitoring the media around D&I for around six years. “We have seen a marked increase in reporting around negative sentiment surrounding DEI this year,” he says. “While our Diversity & Confusion report last year showed that mainstream media was generating more headlines around ‘woke’, this year the backlash has become linked to ‘DEI’, largely due to public figures such as Elon Musk proclaiming that it should ‘DIE’.”
One of the issues is a lack of understanding around what DEI is and what it isn’t, Dhunna adds: “As a result, people who don’t understand the intricacy of what DEI is and how it works are seeing it as a scapegoat for all of the world’s ills, which is natural at the time of a recession where market forces are hard to see and require something to blame. It means that those working in DEI need to work harder to truly define what it’s about.” Furthermore, he adds, the media often gives fuel to the fire by reinforcing negative stories that garner clicks and attention, adding to the negative noise around DEI.
Environment of fear
Jeremy Blain, chief executive of Performance Works International, works with clients in the US and the UK and has seen a rise in negativity in line with the rising popularity of right-wing, populist politicians such as Donald Trump. “People claim that DEI is exclusive rather than inclusive, and that hits the headlines because it’s more sensational,” he says. “But it creates an environment of fear, where people think they can’t do or say something in case they are accused of something else, ignoring all the data and case studies that show that inclusion does work.”
Blain believes that one of the issues is that companies and D&I teams can get so “hung up on words” that they inadvertently stoke people’s genuine concerns about getting things wrong or that someone might be promoted or hired over them. “I think we need a new language on this, because there can be false promises within all sorts of terms. We can have a diverse room full of people but still not be inclusive of all of them,” he says. “Diversity should shift to representation, because that’s what it means, and inclusion towards belonging and improvement. Furthermore, we all have bias – what matters is our tolerance of bias.”
Mike and John Burns, co-founders of The Burns Brothers, a consortium of Black-owned businesses, have seen a range of responses to the D&I backlash in the US. “Some are reframing it, moving from DEI to belonging or inclusion, which seems to be less triggering for some groups,” says Mike. “Some have publicly said they’re no longer tracking diversity goals and some are actively pulling back. A small proportion are doubling down and putting more energy into DEI.” John says many people agree with the core values of DEI but “can’t articulate why they’re against certain things, because the political environment tells them not to. It has become so politicised that they allow that to blind them.”
Positioning D&I differently
The Burns Brothers find that positioning inclusion or training as D&I to employees means “you lose them before you even walk through the door”, advising instead that organisations focus on goals that everyone can espouse, such as becoming a better leader, team building and such. “You still get to the same destination,” says Mike, “we’re just focusing on the right thing rather than the counter-narrative. We focus on the issues and behaviours that lead to equity.” He adds that trying to convert the small percentage of people who are vehemently counter-DEI will never work. “Don’t ever address them, address the topics at hand and then hope they see things in a different way,” he suggests.
Teresa Boughey, a consultant and TedX speaker on diversity fatigue, believes the key lies in overcoming the “persistent misunderstanding” that diversity is just about under-represented groups. She says: “Diversity encompasses us all, as everyone has multiple ‘protected characteristics’ that can sometimes be in the majority or minority. This universal need to feel valued for our unique differences and to belong is a fundamental human requirement, encapsulated in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.”
Her book, Closing the Gap, 5 Steps for Creating an Inclusive Culture, advocates a holistic framework whereby organisations continuously evolve their approach to inclusion. “This approach contrasts sharply with ‘Exclusive Inclusion’ which tends to be the approach many organisations take,” she explains. “The ‘Exclusive Inclusion’ approach, despite best intentions, can often exacerbate divisions within the workplace and society. This is especially true when there is insufficient communication about the initiatives’ necessity and benefits, or when they are not balanced by other efforts.”
Few D&I professionals will deny that progress feels like an uphill struggle in such a challenging environment at present. But reframing inclusion and celebrating its benefits for all – not just certain groups – can go a long way to ease that burden.
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