Why the Transformational Case for DEI Inspires Action

We’ve read the reports. Investing in diversity, equity and inclusion leads to better business outcomes. Less risk, more innovation, more revenue. If these findings on diversity are widely known, then why aren’t we seeing the impact we expect?

The biggest public companies and their foundations have collectively committed billions to addressing racial inequality. This unprecedented acceleration in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) corporate initiatives – including training, marketing and programming – has been described as a "social justice reckoning." But is this investment translating into real impact? Not always. Managerial diversity hasn’t changed that much in 40 years. Women on boards haven’t exceeded 20%. C-Suites remain overwhelmingly white and male, as do the highest earning careers. The reality is highlighted in a viral tweet from California entrepreneur Brandi Riley: “Thank you for your Black Lives Matter graphic. May I please see a picture of your executive leadership team and company board?” 

If diversity is good for business, then why aren’t people buying? According to our research, the vast majority of marketers care about DEI and believe it is important. They say that companies need to evolve, brands need to be inclusive, and marketing should showcase an organization’s DEI commitment.

If we care about behavioral change, we must concern ourselves with behavioral science. For our Equity Every Day: How Marketers Can Bridge The Knowledge-Action Gap report, LinkedIn and The B2B Institute developed a study - in partnership with Associate Professor Jamillah Bowman Williams of Georgetown University Law Center - to explore how we can make lasting progress on DEI. Bowman Williams found a phenomenon called the “knowledge-action gap” to be true in her research. The knowledge-action gap highlights a gap between people’s stated and real preferences and shows there may be a breakdown in communication in how the case for DEI is being made. According to the study, 80% of participants say diversity is an important goal in organizations. Yet only 38% of respondents actually took action to promote a promising Black job candidate to a leadership position. 

Today, we communicate DEI through transactional language – what we call “the business case,” which focuses on business outcomes, innovation, and top talent. It was an important foundational step in modern DEI work, allowing leaders to introduce DEI to workplace conversations - and we’ve undoubtedly seen progress as a result of that.  

DEI conversations at work have now gone mainstream. While the business case for DEI is still both popular and compelling, research by Bowman Williams reveals that it may be more rhetoric than action, and may actually increase bias. For instance, even when people say they believe diversity is good for business, it doesn’t always lead them to take tangible steps. For others, it just doesn’t resonate, despite the perceived rational appeal. The issue is that the transactional case tends to be surface-level, looking primarily for return on investment. The transactional approach does not acknowledge very real cultural and systemic issues. 

Focusing on the business outcome may exacerbate strong biases. For instance, with biases such as cognitive dissonance, people feel their personal value is threatened by the business case. With persuasion knowledge bias, diversity feels like a sell and defensiveness kicks in. Or with zero-sum bias, again for one group is perceived as a loss for another. 

It’s time to change our approach. What if we stopped trying to justify DEI and instead focused on the fact that it is the right thing to do? 

In “The Money or Morals”, David Mayer from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business suggests that moral language may be more influential than economic language. Companies that frame social issues as “the right thing to do” tend to be more successful at promoting desired behaviors. Recent neuroscience research also suggests that compassion is not only transformative for the human brain, but it is also the key to fueling systemic cultural change. We call this making a transformational case. And the transformational case has statistically-significant predictive power.

In Bowman Williams’ research, those who came from the belief system that striving for diversity is morally “the right thing to do” were more likely to promote the Black candidate. Transformational language led to more equitable action. 

The transformational case embraces storytelling in a way that generates empathy and perspective-taking, which in turn motivates action. It invests in a culture of shared values that makes space for all talent to belong, grow and thrive. Not because it will lead to business gains, but because it is the right thing to do.

As marketing and communications professionals, we are stewards of the brand - we have a responsibility to be involved in all aspects of branding (consumer, corporate and talent) with DEI infused throughout. With this as our focus, we should be moving towards a narrative that strikes moral chords and sparks emotion by telling stories and broadening awareness of historical and current inequality. In partnership with talent acquisition, DEI and other company leaders we can bring together these powerful and meaningful stories to illustrate the importance of being an inclusive and equitable brand. 

In the end, your consumer brand is now your talent brand, your employee brand, and your shareholder brand. There is no transformation without conversation. Progress requires conversation and thoughtful action.

Marketers, let’s rise to the occasion. 

Methodology

The Equity Every Day: How Marketers Can Bridge The Knowledge-Action Gap report was developed by LinkedIn Marketing Solutions and The B2B Institute in partnership with Associate Professor Jamillah Bowman Williams, who ran multiple experiments as a B2B Institute research partner. To assess the state of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in marketing today, the Equity Every Day team at LinkedIn fielded a custom survey to 1,763 marketers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The study includes insights from LinkedIn platform data from the United States from January 1, 2019, to September 15, 2021.