DEI is charged and changing, but the work continues

Whist DEI has become a byword for blame everything from the LA Fire Department to a door falling off a plane, woke is not the culprit.

There has been an amplification of the ‘go woke, go broke’ rhetoric and in the US post-election pullback on DEI by Meta, Amazon and other large corporations.

The acronym DEI has become more charged and political, however, it’s important to recognise that organisations can’t afford to distance themselves from the values and actions that their people take seriously.

What gets lost in the small print is often the detail. The one-sided press coverage regarding the recent DEI rollback at McDonald's failed to highlight that in their recent DEI update to their owners, operators, employees and suppliers, they reiterated their Commitment to Inclusion.

Apple are holding firm on its own Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies, urging shareholders to reject a resolution to abandon them. Finally, Amazon are halting some of its diversity and inclusion programs – but not all of them.

In a sea of change it's tricky to sort the sands of truth from the waves of sentiment.

What is indisputable and not up for debate is that having a culture of inclusion matters more than it ever has. Under-represented folks feel vulnerable globally, this fear may play out in many places such as at home, community, education and religion. Work can be a bastion of safety and security.

Inclusion is accretive, when people feel safe, understood, listened to and respected, then innovation is unlocked. Loyalty increases, people stay, develop, grow and thrive.

Commercially organisations appreciate that a healthy, safe culture reduces risk and increases collaboration. With Conduct and Culture set to dominate many sectors globally we don’t expect a full-scale retreat from DEI. The language and the emphasis will recalibrate, but the fundamental driver for inclusion has never been more necessary.

Diversity shows up in all of us, it’s in our brains, skin, identity, age and biases. This should never have been about tokenism or political correctness. This is about corporates reflecting society -and thus better understanding needs and wants of their people, consumers and stakeholders.

To get caught up in arguments of blame and exclusion is to lose focus on what value people bring to the workplace and why the workplace culture matters more than anything.

In an intergenerational fractured workplace, organisations know that to value talent is to listen and co create inclusive spaces. To appreciate and respect everyone and to collectively work on mitigating bias. The net result is positive, innovative, productive, engaging and most importantly work and values collide.

Sasha