A future of work without DEI

In collaboration with Rob Hadley

In the last six months it has become abundantly clear that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts have fallen out of the zeitgeist, even as we find ourselves in a world that desperately needs safer, more inclusive workplaces.?

The very companies pledging millions less than 4 years ago, notably Zoom, Google, and Meta have been quietly scaling back on DEI investments over the past year. This retreat in part is fueled by legal challenges and the socio-political environment.?

Conservatives have leveraged the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling to seek to prohibit the consideration of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, religion, or national origin in decision-making processes - a move that is wreaking havoc as organizations like America First Legal Fund and AAER pummel companies with lawsuits alleging reverse discrimination in corporate diversity initiatives.?

Over a dozen (dare we say primarily former slave states) states have advanced anti-DEI legislation, challenging the foundations of DEI efforts beyond education institutions. Multi-faceted, they are targeting DEI statements in hiring, banning training on crucial concepts like anti-racism and privilege, and even taking direct aim at DEI offices/positions/roles.?

In conversations with DEI-focused firms and consultants, pipelines are bare. Firms that sprang to life in 2020 are laying off employees.?

So in the wake of increased divestment, scrutiny and openly hostile laws designed to curtail DEI, we have been asking: What would the landscape of workplace equality look like if we shifted our focus from DEI initiatives to enforcing existing laws and standards designed to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion?

As champions of data-driven strategies, one path forward is to circumvent traditional identity categories, leveraging socio-economic and other signals to get a sense of the landscape, and foster diversity and equity. We call these proxy measures or proxy indicators.?

But before we start to get too creative, let’s consider an overlooked reality: laws.?

Robust laws and standards already exist to promote workplace diversity and equity. The Civil Rights Act of 1964's Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 already offer a legal framework designed to combat discrimination and ensure equity. These laws address disparate treatment and outcomes, mandate reasonable accommodations for disabilities, protect against age discrimination, and enforce pay equity, respectively

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As we’ve seen since the passage of the American with Disabilities Act, the effectiveness of laws is contingent upon rigorous enforcement and compliance.?

And in the absence of compliance and reduced resources for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints, it becomes important for people who are impacted to become familiar with the laws.?

1. Know Your Rights: Your employer is not going to tell you, so familiarize yourself with key laws such as the Civil Rights Act, ADA, ADEA, and Equal Pay Act. Understanding the protections these laws afford can empower you to recognize and address potential violations in your workplace.
2. Request Reasonable Accommodations: Identify as neurodiverse? Pregnant or recovering from an injury? If you or someone you know has a disability, be proactive in requesting reasonable accommodations as outlined by the ADA. Far too many employers skirt their responsibility in providing the most basic accommodations.?
3. Use Your EAP Hotline: Most organizations have Employee Assistance Programs with ethics hotlines, or ombudspersons specifically for addressing workplace concerns. These are confidential and a great way to get support.?
4. Ask for Transparency: Advocate for clear, possibletransparent policies. You are entitled to these when it comes to hiring, promotions, pay equity, and other employment practices.?
5. Document, Document, Document: Keep track of incidents, in-person or via email/social/Slack, that may constitute discrimination or harassment, including dates, times, witnesses, and any communications. If you ever decide to report anything, you’ll need every bit of evidence.

The spirit of these laws are to create workplaces that are safe, equitable and offer dignity to every worker and we need to start holding organizations accountable to these outcomes.?

To find an answer to the question of what’s? as we look to enforce existing laws in lieu of well funded and supported DEI efforts, we need to shift into a new era of workplace advocacy.?

A new era of shedding complacency and apathy, and being informed.?

A new era of creativity, and mobilizing each other.?

A new era of problem solving.