I Am a DEI Hire (and Proud of It!)

Words are powerful. They can bring joy, espouse encouragement, and inspire hope. They can also elicit pain, spew arrogance, and imbue lies. Words can declare both war and peace. Over the past few years, there have been too many wars of words but few that broker peace. Words and phrases that were normally accepted as benign have now been weaponized to denigrate and even destroy meaningful efforts toward equity and fairness.

“DEI Hire” is the new insult directed towards people of color and women. The implication is that minority and women job candidates are hired primarily because of their gender, race, or ethnicity and not their qualifications. Further, the vicious parallel accusation is that the position was denied to someone from the majority group who deserved it just as much.

????? For a variety of reasons, this rationale is faulty, and those who perpetuate it have likely not taken the time to understand the value in making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a part of their workplace culture. I am a DEI hire (of sorts) because I get hired by organizations to help them with their DEI efforts. Through training and doing the hard work of self-examination and accountability, these organizations learn about how their employees are experiencing the workplace. Where they fall short, they’re bent on getting it right. They understand that representation matters and that quality candidates exist across diverse populations. When they do not see diversity within their ranks, they actively pursue a better composition. They are not afraid to confront their blind spots or to have difficult conversations, and they are intentional about making sure they invite everyone who wants a shot to take it.

Unfortunately, there is an active campaign to eliminate these necessary and meaningful learning opportunities. People tend to fear what they do not understand, and consequently, find comfort in remaining in their ignorance. They also perpetuate what they do not know through the spread of misinformation, assumptions, and emotional responses rather than facts. Those who do know are aware that DEI goes far beyond race and gender. A good program encourages knowledge-building and understanding in all areas where people differ—age, religion, culture, mental and physical abilities and limitations, socio-economic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital and parental status, work and leadership styles, political positions, personal values, and so much more. DEI work espouses equity so that all have a chance to succeed if given a fair chance and adequate resources, and it champions an existence where people of all walks feel like they belong.

Critics complain that DEI causes division. This is an unfounded accusation and misrepresents the positive aspects of respecting and embracing those who are different from how we see ourselves. I am left to wonder if the people who complain the loudest have ever even gone through DEI training. My experiences have never matched their claims.

The goal of any quality DEI program is to raise awareness and consciousness in areas where people allow their biases to get in the way of the truth. Effective training helps its participants to check their thinking and behaviors against what elicits greater understanding versus what stokes pain and anger. For the motivated learner, stereotypes are replaced with open-mindedness, microaggressions with acceptance, ignorance with curiosity, and hostility with humility. Above all, hate is swapped for love. There is no divisiveness when the goals are unity and fairness, action and advocacy, honesty and introspection.

????? When I was an actual diversity hire in the corporate world, I found that on every job, racial diversity was lacking. In my first pharma job, I was one of only two black females in my entire region. It happened again when I went to my second pharma job, but this time, I was the only black female in the entire U. S. And when I finally left pharmaceutical sales to start my own business as a franchisee, once again I found myself as the only black person in the entire United States. But not before I was denied an opportunity by a different franchise organization. They said that I would not be a good fit since “black women can’t be good [executive] coaches”. And yet, there will be people who say I am complaining or asking for too much if I were to advocate for more qualified people of color to be chosen to do these jobs. If raising these facts makes me too "woke", then yes, my eyes are wide open. I will not sleep on the shortsightedness that comes with bigotry and disenfranchisement.

?????? Weaponizing words to diminish the value of people is a cheap shot taken when the argument has no merit. The criticisms become petty, vicious, and even outlandish. Therefore, as a DEI hire, I will continue making good trouble in enlightening those who are not afraid to confront the prejudices of humankind. I will clear the pathway for those whose voices are drowned out by the shouts of “DEI HIRE”, “WOKE”, and “ENTITLED”. My work will continue in calling for fairness for those who are treated as “others”. Because at the core of it all for me is the freedom to exist without persecution.

????? The words I would rather we speak are those that say “You’re welcome here”, “You belong”, “I accept you the way you see yourself”, and “Your differences are no threat to me”. Yeah, those are the words that unite. Those are the words of a DEI hire.