Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace Today

Diversity education has been a part of America since the end of segregation. First, as a response to the civil rights movement with a goal of becoming a country that can coexist. Unity was a dream, but diversity training tried to give us the tools to work and live side by side. As civil rights increased throughout the years and marginalized communities grew louder voices and took more firm and legal stances against injustice, diversity training continued in the '80s and '90s as a legal defense of those newly passed civil rights laws. Though diversity and inclusion work always seems to stem from a struggle, we have a moment in time when marginalized communities can go beyond the fight and carve an environment where they thrive and reach their maximum potential.

Much like before, the current wave of support for DEI initiatives was birthed from an ocean of Black pain and trauma. The terror that would come to define the year 2020 came early—beginning in March with the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of the police serving a no-knock warrant. Then, two months later, with the video release of the murder of Ahmaud Arbrey (he was murdered in February) by essentially white vigilantes. Concluding with the public lynching that was the murder of George Floyd by a police officer kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes, 2020 was a succession of roaring protests.

Protests demanding accountability and justice took the streets by storm, but what differentiated these protests from the countless others from years past was the stillness, time, and undivided attention that the Covid-19 pandemic allowed. Covid-19 wreaked havoc throughout the country, leaving death and destruction in its wake. The onset of the pandemic led to a national quarantine, with most large cities issuing stay-at-home orders, so for the first several months, everyone was at home. Along with the trauma and protests that consumed the news feeds, Covid-19 brought a new disparity - the Black community was the most affected by infection rates, lack of adequate access to healthcare services, death toll, risk of infection, and unemployment.

The nation sat cramped on a couch together, watching the continuous news of Black trauma and disparity. It was bearing such witness that national corporations and organizations began making public statements against injustice, racism, sexism, and homophobia and shared commitments to combat injustice and contribute to systemic change. The concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) had grown in awareness over the last several years, but the events and revelations of 2020 kicked those efforts into hyperdrive. With the country forced to pay attention, there was no way to escape the reality that a drastic change was needed - and it was needed right now.

What is DEI, and what does it mean?

Across the airwaves and social media timelines, the words diversity, equity, inclusion, and equality were gradually added to our lexicon. These terms became graffiti throughout every company newsletter, boardroom agenda, and public statement. Some of the largest companies have pledged billions to support racial justice, equity, and improving diversity. But to truly understand the gravity of this undertaking and what its success would look like, we should have a strong understanding of the terms.

As many well-intended people showed their support for social justice matters, it became apparent that not everyone fully grasped the breadth of these ideas. But this isn't a game of semantics; if we don't have a clear understanding of these definitions, not only will we risk inefficiency and inconsistency, but we may be counterproductive.

The ancient philosopher Socrates said, "the beginning of knowledge is a definition of terms," so to deep dive into the topics of DEI, what it is, and how to improve it, we'll need to break down some of the most common terms individually.

Diversity: All the ways in which we are different. This includes race, gender identity and sexual expression, religion, ethnicity, nationality, ability, age, and socioeconomic background. As simple as this seems, there are still misunderstandings. The most common misinterpretation of diversity is referring to people as "diverse" because it still enforces an "otherness" or outside of what is "normal." People are people; diversity depends on the setting.

Inclusion: Inclusion is when all those from different backgrounds have a sense of belonging, have an equal voice, are heard, and contribute to the group. A standard description of inclusion is "having a seat at the table," The best way to illustrate that is the Peanuts comic. Franklin was the only Black character, but during the Thanksgiving special, he sat alone, across from everyone eating together like a family. Franklin was a person who "added diversity," but it was evident that dinner wasn't inclusive.

Equity: An environment of equal access to opportunities and fair treatment. The defining concept inherent to "equity" is access. Social and economic disparities are perpetuated and exacerbated by systems, laws, and policies, so equal and adequate access is required to remedy these disparities and bring forth justice and fairness.

Equality: A core tenet of democracy, equality evenly shares resources, opportunities, and treatment. Sometimes this is conflated with equity, but the difference lies in the fact that although equality gives an equal allocation of resources, equity considers the different situations and conditions that create barriers to success.

A common metaphor for these concepts is the dance party.

"Diversity is being at the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance."

But we can take this further.

Diversity is different people being at the party, dancing, and having fun.

Inclusion is dancing with everyone else and being able to make music requests and suggestions for future parties.

Equity is the ability to be a part of the party planning committee.

Equality is everyone having the directions, time, location, and access to the party (transportation and distance) with an equal ticket price.

Struggles in diversity

Peering through the windows of any large company, you'll find one thing in common - everyone tends to look the same. Most industries struggle with workforce diversity, but the industry that suffers the most from a lack of diversity is the tech industry. As innovative and groundbreaking as it is, and though its technological advancements and products have defined our lives and woven themselves into our personalities, it still lacks in creating an environment representative of the diverse world it serves.

Consider the companies and products we use daily - Facebook, Google, Salesforce, Apple, and Twitter - Black and Latinx employees only constitute around 5% of their workforce, with the percentage being closer to 2% once they enter the boardrooms of leadership. Unfortunately, gender has a similar disparity, with women only accounting for 20% of the top companies. There have been some incredible strides to improve diversity in these companies, but an apparent disconnect remains as numbers struggle to break the single digits.

Leadership is another area reflecting almost criminal racial and gender disparity. Across all industries, the boardroom, c-suite leaders, and major companies' heads remain an all-white boys club. Out of all Fortune 500 companies, only 1% are Black, and 4% are women (only 3.2% release their race and gender data); out of the 23% of women that occupy c-suite positions, only 4% are women of color.

If you want to evaluate if an organization is sincerely dedicated to its diversity initiatives, look at the leadership. Here is where we see the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion exhibited in real-time. If there is no diversity in leadership, there is no system of equity, thus authentic diversity and inclusion.

Diversity without inclusion is tokenism, and diversity and inclusion without equity is merely moral theater - it's a spectacular performance that gets applauded, but everything goes back to normal once the curtains close.

What does a lack of diversity look and feel like?

Looking at stats and numbers is one thing, but once you experience the daily existential crisis that is being "one of the only ones" in the workplace, you understand the deep, long-lasting psychological toll homogenous work environments have. Apart from what occurs within the workspace, the internal battles have equal impact. Some of the everyday struggles are:

Tokenism - the feeling, or treatment, like you were hired to fill a quota, to be the “diversity hire.” This occurs when employees are hired but cannot express themselves, aren’t heard, and can’t contribute meaningfully.

Imposter syndrome - Marked by intense self-doubt and feeling like a fraud.

Wearing the mask - An elevated form of “code-switching,” it’s not just switching how you talk, but how you act and present yourself to the world. W.E.B. DuBois discussed this as the “double consciousness” in his book The Souls of Black Folk in 1903.

Fortune.com conducted a survey entitled Working While Black: Stories from Black corporate America, asking Black employees what they wanted their non-Black coworkers to know. Below are quotes from that survey used to give a first-hand account of the struggles in work environments that lack diversity. The most significant complaints are:

Macro and Microaggressions. Sometimes you experience egregious offensive comments, but what encompasses the “death by 1,000 cuts” is the subtle comments - the microaggressions.

“I overheard a racist conversation and was offended by what was said. First response of HR: I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm.”- Charlene, 37

“With microaggressions and microinequities in the workplace, I feel strangled and die a little bit every single day.” - JP, 40

Overall insensitivity, lack of understanding, and misunderstanding. Being the “only one” in work environments is a constant reminder of being the “other.” There may be cultural or gender norms or customs that the rest of the team doesn’t understand. These will range from projecting personality stereotypes, comments about and touching hair, or understanding diverse lived experiences.

“A Black man was murdered by the police, and my white peers just moved through life like absolutely nothing happened. Meanwhile, I’m fighting back tears to move through meetings.” Qwen, 42

“My first manager said that I was too direct, aggressive, and just scary.” - Charlotte 37

“The stress of being a Black man in corporate America means we can’t have the full range of emotions. We can only be happy - never angry.” Bernard, 57

How does a lack of diversity affect our lives?

Whether we like it or not, we live in a world run by technology, money, and media, and no matter how much we try to escape it, we’re influenced in one way or another. We are constantly being sold something: images, narratives, and what to feel, all of which affect or guide us in some way or another. And for technology, money, and media to have such an impact on the world, if the hands that construct and run these industries aren’t diverse, it can have a deleterious effect on society.

Technology. Everything from the products to the software that creates the technology can have life-or-death consequences for people of color. Smartwatches, motion sensors, and autonomous vehicles have been inconsistent in recognizing people with darker skin tones, which can cause a minor annoyance to have deadly consequences in the case of a self-driving car. As the documentary Coded Bias explored, artificial intelligence has an inherent bias issue that has threatened civil liberties and personal freedom.

Money. Advertising. Over the last several years, large brands such as Gucci, Prada, H&M, and Pepsi have all come under intense fire for racist or racially insensitive advertising. After massive social media backlash, these companies all had to issue public apologies for their insensitivity and missteps, and some companies saw a noticeable decrease in revenue and brand image.

Media. A famous phrase is "representation matters," which matters because how people see themselves on TV or online can impact how they view themselves and what they believe is possible. Sometimes acting as its system of checks and balances, the same social media where problematic statements are made will call out and hold people accountable for those same statements. Social media and independent journalists and bloggers played a significant role in maintaining this ecosystem that evaluates and critiques concepts like cultural appropriation, systemic racism, and privilege, among a myriad of other topics.

A bright future for diversity and inclusion initiatives

Although our society has experienced a communal storm, the sun that broke through the clouds was beautiful. As a country, we witnessed a grand reckoning with parts of our troubled past that still linger today, we accepted them, and we made incredible strides to address them. Never have we seen our most prominent companies, celebrities, brands, and community members take such firm stances against injustice and offer sincere support.

More than just talk, there is a lot of action. Harvard Business Review reported:

• More than 1,600 CEOs have signed onto the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge

• 40% of companies discussed diversity and inclusion in their Q2 2020 earnings calls versus only 4% the same quarter a year prior

• The number of HR leaders identifying DEI efforts as a top priority was 1.8 times higher in 2020 than in 2019 (Gartner research)

• There has been an almost 800% increase in job postings for dedicated diversity recruiters (Gartner analysis)

Everything may not be perfect, but we're in a position unlike any other time in history. More people support social justice and equality causes, more people recognize them as real, and more people are willing to do the internal and external work to help our society become more fair and just. A few bumps in the road are always expected before the smooth stride that is sure to come.