As awareness around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is growing, it is truly heartening to see the development in the space. However, despite increased awareness and commitment, many organizations are still experiencing sluggish progress. As a result, I’ve noticed that questions like, “What do we do?” or even “Tell me what to do” play themselves on repeat in DEI conversations. In an action-oriented culture, we are taught to focus on the what and how to execute change.
But over time, I’ve come to realize that trying to determine & execute on action items alone can be counterproductive to the very outcome we are looking to achieve.
DEI work is incredibly complex, and individual changes often only skim the surface of the kind of solutions we need to build into the systems of our organizations. While well-intentioned, these solutions often only offer temporary relief. Even worse, they can be perceived as performative which results in marginalized groups feeling even more pain. Without understanding the bigger picture and the effect each one of us can have, it is impossible not to make these mistakes.
An example of this occurred when we were taking steps to improve diverse representation in our product. To do so, we brought in the expertise of the respective Employee Resource Group. When discussing the goal of the project, it was communicated that we were doing this in part “because we don’t have anyone with this identity yet.” While true, this response was unintentionally harmful to the Employee Resource Group representatives. It neglected the depth of meaning behind having your own experience reflected in the products you love and the pride and joy that it can bring. It can reduce the meaningful milestone toward increased representation to the perception of merely checking a box. We failed to recognize how diversity is at the same time a systemic and a personal issue.
To limit these kinds of missteps, we need to take a step back to fully understand the why of the work we are doing. Doing so gives us a greater appreciation of the work and allows us to apply that to every single interaction we have, something that no list of action items could do.
Michelle MiJung Kim breaks down the importance of the why beautifully in her book The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change. Perhaps more importantly, she posits that there is actually only one why that can sustain the commitment and mentality needed to make progress in this space. And it’s probably not what you think.
The following three ‘Why’s’ are adapted from Kim’s book:
The Business Case: The Unsustainable Why
You don’t have to look far to find the multitude of statistics that show diverse and inclusive organizations perform better than homogenous ones. As organizations are largely motivated by their bottom line, this is often the why they use. While the business case can be helpful to get initial buy in, if this argument is pervasive, it becomes more detrimental than beneficial.
The case for profitability fails because profits from improved Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will never manifest quickly enough for the organizations to glean a clear relationship. DEI requires a long term commitment and investment to make measurable improvements. Having a profitability motive makes it unsustainable. When organizations look for quick approaches, it can result in just checking the box and become more performative than the actual enacting of meaningful change.
When profit is the motive, then if organizations can justify profit with something else, especially something that doesn’t require the deep work and commitment that DEI takes, that will always take precedent. Profit will never encapsulate the entirety of what we are trying to achieve in the context of true equity.
“It’s the right thing to do”: The (un)justifiable why
For a long time, my motivation for doing DEI work had always been rooted in it ‘being the right thing to do’, so when I read Kim’s exploration of this I was shocked. While she describes this as a noble motive, she explains that ultimately there are too many caveats for this why to be tenable for a consistent commitment to the space.
Statements like “I want to help” or “I want my children to grow up in a better world,” are other focused. When we frame our desire to do this work solely for the benefit of others, a justification develops in our mind. When it feels like we can’t justify the personal sacrifice for others, we won’t persevere. We will always have “more important priorities.” Even if you have the self-discipline to stay the course, staying committed will always be conditional on your willpower.
This can also be dangerous, because doing the work because “it’s the right thing to do” can create an attitude of doing the work as a form of charity. Marginalized groups are so because systems exist that discriminate against them and do not consider them equal citizens. A charity mindset reinforces this imbalanced power dynamic.
Our success is tied together: The why that will get us there
The most sustaining why is the one that directly invovles ourselves. It acknowledges that systemic oppressions ultimately impact all of us. Every single one of us is constrained in some way by the systems we operate in.
As an Asian, a common stereotype that I am affected by is the myth of the ‘model minority’. At first sight, it may appear that this is anything but oppressive, but it ignores the unique challenges Asians face such as being significantly underrepresented in leadership and having the highest income inequality of all minority groups.
These same systems even affect heterosexual, white males. I have spoken to so many men who struggle with their emotions because in a culture that disparages male emotional expression, they haven’t been afforded the freedom to develop them. This ultimately manifests itself through aggression or depression. It limits their ability to experience the world and denies them the ability to embrace the entirety of the human experience. Their potential is restricted by the same systems that oppress us all.
No matter who we are, we are all hurt by these systems. We can only begin to imagine a world where this isn’t the case, where we were all free of these oppressions and have the ability to fully embody everything that we are and want to be in this world.
Yet not only are we all harmed by these systems, we all contribute to them and have an active part to play in dismantling them. It is not possible to be neutral while operating within unequal systems. No matter how much we wish otherwise, our actions continue to reinforce this system unless we actively work against it. We are harmed by the very systems we uphold.
If we can all acknowledge and examine how we contribute to these systems, we can move past the shame and blame, and towards healing and change. Shawn Ginwright describes the exploration of this insight in his book The Four Pivots:
Insight comes from developing the habit of sitting with uncertainty, building the inner strength to walk with calmness in the midst of a shitstorm, and leaning into the discomfort…
It’s difficult because insight requires that we begin to build our individual and collective capacity to observe ourselves even while in the vicious grips of racism, patriarchy, homophobia, and other forms of oppression…
Insight gives us the capacity to identify our own patterns of behavior and their connection to our collective trauma and potential for social transformation. Our individual and collective journeys are bound together.
These explorations aren’t easy. In fact, they can be extraordinarily painful. Recognizing that you, yourself, contribute to the very system that oppresses you and everyone around you can tear at the very thread of your identity.
But it can also be empowering. You are no longer a bystander watching the inequities in the world play out. You are an active participant. And you can do something about it, it’s entirely up to you.
The most enduring why is rooted in our clarity around who we want to be in this world, and our relentless pursuit of living in alignment with our values day after day. — Michelle Kim
This is the why that we can all have. This is the liberating and uplifting part of the work. We each have the ability to impact the world that we live in. This is the why that lasts. This is the why that will get us there.
