DEIB: Greater than the Some of Us.

By Pat Kozu

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives are under attack in education and in business. The Chronicle of Higher Education tracked 40 anti-DEI bills last year in 22 states which prohibit colleges from having DEI offices, staff, training, diversity statements or references in admissions or employment. The Harvard Business Review reports that in the business world DEI efforts are facing formal complaints, litigation, and threatening letters.

Against these trends Custom Collaborative continues to embrace and amplify DEIB principles. DEIB has proven to be effective. Numerous studies have shown that diverse enterprises achieve better results. Further, it’s been shown that all students in diverse classrooms do better than students in segregated schools. 

Over the years, we’ve seen that just having a diverse classroom or workplace is not enough. We must consciously strive to create an inclusive, equitable environment where everyone can feel they belong.

First, we need to understand identity and its role in defining diversity. 

Identity: Who am I?

Our identities can be characterized by internal and external, immutable and ephemeral, objective and subjective elements. 

Here are some elements of identity:

• Name, Pronouns, Gender

• Nationality, Race/Ethnicity, Immigration status, Geography (where you were born, live)

• Family Relationship/Status, Generational, Age, Physical appearance/traits

• Aspirations, Beliefs, Religion, Political Views, Values

• Personality, Learning, Leadership Styles

• Education, Profession/job, Socio-economic status, Accomplishments, Hobbies

• Abilities/disabilities, Health

When creating diverse environments, it’s important to name the dimensions of identity that you wish to be diverse. 

Claiming or assigning an identity isn’t always straightforward. The boundaries between cultural appropriation versus appreciation were explored in a previous blog post.

Diversity

Just identifying diversity as a goal isn’t enough. As with any goal to be successful, it needs to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. In fact, some have added Inclusive and Equitable to create SMARTIE goals.

One must be intentional in executing or recruiting to meet diversity goals: where should we post, what media do we employ, who are effective spokespeople to share the word. It’s critical to have well-qualified people and too often we assume that qualified people don’t exist, rather than recognizing that our existing networks are too limited to reach them.

Diversity expands our horizons, enables more creativity, makes our learning or our work less boring, stimulates us, and removes critical blind spots. This is why diverse environments provide better results.

But, when there are people with different perspectives, work/learning styles, aspirations, education backgrounds, or generational experiences, there is the potential for conflict. However, the resolution of such conflicts often leads to better results.

Equity

Because a diverse population comes from different circumstances. In order to get the most out of each person, we need to provide different types of support. One size doesn’t fit all. So, how do we determine what’s equitable? And, how is that different from equality? (See Figure 1)

Figure 1. Equality vs. Equity. Courtesy of Interaction Institute for Social Change. Artist Angus Maguire.

Equal support does not provide the opportunity for equal participation for all. An equitable distribution of support enables all to take part. Too often those with privilege feel aggrieved when everyone else receives a boost up and they don’t regardless of whether it is needed. And, of course, equitable solutions are never as simplistic as illustrated in Figure 1 so it is easy to create the perception of unfairness.

Inclusion

Diversity opens doors to those who have been historically overlooked. Before there was a focus on diversity, schools and companies would recruit from a limited pool of people who looked like current members, who lived in their neighborhoods, attended the same churches, or golfed at the same clubs. 

As diversity consultant Verna Myers says, diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance. It’s all about feeling welcomed, acknowledged, accepted, comfortable, and not there just  to “check a box.”

It’s exhausting to feel excluded – fighting to be invited to meetings that are about your projects, jockeying to be heard, getting your ideas considered. When people are not included, there tends to be high turnover which leads to the perception that those groups are not worth investing in.

Belonging

Some people can just walk into a new job or school and know they belong. Perhaps, their parents had studied or worked there before.. In any case, they know how the place runs, the unwritten rules. So, not only were they invited to the party and asked to dance but the playlist and party refreshments reflected their tastes.

Belonging versus inclusion is the step where you don’t always feel like the guest or interloper who needs to wait for permission or an invitation to use the facilities fully. It’s about feeling connected, being valued, knowing it’s safe to take risks, and motivated to contribute and be one’s authentic self. It’s about seeing and having a possible pathway to advance.

Barriers

So, if companies and institutions that have adopted DEIB practices have shown better results, why are people like the billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, who was behind the efforts to oust Harvard President Claudine Gay, openly proposing the dismantling of DEIB? 

Hierarchies that were created by an elite class are entrenched by privilege and bias. Many biases are ingrained, historic, and systematic and passed along through generations or encoded in law.  They might form along the dimensions where identity is defined: racism, sexism, ageism, ableism (physical, mental), classism (socio-economic, caste, immigrant status), colorism, and otherism (body, hair, eyes, language, religion, learning, personal styles).

It is also true that some people might be negatively targeted by bias along some dimensions while being privileged in other areas. In addition, what is deemed to be privileged can be fickle. There was a time when Irish (see Figure 2) and Italians were excluded. Before and during World War II, people in America on the West Coast of Japanese descent were incarcerated because of their ancestry. But, for the next generation, all things Japanese (anime, manga, electronics, sushi, model minority) were held in high regard. Today Korean is cool.

Figure 2. No Irish need apply.

Unconscious biases are those which lie below the surface. They can be even more insidious and difficult to root out. We should question, for example, whose opinions we value and why. Studies show that tall people are often believed or trusted more than short people. People with British accents tend to be viewed as more credible.

On the other side of the coin, who tends to be devalued, distrusted, feared, interrupted, or dismissed more often? It might be people with bad teeth, those with a stutter, the unhoused, the shy or quiet person.

Being an Ally/Effective Bystander

We need to be aware of our privileges, biases, and blind spots. Where we have privilege, we should explore how we can effectively use it to create a belonging environment for all.

DEIB is not a spectator sport. We can all be allies and active bystanders when we see conscious or unconscious biases. We need to be there for each other just like we want others to have our backs. There are times when we need to step up and be involved. For others who are always among the first to share our thoughts, we need to set back and give others a chance to be heard.

Most of all when we see injustice, be present but stay safe. Stand up for ourselves if the injustice is directed against us. And equally important, stand up for each other. There are different bystander strategies for showing up in an appropriate way to keep you and others safe. The following strategies were written for situations where you don’t know the participants involved. If you’re among friends, family, or colleagues, have empathy and modify as needed. You might wait until a private moment to address the situation.

• Distract: If you feel you can safely engage with the person being harassed, talk with them and ignore the perpetrator (Hi, I was looking for you. Are you ready to grab a bite to eat now?)

• Delegate:  If there is someone with any authority nearby – teacher, store manager, bus driver, or just a passerby, ask if they can help intervene.

• Document: If it is safe and will not inflame the situation, document the interaction but talk to the person being harassed about what they want done with your documentation. Do not post without permission

• Delay: If you’re there as the incident ends, step in to see how you can support the person who was being harassed. 

• Direct: If it’s safe, name what is happening: “That’s rude.” “That’s racist.” 

It is impossible to be perfect. Besides, what is perfect keeps changing over time; it may be different for different communities or settings. So,be kind to each other and be kind to yourself. We all benefit in a diverse, inclusive, equitable environment where all can feel they belong.