The evolving sociopolitical climate has created opportunities and challenges for diversity practitioners who must contend with louder resistance to equity efforts. As leaders deal with fatigue and frustration, it is helpful to understand how others in the field are working to overcome the barriers to real equity work, stay the course, and advance the momentum of change.
In early 2022, I focused my dissertation research study on how diversity leaders advance racial equity in STEM-focused organizations. The study centered on integrating diversity leaders’ personal values, leadership competencies, and organizational dynamics in transforming workplace cultures and disrupting the status quo. I learned that operationalizing DEI values requires a nuanced understanding of organizational culture, change management, and the mechanics of institutional and interpersonal racism. Many helpful insights emerged from the study.
Understanding Organizational Dynamics
Organizational transformation embodies a departure from old habits and behaviors, necessitating a clarity of rationale and a purpose for change. To effectively enact change, diversity leaders must understand how organizational factors may help or hinder efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. My interviews with DEI leaders revealed the participants’ experiences and reflections about factors that support or impede their ability to bring about positive change. Participants discussed elements of their self-defined social identities and significant career experiences. They spoke candidly about the challenges they face in their organizations and offered an incisive critique of the role of executive leaders in driving change.
As DEI leaders, many of us have a front-row vantage point to organizational dynamics impacting equity-focused programs and initiatives. As cultural change agents, we often must be astute about diagnosing issues in practices, policies, and procedures affecting people of color and other marginalized identities. The leaders I spoke to shared their observations about unhealthy aspects of organizational culture — broadly defined as behaviors and practices that promote racial hierarchies and perpetuate systemic racism, thus hindering progress toward racial equity. In some instances, organizational issues occurred despite established performance measures and codes of conduct.
For fellow DEI practitioners, the sentiments shared are not new or surprising. In sum, they relay common themes: fear and anxiety, lack of accountability for managers whose actions inflict racial harm, disregard for concerns raised by racially-minoritized groups, lack of trust and psychological safety, and lackluster commitment to DEI from top leadership. Leaders expressed the concerns of white peers and colleagues about not knowing what to do or say regarding diversity issues, contentious or otherwise. White employees are anxious about being perceived as racists. On the other hand, fear and anxiety among people of color and their allies stem from a lack of trust and safety about the consequences of voicing their concerns.
Applying Innovative Approaches
Holding tension and conflict in balance, diversity leaders persist toward inclusive and equitable practices and require a willingness to take risks and try out novel approaches. Participants talked frequently about developing and implementing practices that did not exist in their organizations.
Examples of new approaches included initiating a thought leaders’ program for employee resource groups, making mental health therapy available on-site for staff members of color, implementing a racial equity action plan, and integrating a DEI data analytics decision-making framework. In my own practice, I was encouraged by the way DEI leaders discussed strategies for bringing in innovative approaches while working within the confines of organizational cultural norms. These leaders recognized the levers of influence and used existing human resources, communications, and strategic planning functions to bring about change with a racial equity focus.
Other tactics involved integrating questions about experiences into stay and exit interviews, deploying a participatory process in creating a strategic racial equity action plan, and working collaboratively with internal communications staff to integrate DEI in employee-focused communications. Leaders described their efforts to change existing policies and practices by directly engaging with their colleagues in human resources, information technology, marketing, finance, government relations, and other divisions. They emphasized the importance of building trust and cultivating open communication with their peers and higher-ups.
Because they often lacked the direct authority to enact change within matrixed organizations, interview subjects leveraged their influencing and conflict management skills to persuade others “to get comfortable with being uncomfortable” to identify and address the root causes of systemic inequities.
Communicating the Value of Change
Leading change is difficult, and leading change with an equity lens adds further complexity. An important takeaway for me as a DEI practitioner is the value of communicating the value of change toward racial equity. It is crucial to be thoughtful and intentional about adapting communication approaches to effectively reach target audiences, whether it is a single executive leader or an entire department. Interview subjects acknowledged that the topic of racial equity in the workplace is often a source of anxiety for people who lack experience with productive conversations about race. To engage in meaningful discourse that results in shifting perspectives, leaders emphasized the value of building rapport with individuals, listening to their concerns, and developing the ability to discern communication approaches that would work best in varying situations.
Conclusion
Diversity leaders work toward creating inclusive and equitable workplaces, focusing on innovative approaches. Intentionality allows leaders to face challenges and nurture opportunities to develop a cohesive and lasting DEI strategy focused on driving change. My research demonstrated that diversity leaders draw upon innovative and disruptive employee engagement practices that center racial equity.
Despite anti-DEI detractors, it is encouraging to hear that leaders stay the course and advance momentum toward racial equity. Through the interviews, I understood that leaders leverage reflexivity, social identity, commitment to social justice, ability to navigate organizational dynamics, and skill in applying change management strategies to develop equity-focused work cultures that are adaptable and responsive to change. As change accelerates toward greater awareness of social justice issues, diversity leaders grapple with disruption by enhancing their capacity to advocate, educate, and innovate with an equity focus.
