Championing Real Equity: Are Organizations Truly Ready?
There's an African proverb that says, “Opportunities are never lost. They go to someone who's awake and ready to host them attentively.”
“Opportunities are never lost. They go to someone who’s awake and ready to host them attentively. ”
As warriors for equity in education, we come together today to continue our quest to shift global narratives, ensuring that marginalized children everywhere experience true justice. This mission fills my heart with joy, and I hope it does the same for you.
May 2020. A date that shifted the ground beneath our collective feet. The tragic death of George Floyd not only sparked outrage but spurred a significant rise in the search term DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) and an increased demand for Chief Diversity Officers. This surge was so substantial that LinkedIn hosted over 16,000 Diversity professionals, with 574 of them holding the esteemed Chief Diversity Officer title, and 3% at C-suite level in May 2023, just three years later.
credit: @0514design
Despite that rapid progression, there's a concerning trend lurking beneath the surface: the high turnover rates for DEI professionals, and their now shrinking numbers. Why are organizations struggling to retain them? Why are they the new iteration of last hired, first fired?
There are primarily two culprits.
Firstly, there’s the troubling issue of performative equity – organizations checking off boxes to appear committed without truly understanding or championing the cause. Nobody who’s authentically committed to DEI wants to serve merely as a symbolic figurehead.
Secondly, engaging in DEI and anti-racism requires rigorous self-examination. As organizations delve into equity audits, skeletons tumble out of the closet, revealing unsavory practices like nepotism. Such revelations can be tough pills to swallow, especially for the predominantly White, male decision-makers at the helm of many institutions. When confronted with such truths, it's easier for organizations to retreat than to face their biases head-on.
This reluctance often stems from a lack of firsthand experience. If you've never been on the receiving end of racism or haven't witnessed its harrowing impact up close, it's challenging to understand its depth and implications fully.
Embracing DEI is not a feel-good journey. It's a rude awakening, realizing one’s unconscious biases, and sometimes, being branded as a 'nice racist' as described by D'Angelo. More often than not, those in hiring positions, those in the C-suite, are not fully tuned in to the DEI personnel they employ, resulting in a chasm between performative and authentic equity.
Underlying this dissonance are two interconnected phenomena: white fragility and white backlash. Transformation only becomes possible when those in power recognize their inherent biases, confront their fragility, and genuinely commit to the DEI cause, regardless of how discomforting the journey might be.
Richie Norton, a time management expert, astutely remarked, "The world is changed by people who aren't ready." This sentiment rings especially true in the realm of DEI. While organizations might not feel prepared for the rigorous introspection and transformation that true equity demands, it's high time to muster the courage and begin the journey.
In our pursuit of DEI, readiness is not about having all the answers. It's about being prepared for the pain and enlightenment that comes with unearthing biases and committing to anti-racism. Only then can we genuinely hope to champion equity in every corner of the globe.
