What We Can Learn From Corporations Killing their DEI Initiatives
Many corporations are quickly ditching their DEI initiatives. Nonprofit leaders, there are important lessons in these actions for you.
As the world churns around us, I hope this week brought you joy. The past several weeks have brought corporations shutting down their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. There is much to unpack here, and I want to talk about it.
The Backstory
Recent news reports list corporation after corporation terminating their DEI efforts, companies like McDonald's, Walmart, Lowes, Ford, Toyota, and most recently, Meta -- all axing their initiatives. This story by NBC News asks the prevailing question: Will 2025 be the year DEI dies?(When you click, notice the prominent picture of the Black woman set over cubicles 🤔)
Obviously, I can’t answer that question. But I do think there are some things we can learn from what is happening.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) didnt create differences in workplace experiences It named behaviors that were already happening.
This dynamic is playing out in organizations, movements, and schools. People are no longer willing live with the -isms around ability, race, and gender as they pursue work that matters to them.
Costco’s Response Leans Into Internal Data
Of all the announcements, I appreciate Costco’s approach to a group of shareholders asking the company to cut its DEI initiative. Below is an excerpt from its response to its shareholders. Notice the reliance on its internal data and company values.
We welcome members from all walks of life and backgrounds. As our membership diversifies, we believe that serving it with a diverse group of employees enhances satisfaction. Among other things, a diverse group of employees helps bring originality and creativity to our merchandise offerings, promoting the "treasure hunt" that our customers value.
That group also helps to provide insights into the tastes and preferences of our members. And we believe (and member feedback shows) that many of our members like to see themselves reflected in the people in our warehouses with whom they interact.
Having diversity in our supplier base, including appropriate attention to small businesses, is beneficial for many of the same reasons diversity benefits our Company. We believe that it fosters creativity and innovation in the merchandise and services that we offer our members.
Data is key here. So, what do your internal metrics say?
I am also interested in the bigger message to employees, especially since these statements say the quiet part out loud. As Dr. Victor Ray notes in his article, Why So Many Organizations Stay White:
“Organizations are not race-neutral.” Instead, “[They] are microcosms of our society. Without intervention, they reflect the same racist, ableist, gendered structures that exist in society as a whole.)”
Using Company Policy to Center Whiteness — Again
That said, I think these pullbacks center whiteness and white-identified staff in ways that, while intentional, will reverberate through workplaces. In short, it communicates if you are outside of our defined norm, then your experience working here doesn't matter.
Even if you disagree with DEI and its definition, which I sometimes do, it creates a space to amplify the voices and experiences of employees in ways that have historically been ignored. Based on my own experiences working with managers, as a group, they have the hardest time believing that employees experience organizations and leaders differently, not only by race but by all the ways that make us different from one another.
For example, when I review policy manuals, what I identify most are:
Differences in faith (as reflected in paid holidays)
Processes for requesting workforce accommodations (how easy is it and who approves)
Travel policies (reimbursement practices both in process and speed)
Accessibility and ease of access to information (where do policy changes live and how easy is it to find)
Harassment and microaggressions (what to do when someone consistently says things that make you feel uncomfortable based on a feature of your identity)
The reality is people experience these policies differently. Yet, the corporate message “your experience doesn’t matter” is loud, and I wonder how employees will respond.
Use these Corporate Actions to Get Clear on Your Why
For nonprofits, I’d like to draw your attention to your Boards of Directors.
Most nonprofit Boards are removed from your everyday work. In many cases, their understanding of equity and its connection to your organization’s work may be lacking. Are your Board members vulnerable to pressure from their networks in ways that could influence how they show up in their governance role for your nonprofit?
Now is a great time to do specific work in that space and bring your Board members along on the journey. It is also a great time to think about fit. Everyone won’t be able to travel with you. If you have not already done so, clarify your equity why. It’s critical.
Lastly, creating an equitable work experience for staff should be cross-cutting work. Never standing alone. What we are also seeing play out in real time are the dangers of stand-alone, siloed initiatives.
As I have said before, no matter what you call your commitment -- DEI, DEIA, DEIB, or DEIJ -- be specific and clear about your organizational why — who you are, what you believe, and how you plan to live into those truths every day.
To take an action:
Lost for the right words when talking about your organization’s racial equity commitment?
Check out Build your Your Equity Why: A 4-Step Guide
To learn more:
Check out S1, Ep 7 of my podcast.
