To understand what DEI is today, it’s important to understand its origins and how it has transformed into the hot political topic it is today. By most accounts, they began during the Civil Rights Era after President Kennedy, in 1961, signed an Executive Order (EO 10925), which included a provision that government contracts must ensure that all applicants and employees are treated without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin. They were mandated to ‘take affirmative action’ to ensure these expectations were met. Shortly after Kennedy’s assassination, Vice President Johnson became President Lyndon B. Johnson. On September 24, 1965, Johnson issued Executive Order 11246, which superseded Kennedy’s earlier EO, and explicitly prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin by any organization receiving federal contracts and subcontracts. He later issued EO 11375 to include sex as a protected category. This remained the country’s standards for decades, although consistently chipped away by anti-fairness activists.
During this time, affirmative action and equal employment opportunity programs remained in tact, and in fact, many businesses actively promoted their commitment by stating it was a matter of social responsibility, not just legal precedent. Companies took it upon themselves to change some business practices like hiring strategies, conducing pay equity analyses, looking at compensation and benefits, and more. During the Reagan era, many companies pushed back against his anti-affirmative action policies and said they would uphold their business practices, even if they weren’t legally required to do so.
The shift moved from a moral imperative to a business necessity. Labor demographics were changing, women were entering the workplace with college degrees and challenging the status quo, so to ensure that they remained competitive in the market, they actively embraced programs, policies, and practices that promoted a fairer and more equitable workplace environment. In the early 2000’s, multiculturalism became a common practice, where businesses would proactively celebrate national heritage months and weeks within the workplace, to demonstrate their commitment to creating a workplace that welcomes everyone. Businesses within every industry began creating programs that redressed decades of discrimination that contributed to ‘pipeline’ problems, and explicitly solicited disenfranchised and marginalized populations to enter the workforce.
However, organizational cultures maintained White, male, Christian, able-bodied, heterosexual normative standards, and in many cases, created unwelcoming environments for these new populations rapidly entering the workforce. So, businesses began to focus on inclusion, where policies and practices were more deeply examined to ensure that workplaces were as bias-free and equitable for all. Here, we see how DEI is more commonly experienced today. Diversity brought folks in, but still need to create equitable workplace environments, so that everyone can feel valued and included. To achieve this goal, many organizations implemented trainings that required all employees to grapple with complex realities like racism, bias, homophobia, xenophobia, and more.
More recently, social movements like Black Lives Matter and #Me Too brought significant attention to the ongoing experiences of women and people of color in corporate America. These movements prompted organizations to appoint more diversity officers to oversee and create their DEI work. Although it began to slowly dissipate as an organizational priority, the murder of George Floyd in 2020 renewed interests in promoting DEI in the workplace. The racial reckoning that was cited in the period leading up to the election of Donald Trump as president led to more inclusive practices, but gender and racial disparities continue to impede success.
DEI work is not mathematical practice that can immediately demonstrate how introducing one variable directly and positively answers the intended outcome. We have to remember, DEI work is undoing over 400 years of discriminatory messaging, structural and cultural barriers, and the status quo. It will take more than a few decades to achieve parity across races and genders. DEI efforts should be intentional, measured, and aligned with organizational priorities so as to demonstrate its value and alignment with strategic plans and visions. It is more of a journey than it is a destination. So, we tell our clients to root this reality in their plans, be intentional about aligning plans and priorities, and keep your eyes fixed on your vision.
IDTSC’s role is to support you and your employees in navigating complex matters toward goal attainment and completion. It’s often said that DEI work is harder than rocket science, because we’ve already put people on the moon, yet we struggle to achieve equity and fairness within the workplace. Contact us connect@idtchangestrategies.com today to help you and your organization develop comprehensive and pragmatic strategies that lead to structural and cultural change.
