Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are here to encourage representation across race, gender, ethnicity, cultures and more — but after more than 20 years of different trainings and techniques, has anything really changed?
The events of 2020 surrounding racial justice spotlighted just how much organizations needed to create impactful DEI efforts and sparked a wave to put initiatives into action. The journey to getting things right started valiantly. The number of DEI-related job postings increased by 123 percent, and companies were hiring chief diversity officers to get on the right track.
But where are we now? Decades of the same tactics simply aren’t working. Why? Because we’re not solving the root cause: threats to one’s identity. When someone’s identity is threatened (or under threat), clear thinking is compromised, performance is undermined, and polarization between in-groups and out-groups can occur. We want everyone to feel that their identity is recognized for its uniqueness but also that their identity is embraced and enhanced by the wider group to which they belong.
To move the needle and get off the path of polarization, we need to turn to science, more specifically what my team and I call “the four cornerstones.” Using these cornerstones as a guiding method can lead us into a future that respects and protects everyone’s identities rather than alienating them.
Traditional DEI efforts are failing
Before we get into the solution, let’s start with the problem. Despite the record global investment made in DE&I ($19 billion annually), traditional DE&I tactics are still missing the mark. Organizations turned to techniques like unconscious bias training, quotas and whistleblower hotlines to produce real change and saw little to no results. That’s because risk having have the opposite effect, rather than leading people to be more open and inclusive.
For example, though the intention of unconscious bias training is good, research shows most UBTs don’t have any lasting, positive impact on behavior. In one major study, several of the most sophisticated UBT approaches were tested. In each case, the technique was applied and bias was measured twice: immediately afterward and again a few hours or days later. While some UBT approaches did show a reduction in bias in the first test immediately after receiving their training, by the time they retook the test any impact had disappeared, and people reverted to their old habits.
Another standard DEI solution is quotas. Research suggests quotas can improve representation and the perception of previously disadvantaged groups, which can have unintended consequences. For those outside the targeted demographic, quotas can be discouraging, making people feel they will be overlooked despite their (perceived) greater talents. This leads to disengagement, reduced effort and unwanted departure from the business.
Those who are the beneficiaries of a quota can find the experience equally challenging. Although they may have been promoted entirely on their talents, many end up carrying the burden of knowing that some of their colleagues will not attribute their success to their ability but because they help to fill a quota.
There are less risky ways to reduce our prejudices and change our behavior for the better and it is time to adopt a more evidence-based alternative to move us from “me” to “we.”
The inclusion solution
If you’re looking for a scientific solution to DEI, you must start with identity. If we are to persuade anyone to behave more inclusively, we must look for ways to help them feel good about themselves and protect their dignity. While it is about “me” and my uniqueness, it is also about “we” and where I fit in. Creating an inclusive workplace means balancing both uniqueness and belonging.
When there is no special sense of uniqueness or belonging, people feel excluded, neither part of a wider group identity nor respected for their identity. They have become just another brick in the wall. This feeling correlates with low engagement, effort and commitment.
If someone’s unique identity is recognized, but there is little sense of belonging, we build a company of iconoclasts with little that unites them. Equally, if someone is made to feel like they belong to the wider group but that their own identity is not understood, we achieve only assimilation. This can be the case in companies that claim to be inclusive but lack diversity. “We’re all in this together,” they might say, but in truth, this is only if you think, act and share the same values as everyone else.
Thriving companies with inclusive cultures achieve both. They respect the uniqueness of an individual’s identity and create a group identity to which people feel proud to belong. My team and I have poured through the research on how to get the right balance of uniqueness and belonging and the answer lies in what we call “The Four Cornerstones.”
The Four Cornerstones
With identity resting at the pinnacle of the inclusion solution, the four cornerstones are the foundations on which we build. We must learn to value variety in our teams, take responsibility for our role in creating and combating exclusion, learn to judge wisely, and how we must draw the lines that allow us to forbid and forgive.
- Value variety: Difference is infinite, but not all differences are equal.
Some are characteristics we think of straight away when we think of inclusion and diversity — like race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age or religion. Others are things we might be less likely to consider – like class, family background, appearance, education and politics. We are all multi-dimensional, and these characteristics intersect. No one is defined by just one characteristic.
However, not all differences have the same impact on people’s work and life outcomes. A helpful way to think about this is the concept of headwinds and tailwinds. If you think about a recent flight, you may have noticed the journey was longer going one way than the other. Generally, flying west takes longer because you’re flying against the jet stream. You’re facing headwinds that slow your progress. It’s sort of like swimming upstream. Headwinds are a metaphor for the challenges we face. And tailwinds are the winds behind you that make you move faster – the current that carries you faster in your direction of travel. Tailwinds are a metaphor for the boosts and advantages we enjoy.
We all have different headwinds and tailwinds, and the net effect is that people can have very different lived experiences of the same system. Let’s explore the headwinds and tailwinds conferred by race and religion. A study sent job applications to 100 real-life job listings, identical but for one fact: each was sent under a different name, with one “applicant” called Adam and the other Mohamed. Adam, propelled by his tailwinds, was invited to attend 12 interviews. Mohamed, held back by his headwinds, received just four requests. Recognizing our differences are infinite helps us appreciate the nuances of diversity.
- Step up: We are all responsible for building belonging.
We’re all excluded at one time or another, but we are all also responsible for excluding others. Every day, without meaning to and often without knowing we have done so, we are the guilty party. Exclusion can occur in seemingly innocuous ways.
From scheduling team-building events after work or centering them around particular interests to assuming a person’s nationality or ethnicity means they have certain personality traits or interests, we are all perpetrators and victims at different times and in different circumstances. Rather than draw a line between the angels and the villains, it’s healthier for us to work on what we can do to avoid ostracizing or excluding others and hope they will do the same for us.
- Judge wisely: Know the tricks of your mind and how to outwit them.
Even when we believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that we’re being objective and rational, our decisions are almost certainly anything but. We tend to overgeneralize attributes associated with a member of a specific social group. These biases can lead to people being penalized for being in a counter-stereotypical career (e.g., women in STEM or men in nursing).
Rather than focus our attention on bias, we should concentrate on judgment. The reason is itself an attempt to outwit the tricks of our minds. Almost all of us consider judgment an important quality. We are also inclined to accept that while our judgment is good, it could be even better. Bias, on the other hand, is something that we think other people have. Ninety-nine percent of us believe we are less biased than the average person. We believe bias is someone else’s problem or a ubiquitous trait I can’t do anything about. By talking about improving judgment rather than correcting biases, we will have a more receptive audience and a greater chance of changing behavior.
- Forbid and forgive: Recognize the difference between misbehavior and a misstep
Our standards about what is and isn’t acceptable have changed dramatically and will continue. At the same time, cancel culture has gained momentum, where words, phrases and ideas that only recently seemed insignificant are now laden with enough meaning to lead to instant exclusion. It’s ok to be appropriately curious, to challenge constructively, to be challenged and to learn from mistakes. It’s about finding the right balance between walking on eggshells and explaining away bad behavior.
In short, there are times to forgive, and there are times to forbid. The challenge is knowing which is which. One way to get the balance right is to be transparent about why your company has chosen to respond in each situation.
Unique but united
All in all, the case for diversity in the business world has moved forward in leaps and bounds. But as we address old challenges, we have to confront new ones that now demand resolution. With the help of science, these differences can be reconciled to help bring the workforce back together and, in the process, realize the full and true potential of a diverse and inclusive business.
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