The 3 biggest arguments against DEI, debunked

Recently, I overheard a conversation at a local coffee shop:

“Thank God for the new administration and finally taking a stand against DEI,” said one of the men to another, as they sipped their coffee. “It’s ridiculous and unfair, completely ruining work. We can finally get back to business.”

I leaned in a bit further to try to listen in as I paid for my Earl Gray tea.

“Well . . . I’m not sure that’s entirely true,” the other man said hesitating. “I think that . . . ”

“Finally, we can get back to raising standards,” the first man interrupted. “It’s about time! By the way, are you going to the game next week?”

The other individual looked uncomfortable as the conversation swiftly shifted to a completely different direction. When I was done paying, and also done eavesdropping, I left knowing that what I heard in this local coffee shop was not an isolated conversation. 

The backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion is playing out on the national and world stage almost every single day. And the backlash is also taking place on much smaller stages, in conversations in our conference rooms and in our hallways, among colleagues loudly and in whispers in our workplaces. And in these conversations, there’s an opportunity to talk and educate one another about what diversity, equity, and inclusion is and what diversity, equity, and inclusion is not.

Here are three of the most common statements I keep hearing for the case against diversity, equity, and inclusion—and here’s how we can debunk these statements and continue to help educate each other on what is true and what is not.

False argument against DEI: We lower our standards when it comes to talent

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not about lowering our standards; it is about setting fair and equitable standards on how we evaluate all talent. The term “DEI hire” is being used to make us believe that we have lowered standards in order to hire individuals from different backgrounds and different lived experiences. In reality, “DEI hire” is a harmful and a hurtful phrase that leads many to believe that someone was handed a job simply because they may “look different” or “be different” or are a “quota hire.” And it has increasingly become an acceptable way to discredit, demoralize, and disrespect leaders of color. 

One of the key outcomes of diversity, equity, and inclusion is creating standardized processes on how we hire talent, also on who we choose to develop and promote. This includes using software tools such as Greenhouse, which helps ensure that every candidate for a role meets with the same set of interviewers, that interview questions are aligned in advance, and that there’s a way to evaluate and score the interviews and debrief together as an interview team. Otherwise, we can fall prey to our biases and may hire people who look like us, think like us, and act like us, or simply hire them because we really just like them.

When it comes to how we develop and promote talent, software tools such as Lattice help ensure that we set clear and reasonable goals for all employees, not just for some. We can then track progress in weekly meetings, we can give and receive coaching and feedback, and we can have a consistent framework when we evaluate talent during performance-review time. And how we evaluate talent is also then connected to how we compensate individuals, and ultimately who we chose to promote. Without these standardized processes, we may end up giving better performance reviews and more money to those who are the most vocal, who spend the most time managing up to us, and who we just find ourselves having more in common with. Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts help us raise standards and make sure we are getting the best out of our talent.

False argument against DEI: It distracts ourselves from driving revenue

Diversity, equity, and inclusion does not distract us from leading our businesses; in fact, diversity, equity, and inclusion is a driver of the business. It’s not a separate initiative that sits apart from the business; it should be integrated into everything we do in our workplaces. These efforts not only help us ensure that we get the best out of our talent, but it also ensures we are able to best serve our customers.

According to Procter & Gamble, the buying power of the multicultural consumer is more than $5 trillion. Procter & Gamble reminds us that it’s no longer multicultural marketing; it’s in fact mainstream marketing. There is growth to be had when we ensure we connect and authentically serve not just the multicultural consumer, but also veterans, individuals with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, and many more communities. Understanding their consumer needs and how your businesses’ products and services can surprise and delight them, and enhance the quality of their lives, is an untapped competitive advantage. Companies like E.L.F. understand this, with a strong focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that have paid off: It has posted 23 consecutive quarters of sales growth. Over the past five years, the company has also seen its stock increased by more 700%.

In contrast, since Target announced a roll back on its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, it’s experienced a decline in sales. Black church leaders are now calling on their congregations to participate in a 40 day boycott of Target. Black consumers have $2 trillion in buying power, setting digital trends and engagement.

“We’ve got to tell corporate America that there’s a consequence for turning their back on diversity,” said Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, to USA Today. “So let us send the message that if corporate America can’t stand with us, we’re not going to stand with corporate America.”

False argument against DEI: An inclusive work environment only benefits a few

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not about creating an inclusive environment for a select few. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is about creating workplaces where we all have an opportunity to reach our potential and help our companies reach their potential. In my book, Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace, I tackle the myth that diversity, equity, and inclusion processes and policies only have a positive effect on a certain group of individuals. I share “The Curb-Cut Effect” which is a prime example of this.

In 1972, faced with pressure from activists advocating for individuals with disabilities, the city of Berkeley, California, installed its first official “curb cut” at an intersection on Telegraph Avenue. In the words of a Berkeley advocate, “the slab of concrete heard ‘round the world.” This not only helped people in wheelchairs. It also helped parents pushing strollers, elderly with walkers, travelers wheeling luggage, workers pushing heavy carts, and the curb cut helped skateboarders and runners. People went out of their way and continued to do so, to use a curb cut. “The Curb-Cut Effect” shows us that one action targeted to help a community ended up helping many more people than anticipated.

So, in our workplaces, policies like flexible work hours and remote work options, parental leave and caregiver assistance, time off for holidays and observances, adaptive technologies, mental health support, accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and more have a ripple effect and create workplaces where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. 

Don’t fall for the rhetoric against “DEI” being exclusive, unfair, or a distraction. The goal of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts has always been about leveling the playing field and ensuring we are creating workplaces where each and everyone of us have an opportunity to succeed.