DEI Must NOT Die: Why Elon Musk is wrong about this one.

When you have given up 40% of your safe, salaried income to run a business that is intended to help companies navigate a Pathway through DEI, it can be momentarily disconcerting to start the year reading headlines that one of the wealthiest men in the world believes that the whole raison d’etre for your company has gone too far and must be stopped.

It might even, for a moment, make you wonder what you are doing it for.

But only for a moment…

Understanding DEI and the Fears It Sparks

Before I go on, let’s pause to unpack the acronym.  It’s easy to make clever and slightly alliterative statements about ‘DEI’ for headlines, but if you unpack this much publicised sentence, you realise very quickly that what is actually being said is that there is no place in the workplace for diversity, equity or inclusion.

As my 11 year old son likes to say, often, and with great indignation:  WAIT, WHAT?!  Because the logical conclusion if you don’t want those things, is that you want the opposite: homogeneity, inequity and exclusion.

Maybe, if you are a member of the ‘majority’ (which I am defining in this case, and as very often appears from middle management up to leadership levels in many workplaces across the UK and US, as straight, white, cisgender, middle-aged and older men) that IS what you want – because that is how the upper echelons of workplaces have looked for a very long time, and it is comfortable for you to work in a place where your peers and superiors look, think and behave like you.  Change is scary, and change that might make your life harder and mean you have more competition – scarier still.

But honestly?  I don’t believe that the vast majority of the ‘majority’ want to work in workplaces that are homogenous, inequitable and exclusive, and even for those who do, openly or secretly feel like they would prefer it if things didn’t change, I think that the fear and apprehension that drives statements like Mr Musk’s comes from a misunderstanding of the core principles of DEI.

I would like to be clear that I am not being flippant when I say that it must be scary to lose the potential advantages that come with being part of the ‘majority’. I’m also not for one moment saying that many of those in leadership who happen to fit into the ‘majority’ box I have defined haven’t worked hard to get where they are – working hard and being able to benefit from systemic inequity are not mutually exclusive concepts.

I AM saying, loud and clear as often as possible that we should be running our workplaces in a way that means everyone has to participate in fair competition.  How do we do this? By dismantling structural inequities and biased systems  - and yes, it is entirely possible that if you remove those systemic issues, no one group will naturally come out on top.  That is the way that we get the best talent for the job, and the person who truly deserves the role in every case:  whatever their individual characteristics (and let's be clear, there will be plenty of occasions when that person will be part of the 'majority' and that in and of itself is not a problem IF the outcome is not as a result of inbuilt bias or inequity).  It’s not tokenism, it’s not fulfilling a quota – but nor is it the benefit of an ‘old boys’ network or the fact that you fit neatly into a cookie cutter mould of what a leader looks like and so are the most comfortable choice.

DEI is not Reverse Discrimination

While I’m on my soapbox, can we be clear once and for all that DEI done properly is NOT about reversing decades, nay, centuries of history simply to discriminate against a new group of people?  As a couple of well publicised UK employment tribunal cases have shown us recently, ‘reverse’ discrimination, where the subject is a member of or shares many characteristics with ‘the majority’ as I have defined it, is still, well, discrimination – it’s unlawful in all but two very narrowly defined situations in the UK, and I am quite sure the situation is very similar across the pond where Mr Musk resides.

Properly executed DEI programs (ahem, shameless plug alert: like mpm included’s DEI Pathway) are instead intended to first understand and then ultimately dismantle systemic barriers at every stage of the employee lifecycle, in order to ensure that you and I have access to the same opportunities in a way designed to give each of us a fair chance of success, whatever our intrinsic characteristics and unique circumstances.

DEI Benefits Business

By this stage, I would hope that most people know all about the benefits of DEI, but given that I’m writing a riposte to the statement that ‘DEI must die’, I’m going to take the opportunity to set out the key benefits in easy to read paragraphs.

• New ideas are good business – so why wouldn’t we want to ensure the right conditions to create as many new ideas as possible?  Effective DEI is the basis for an environment where diverse perspectives are offered, heard and available to fuel innovation and creativity, leading to solutions that a homogenous group might never conceive.  What’s more, different perspectives foster adaptability, allowing companies to navigate effectively in an ever changing business landscape.
• Research consistently shows that diverse teams with members who feel included outperform their homogenous counterparts. Embracing diversity and ensuring an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive is a strategic business move that positively impacts the bottom line.
• Building on that theme, diverse teams with members who feel psychologically safe and included bring a wide variety of experiences and insights to the decision-making table. This diversity ensures a more comprehensive understanding of issues, leading to better-informed and more effective decisions.  The last thing that any business should want is Groupthink – and implementing effective DEI strategies that ensure a diverse team and an inclusive culture is a fantastic way to avoid this risk.
• Inclusive workplaces foster a sense of belonging, which directly impacts employee satisfaction and engagement. Happy employees are more likely to stay (thereby preserving workforce stability and minimising the expense of recruiting to replace regretted losses), contribute positively, and promote a healthy work environment – all of which perpetuate a great workplace culture that other top talent will be attracted to join.
• In a globalized world, businesses need to connect with and truly understand diverse markets. A workforce that reflects the diversity of the world at large is better positioned to understand and meet the needs of a broad customer base, driving business success.

DEI must not die

Building an inclusive culture that permeates every aspect of the workplace has real, tangible benefits for businesses, which is why I observe the backlash against D(iversity) E(quity) and I(nclusion) from seemingly intelligent people with incredulity – and which leads me to wonder if what Elon Musk SHOULD have said is that ‘[ineffective] DEI [practices] must die’.  Still a slightly strong sentiment for my liking, but I do have sympathy for the fatigue that can arise when measures intended to improve workplaces are implemented in a way that is not strategic and well thought out or, frankly, nor far reaching enough.

Investing in DEI is not easy, it’s not cheap, and it’s not a quick fix (I’m sorry to break it to you, but if you are trying to make real change, your first stop should not be an out of the box training package on unconscious bias, however low cost it may be).

However, for those workplaces that get this right, the benefits are manifest and bountiful – and these are the kind of workplaces that will attract future talent in droves.  So, Mr Musk, let me say to you – DEI must not die.  Instead, it’s time to build a future workplace where everyone can thrive, and where diversity, equity and inclusion are not just buzzwords, or even an easy to dismiss acronym, but are the bedrock of business success.

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