What Does
Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Mean?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a category of policies or programs aimed at making an organization more inclusive in terms of race, gender, culture, ability, age, and religion.
DEI is often heavily focused on recruiting and hiring, where it is concerned with promoting equal opportunity, access, employment, and a sense of belonging.
Safeopedia Explains Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion
While early precursors to DEI programs have been around since the workplace diversity initiatives of the 1960s, the modern approach to DEI is fairly new.
The number of DEI positions began growing alongside prominent and vocal social movements. Most notably, there was a significant rise in DEI job postings in mid-2020, coinciding with protests against the murder of George Floyd.
Breaking Down DEI
In order to understand DEI, it is important to know what each of its components really means.
Diversity
Diversity is concerned with who is represented in the workforce, at all organizational levels. This includes diversity of gender, age, ethnicity, and ability.
Equity
Equity aims to ensure equal opportunity, access, advancement, and treatment for all employees and potential hires. It is focused on the fair distribution of resources within the organization, including adjusting the allocation of resources to compensate for obstacles and barriers faced by marginalized groups.
Inclusion
An inclusive organizational culture is one that is supportive, respectful, and makes everyone feel welcome to contribute and participate. Achieving this type of inclusivity requires the elimination or substantial curtailing of discrimination and intolerance.
Is DEI Beneficial to Organizations?
While the most obvious beneficiaries of DEI are the workers and job applicants who experience a more equitable hiring process, a more inclusive workplace, and better overall representation, organizations also benefit from DEI.
Potential benefits of DEI policies and programs include:
- Recruiting top talent who may otherwise have gone unnoticed due to biases in the hiring process
- Greater innovation, as a more diverse team results in a greater diversity of ideas, experiences, and perspectives
- Reduced turnover and improved retention due to employees feeling valued and respected
- Higher morale, engagement, and productivity from the workforce
- More diverse organizations tend to be more profitable
Legal Challenges to DEI Initiatives
Despite its benefits, DEI has been met with a number of legal challenges.
In 2023, Florida introduced a law prohibiting public institutions from funding DEI programs. That same year, the Texas legislature enacted a ban on DEI offices in colleges and universities. Similar legislation has been passed in Tennessee, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and has been proposed in more than a dozen other states.
While some of these laws specifically concern educational institutions, others are broader in scope and target any publicly funded workplace. Future legislation could encroach upon the private sector or widen to touch on ESG programs as well (given ESG’s mandate of good corporate governance, which overlaps with aspects of DEI).