Attention to DEI in the workplace has never been higher. Those hired to spearhead the change often do so at their own professional peril
In 2020, when the Black Lives Matter movement was gaining greater traction and George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police, social justice and equity issues began to dominate the collective conversation. The movement also triggered the creation of a surge of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and positions in the nonprofit, philanthropic and corporate arenas.
Yet a few years later, not much has changed. DEI is big business, with companies and higher education spending more than $8 billion on training and staffing. Although the commitment to diversity in corporate America appears to be strong, the actual end game – diversity, equity and inclusion – is not. In my role as a consultant to foundations and nonprofits on diversity, equity and inclusion, I always ask tough questions around the intention for these initiatives. Many times, organizations are more invested in hiring a person of color or inviting a high-profile Black individual to take a seat on a board to check off a box than they are in making systematic change around racial equity and inclusion. It often feels like the "low hanging fruit" strategy, in that once they hire a person, add a person to the board or do a few trainings, they feel that they have done their due diligence. Organizations' intentions can be significantly different from those of the Black professionals they recruit to take on DEI. Those who are approached and recruited are often experienced professionals in their fields, who are passionate about wanting to help shape enduring and systematic change. Once the DEI officer starts to move through what the policy changes and shifts might be – usually with the presentation of a strategic plan, it is the start of a very bumpy road that time and again has put the person and their position at risk. One former DEI officer told me, "It was like being promised that you have a seat at the leadership table where decisions are made, only to find out that you have been invited to sit at the kiddie table quietly." One of the big stories on the DEI front in 2022 was about Dr. Chris Pernell, who was Newark, New Jersey University Hospital's DEI officer. Pernell says her efforts to eliminate bias in the organization were undermined almost immediately after she started the job. Pernell, who was often on the media circuit talking about COVID-19 and its impact on communities of color, was sanctioned and investigated for her statements. Pernell also brought her personal experiences into the discussion when she disclosed that her father had died because of COVID-19, ABC News reported that Pernell was told tother hospital executives disapproved of her "mouthing off" on television."It was as if I, a Black woman who had experienced loss and hurt and grief in this pandemic, should not speak about it," she said in the ABC interview In September 2022, the leadership announced her departure to "pursue new opportunities." Stress of being a torch bearer But her experience hasn't slowed Black professionals from taking on these roles. According to LinkedIn data, the number of people who hold a title around DEI has grown each year since 2020. For many Black professionals, these positions are more than just a job. They understand a lot rides on their ability to open the doors to opportunities and to create equity. A recent Mc Kinsey report on racial equity concluded: "The Black/white labor-force disparity persists despite a decade-long economic expansion – and the pandemic has reversed recent progress in narrowing the gap."Linda Goler Blount, president and CEO of the Black Women's Health Imperative, a nonprofit created to protect and advance the health and well-being of Black women and girls, says it is important for prospective employees and board members to ask key questions before taking on these positions. "If are looking at this as an opportunity to make change, you need to make sure that you are on the same page as the organization that is recruiting you." Blount says there is often a disconnect between what the organization wants and what the person being recruited thinks should be happening. She also addresses to the importance of" having a network of people to talk to before and after you accept the position. Blount, who has turned down overtures several times, says, "It doesn't take long for Black leaders to come into these in organizations to see some of the internal barriers and biases along the way." She also talks about organizations hiring Black female executives to "fix their race problem, but discard them once the problem is addressed even in the most superficial ways."‘Robust sense of self' is required Over the years, I have been hired to conduct focus groups consisting of Black women who had taken on the responsibilities of DEI in predominantly white institutions. To a person, each one talked about the stress and anxiety they felt while tackling the big and small issues of racial equity in their workplaces. They all spoke about feeling sad, and overwhelmed by the exhaustion and frustration around talking about equity, without seeing any change, and being racially triggered and targeted.A seminal work on the journey of Black professionals in DEI work, "Race Work and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience," is a compilation of voices of Black leaders who have taken on this work. One of the studies in the book, "African American Women as Change Agents in the White Academy" by Muriel E. Shockley and Elizabeth L. Holloway, discusses the experiences of Black women navigating racism and sexism in academia, and more specifically, factors that helped them thrive. The study suggests that in order to come out of this work whole and with their mental health intact, Black professionals need to have a "robust sense of self" in order to thrive and survive.
I have seen people get fooled into thinking their management team and their co-workers want them to succeed in creating equitable and diverse spaces and policies. It can be isolating and offer a false sense of confidence and security. If you aren't firmly rooted in who you are and what values you bring to your job, these situations can chip away at your well-being and mental health. Or as Blount says, "Know who you are going in, and stay true to that person even as you face the challenges."
First published in Black Mental Health Today, Winter 2023 (Vol. 6).
