Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Most businesses say they want to have a diverse workforce and be where everyone can thrive, but then it doesn’t happen. Why?
You recruit from a diverse slate of candidates and even hire people across all spectrums – race, gender, religion, national origin, you name it. However, your leadership still looks the same today as it did 15 years ago.
What’s going on here? It’s not overt racism – your business is actively recruiting minority candidates. If you can get people on board but not retain them, it’s likely coming from something more subtle: cultural clashes at work.
Cultural differences at work
What do a Black superintendent and a potato-loving Asian have in common? They operate out of the local cultural norms.
To keep reading, click here: Cultural differences at work: another challenge for DEI
Non sequitur. Are your recruiting, hiring and firing practices completely color-blind? If not, that’s racism.
“DEI” courses that teach that some of us are automatically “privileged,” “oppressors,” or “racist” just because of our protected characteristics are racist and constitute hostile environment harassment. Especially if they say they are “anti-racist.”
I agree. However, there are times where recruiting does have to intentionally include people who have generally been excluded to make sure that the candidate pool is diverse.
For example, if your office is mostly white men, you can’t just post jobs at golf clubs and adult clubs. At the very least, your job postings need to be in neutral places and it may best to post jobs at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).
You are totally ignoring the existence of institutional racism, which no longer requires an individual decision to discriminate, but merely continues on absent conscious efforts to change its trajectory. So-called “color-blindness” does nothing to combat institutional racism and unconscious bias, but, to the contrary, just perpetuates it. Acknowledging that some of us have benefited from various privileges doesn’t make us oppressors or racists, but refusing to acknowledge our privileges certainly won’t help eliminate oppression or racism.
The superintendent story seems more complicated than can be summed up by cultural differences. For instance: an all expense paid trip to a for-profit college hoping to market its online program to Utah teachers.
“State law prohibits public employees from accepting most gifts, including travel, from potential vendors. In May, a few days after a closed-door school board meeting, Gadson filed a sworn declaration with the Attorney General’s office indicating that he had taken an “all-expense-paid trip” to GCU from Jan. 12 to 14. Such declarations are required by law within 10 days of any official accepting a gift.”
https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2022/07/28/salt-lake-city-moves-shed-its/
Honestly, shows like Star Trek: TNG and DSP and The Orville have done a better job of teaching me how groups of individuals from different cultures and backgrounds than any management training I’ve ever had…