In a storm of backlash, HR pros might be questioning their understanding of DEI

The workplace may need a DEI reality check.

Commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion have seen major rollbacks throughout the last several months, with executive orders and state legislation symbolizing a resurgence of anti-DEI sentiments.

As HR leaders and companies move forward, they’ll need to reconcile misunderstandings around what DEI actually means, said Poornima Luthra, an associate professor at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark and author of Can I Say That?

Luthra shared insights about what HR pros can learn from her book.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What would HR pros learn from your book?

I’d like them to have a more nuanced understanding around the backlash and resistance that we’re seeing to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to really understand where it comes from, because I think there’s a lot of superficial understanding…and there’s a lot of shame and blame associated with those that oppose DEI as well as the other way around those that support DEI.

Resistance to DEI and the backlash has always been there. You can go back in history to the Civil Rights Movement. The movement with women’s rights as well…so, understanding this resistance has been a big part of my research over the last few years, and when you get into it, it’s really about the fact that we see DEI as a threat. A threat to our status, threat to our idea of what we think meritocracy is, and my position in an organization, the threat to access to opportunities and resources, the threat to culture, and what I think my culture should be, or the organizational culture/societal culture should be.

Why do you think some people see DEI as a threat?

When we see something as a threat, the human response to that is it creates a certain set of emotions that come up…from feeling insecure, feeling inadequate, not knowing enough about the subject matter, to feeling threatened, to feeling unsure, to feeling overwhelmed…When we look at the range of emotional responses [from who oppose and support DEI], it comes down to the core human emotion of fear. And, that’s been the crux of my book. That understanding that fear is at the core of it, and then exploring…What are we actually fearful of when it comes to DEI?

[Can I Say That?] really looks at the five fears when it comes to DEI, so there’s the fear of change, the fear of getting it wrong, the fear of taking actions and the personal consequences that come from doing so, the fear of discomfort, and the fear of the lack of positive impact…In understanding the fears, we then know how to name it, understanding it, then we know how to let it go, so the book offers a set of interventions, nudges that we can use to really be able to let go of each of these fears.

You mentioned there are superficial understandings of DEI. What’s an example of that?

A lot of [DEI work] has to do with performative efforts. You organize your annual Women’s Day, you organize a Pride event, and your work is done, without realizing that diversity, equity, and inclusion really requires much more systemic and more cultural change.

There’s been a very superficial focus on DEI, but also superficial understanding of what diversity, equity, and inclusion means, and because of that, we’ve created this acronym DEI, and it’s very easy for people to say, I'm anti-that, but we haven’t really gone into the depths of really clarifying and increasing awareness around what do these three terms actually mean.

What do the terms mean?

Diversity is really about embracing uniqueness and differences. Equity is about fairness, and inclusion is about belonging…When we look at that, I think it’s quite hard for anyone, regardless of your political inclinations…to say that I don’t want to be valued for my uniqueness, and the value of who I am, and the differences that I bring to the table…It’s also very difficult to find people who would say, I don’t want fairness.

It’s also a core human need to want to feel like we belong, and, in my research, no matter who you speak to, regardless of which side of the political aisle they’re on, everyone wants to feel that deep sense of belonging.

And, so when we come down to looking at diversity, equity, and inclusion, in that deeper way of understanding what it actually is, it becomes very difficult for us to say I’m anti-that, because it’s very easy to say I’m anti-DEI, but it’s very difficult to say, I’m anti-valuing my uniqueness. I’m anti-wanting or desiring fairness, and I’m anti-wanting belonging.