The contentious discourse around DEI in the workplace

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has officially entered the realm of culture war buzzwords, yet as the dialogue rages on, the definition becomes skewed. Does it belong in the Aussie workplace?

“DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it,” said Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), before doubling down, saying: “DEI, because it discriminates on the basis of race, gender and many other factors, is not merely immoral, it is also illegal.”

So how did we get here?

The emergence of DEI

DEI or diversity, equity and inclusion themes first emerged in the 1960s following the introduction of equal employment laws and affirmative action. Of course, before 2020, there were societal pushes for reform of various employment practices; however, the topic of DEI became synonymous throughout corporate workplaces across the world after the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Diversity is simply difference; it’s an indicator of the extent to which there is difference within a unit, team, or company. The differences can be in regards to gender, age, race or ethnicity.

Inclusion is about how people feel, people who feel valued, included and heard; it’s where your unique perspective is respected in the space you’re working in.

Equity relates to fairness; to have equity is to acknowledge that not everyone begins from the same starting line and each person may have different needs, yet equity works to ensure that everyone gets the same opportunities. In its purest form, this is what DEI brings to the workplace.

DEI, when applied to the workplace, brings people from different backgrounds and experiences together, which – when managed in the correct fashion – can create a high-performing and innovative working environment, which is what all companies strive towards.

Benefits of DEI in the workplace

DEI can offer an organisation many proven and tangible benefits, with the most notable being innovation. Innovation can be a key point of difference for companies that embrace DEI to its potential, as it allows you to come up with new services, products, or improved ways of delivering those products due to the diverse solutions, ideas and opinions within the workforce.

Attraction and retention can also take an uptick as you’re more likely to discover the most suitable skills and experience if you open your talent pool to a more diverse intake. Employers who tend to put a cap on their diversity parameters reduce the number of candidates they consider, which ultimately limits them.

If a workplace operates as a true meritocracy and uses mature DEI strategies, it should have the best people promoted and the best ideas implemented. Those people who want to participate, have put in the work, gained results and proven themselves are respected, rewarded, and promoted.

DEI can also improve productivity, and it makes bottom-line business sense. Hiring a demographically diverse workforce can improve an organisation’s financial performance and help it realise its full potential.

The data reinforces this when mature DEI strategies were applied;

• Seventy-one per cent of leaders report beating their competitors to market.
• Organisations reported seeing an average 11.7 per cent gain in market share.
• Thirty-six per cent of leaders reported beating their most current financial year by 10 per cent.

The discourse

Mr Musk, along with some other higher-ups in the corporate world, has been staunchly against DEI and its principles. However, these DEI principles that Mr Musk argues against could have assisted Tesla (his company) last April when it was ordered to pay $3 million in a racial discrimination lawsuit due to racial slurs, graffiti, and insensitive cartoons within the workplace.

Separately, in 2022, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing said the agency had received hundreds of complaints from workers alleging racism and harassment at the Tesla Fremont factory. These incidents have not changed Mr Musk’s mind about perhaps adopting DEI principles but instead have done the opposite.

Kurt April, a professor from the University of Cape Town, argued that these various rebuttals towards DEI come from a coupled fear of losing privilege and relevance.

“Those in the dominant/privileged groupings consciously and unconsciously fight notions of ‘being equal’ because their separateness and differentiation are spurred on by their desire to obtain and hold onto such social and economic power,” said Mr April.

Not all corporate higher-ups share Mr Musk’s views, with Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and previous owner of the Dallas Mavericks, being a big supporter of DEI in the workplace.

“The loss of DEI-phobic companies is my gain. Having a workforce that is diverse and representative of your stakeholders is good for business,” Mr Cuban said.

In its purity, DEI can achieve fair and balanced changes within companies, and in a lot of Australian businesses, leaders and organisational structures support its implementation and push it forward. This progression must rely upon mature strategies of implementation that secure equal representation for employees but at the same time can boost productivity and results for a company; it’s a seesaw affair that requires optimal balance from organisations if they want it to succeed.