By Janice Sparks, PhD
News travels so fast and things evolve so quickly that sometimes we may miss taking the time to think about change, transformation, and the movement associated with swift evolution.
A few months ago NBC News published a story with a headline that reads, Hamstrung by ‘golden handcuffs’: Diversity roles disappear 3 years after George Floyd’s murder inspired them. To summarize, the article highlights the loss in major corporations of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leaders who were hired in early 2020 after George Floyd’s murder; however, now many organizations are reducing or eliminating these positions. In over 600 companies, Revelio Labs found that since late 2020, DEI role attrition outpaced non-DEI roles by 40% and 24% respectively.
So why is this happening?
There may be a couple of reasons: First, although organizations had good intentions in creating these roles, they did not count the costs of what it would take to sustain them and did not understand the deep-rooted complexities of things like institutional racism and what it would take to overcome the challenges. Second, organizations are, understandably, unsure of how to address DEI in the “right” way. This may be why some are shifting from a single role to using Environmental, Social and Business Governance, or ESG, models to address DEI. While integrating this work organizationally has potential staying power, a DEI lead should remain in place to oversee, shepherd the process, and hold the organization accountable to DEI commitments established through ESG efforts.
The reduction in DEI roles reflects progress, and no business has a magic wand that will instantaneously craft the right organizational configuration. These statistics, while alarming, should help us think about not only the why, but also the what: What can be done to sustainably create organizational cultures that reflect dedication to the cause? Hopefully, over time, we will see commitment reflected in visible change and measurable outcomes.
In future posts, I’d like to explore whether this trend also appears on the healthcare landscape, what it means internally for an organization, and possible external implications related to service delivery and addressing health equity for the community at large. Spring Street is evolving too, and we hope to continue working with organizations that are committed to making real, impactful, sustainable change.