It's Time to Say Goodbye to DEI

By Dr. Akilah Cadet

The days of racial reckoning have come to an end. Moments of solidarity and proud displays of allyship for Black people and workplace diversity are null and void. Across the country people are seeing attacks on oppressed people. From the end of affirmative action, Roe v. Wade, voting rights, and states that have outlawed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced they no longer require diversity statements for faculty applications because, simply put, they believe they do not work. As a leading DEI expert MIT is right. When institutions and organizations are built in America, they have a higher probability of upholding values of white supremacy (you know, like how America was built). Infiltrating DEI statements and initiatives does nothing but affirm the superiority of white people.

With the murder of George Floyd, May 25, 2020, we saw an influx in DEI programs. Everyone everywhere wanted to not be racist. The image of seeing a Black man call for his mother while he succumbed to an avoidable death was too much for white people to bear. The Summer of Allyship, as I call it, was a true display of white people wanting to do the work. It started with a black square on social media to Juneteenth holidays, collaborations with Black creatives, and hiring DEI experts to create the coveted DEI statement.

Here we are, four years after Floyd’s horrific death and we have seen attacks on DEI initiatives even banned in some states. Tech companies have laid off parts or their entire DEI teams. The resources that once were abundant to Black people, the LGBTQ+, disabled and BIPOC communities are memories of the past. MIT, who once required all faculty applicants to demonstrate their knowledge of DEI and provide a track record of working with diverse groups including how they would advance DEI in their role for the university are gone. MIT is the first elite university to step away from DEI.

There is this idea that having DEI language will result in the behavior, attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs that can lead to actions for incremental change within any culture, paramount to DEI. The truth of the matter is unless oppressed people developed the organizational culture it will always go back to the comfort of white supremacy. White people want to be comfortable again.

Gone are the days of white people wanting to be comfortable being uncomfortable by using their privilege to champion the changes asked for with DEI efforts. A 2020 study by Lean In and Survey monkey found that in the workplace, 82 percent of white men and 81 percent of white women see themselves as allies. If most white people feel they are allies, then what good is it to keep having conversations and dialogue around allyship needed for DEI? If there are so many white people who feel they are already allies, then why do Black people feel discriminated against, tokenized, and othered in the workplace?

Over the many years of doing diversity work, I have found that white people want three things: 1) to be right, 2) to not be canceled or accountable, and 3) to be comfortable. These are the ways in which work is not done, changes do not happen, and white supremacy is upheld. It is the very reason white people who have done and continue to “do the work” feel like the odd ones out.

So, what happens now that we are witnessing the Death of DEI? Well, it is time for all of us to realize how we all have our own individual accountability with how we show up in spaces and places. We must acknowledge the systems and structures of white supremacy are not only the foundation of America but also, how people work, learn, and gather. There is still time to focus on our individual behaviors to create overall belonging to build company cultures for all to thrive in. We need to say goodbye to DEI so white people can acknowledge the importance of dismantling white supremacy...which they created after all.

For more read or listen to White Supremacy is All Around: Notes From a Black Disabled Woman in a White World available everywhere or contact Dr. Akilah Cadet/Change Cadet via email hello@changecadet.com if your looking for a thought partner or advisor as you navigate doing the work!