Why do companies have so little to show for their investments in diversity and inclusion initiatives? Experts and non-experts point to a variety of reasons diversity and inclusion efforts fail.
Lack of:
- Real commitment from senior leaders
- Measurable goals and objectives
- Serious consequences for companies that fail to move the needle
I have a different hypothesis.
Why Diversity and Inclusion Efforts Fail – The Unspoken Truth
At its core, diversity and inclusion calls for a redistribution of power.
Fear of loss fuels resistance. Resistance obstructs change. Naming and facing our fears of loss is the way through. Ipso facto, to make progress, we have to identify and face the power issue that’s causing diversity and inclusion efforts to fail.
The research is clear. The greatest business benefits accrue when diversity and inclusion exist at the most powerful tables. These most powerful tables are on business units with P&L responsibilities, senior executive teams, and company boards. Diversifying the power distribution at these tables is progress that matters.
Power gets redistributed in two ways.
- People overthrow those in power.
- People in power invite others to share the power.
People in power decide how the company’s resources – people, money, time and energy – are used. It’s highly unlikely they’ll fund an overthrow. That leaves option two. This requires talking about power, who has it, who doesn’t and how to change the equation.
Power is not a topic of discussion at powerful tables. It’s a topic people with less power discuss in hushed voices behind closed doors. Herein lies our double bind. Achieving diversity and inclusion requires, and will result in, power shifts. But we’re not helping powerful people talk about redistributing power as central to achieving diversity and inclusion.
The Power of Power
We hold power, and its first cousin – money, in high regard. Who, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender, would readily give up or share power?
We’re more comfortable empowering people. This allows powerful people to hold onto the reins of power. Sharing power means handing over some of the reins.
Fear of losing power, even for those who have little, is a powerful unspoken truth about why diversity and inclusion efforts fail. That’s my hypothesis and I’m sticking to it.
Conditions for Talking About Power
I’m experimenting with this hypothesis by establishing five ground rules for diverse groups, including white men, to talk about diversity and inclusion. So far, it’s working.
- Diversity and inclusion, at its core, is about redistributing power, so we’ll be talking about power.
- When we talk about diversity and inclusion, we’re talking about race, ethnicity, gender, etc. When we talk about race and gender we will use the term white male as an identifier, not an accusation.
- Shame and blame are off the table because they stand in the way of talking about what’s necessary.
- None of us in this room decided, hundreds of years ago, white men would be the captains of industry.
- Each of us in this room can do something to change that going forward.
“Hearing you explain we didn’t create the captains of industry role for ourselves, and being a white male doesn’t make me wrong or bad, was important. It allowed me, and other white men in the room, to listen and participate with an open mind.”