Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives adopt primarily a muddled, laissez faire approach to instituting change in organizational culture and operations. To normalize relevance, DEI training necessarily glosses over existing localized practices and responsibilities, leaving participants to cobble together their semblance of equitable practices. Unless each participant is trained and enabled to diagnose, coordinate, and instigate bottom-up change to engage collaboratively on collective DEI programmatic goals, reversion to status quo is a reasonable and likely outcome. As a corrective, I propose an equity advocate role that rotates among workgroup members in which the designated advocate is trained to observe group process and call out concerns when necessary to ensure that work and decision-making are equitable and inclusive. Instituting this role formally authorizes group members to examine how their work in “real time” may at times be inconsistent with DEI initiatives. Taking up this role, along with one’s formal job role, calls on each person to practice taking responsibility for DEI implementation. Benefits beyond typical training regimens include: broad and substantive participation across group members; shared responsibility; application of principles to “real time” local work practices and tasks; role-based change agency; peer learning and role modeling; localized equity initiatives; and learning and practicing bottom-up change intervention. Broadly deploying the equity advocate role establishes contexts in which the work of DEI can become integral to the existing work of the organization. Without such operationalization, visions of greater inclusion will likely remain aspirational rather than enacted.

Presenters

Michael Moon
Associate Professor, Department of Public Affairs and Administration, California State University, East Bay, California, United States