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

Abstract

The field of Diversity Equity and Inclusion has hit an apex. A specific role, dedicated to the improvement of organisational diversity, has flourished in recent years. The issue with suddenly emerging fields and job titles, however, is the career path is undetermined. Whereas nurses, accountants, even dedicated HR professionals are well regulated and have professional accreditation, DEI professionals are seemingly drawn at random from a number of professionals. While ostensibly the DEI field emerged from HR departments, where this influx of DEI officers has come from is unclear. This paper looks into this gap in knowledge to find out more about the people who now fill these assorted DEI roles. The role itself also bears looking into – a largely unregulated ‘industry’ , the title and job description varies greatly from organisation to organisation. There are some significant issues facing the DEI field – the lack of regulation and consistency with all things from duties, to pay grades, to ideological approaches, is significant. These have led, consistently, to burnout being an apparently common occurrence as the idealistic goals of diversity and inclusion, may not always hold up to the pragmatic aspects of the corporate world. This study relies on LinkedIn profiles. We review 1000 Australian DEI officers, to uncover background information, and seek to fill some gaps in the knowledge we have about DEI professionals, their jobs, and their career trajectories.