Does DEI need to DIE?

Elon certainly thinks so… and I might agree…

One of the ways I know my lovely newsletter subscribers are tuned into what’s going on in the world of DEI is because so many of them sent me messages and tagged me in posts about Elon Musk’s comments on X about “DEI must DIE”.  Now, apart from being a quite witty play on acronyms, they were all bang on when they thought I’d have an opinion about his thoughts on DEI creating more discrimination than it solves.

The short version of this is… I think he’s full of BS and is enjoying the media spike for the day.

The slightly longer version, however, is that while I don’t agree with his rationale, I’m also not completely sure he’s wrong. DEI (or it’s intended impacts) have been around for ages. It only became the thing we know it to be today following various events in 2020, most notably the murder of George Floyd, which saw it evolve into the thing we’re familiar with now.

And this is where it all started to go a bit astray. You see, many organisations were quick to get on board with the concept. Understanding that things needed to change, action needed to be taken, and hiring people to make both of these things happen.

But… Many organisations also didn’t fully understand that DEI work (in its true sense) is a change management process. It involves assessing your organisation’s culture, strategies, and operations and understanding what it is that needs to change. Specifically.  So, we saw many companies rushing off to prove how diverse and inclusive they were without thinking about why, and they ended up treating DEI as a separate thing to be managed and not an integral part of their business that spans all areas of operations. Whoops.

And this type of DEI is what needs to die.

We’ve already seen the proof of this during 2023, with the likes of Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros, and Google letting their DEI Leads go. And I think this is something that will only continue.

Because I think 2024 will be the year that exposes performative DEI.  Initiatives that lack substance will get rolled back, resources will be diverted to the next new trend, and employee engagement and morale will take a critical hit as people realise there was no substance to the promises.

But the good news is, my aspiring allies, the orgs that have done it properly (like you) will reap the rewards as people see through the BS. Companies that have taken the time to embed inclusion, equality, and equity into their working practices will continue to see the return on their wise (and meaningful) investment through talent attraction and retention, innovation, and productivity. Because you understood what was needed. You knew it wasn’t a quick or trendy fix. And you delivered.

So, do I think DEI must die?

Not exactly.

But I do think it’s in danger of killing itself off if it doesn’t get back to the heart of what it was designed to achieve. My belief is that DEI needs to find its way back to the place it was always supposed to be; at the heart of good business sense.