If Your DEI Efforts Report to HR, That’s Why They are Failing

This is going to push a few buttons today… and I’m OK with that.  We need to start having some tough conversations and challenge the way things have operated for far too long with minimal results.

I’m a firm believer that diversity efforts (DEI, DEIJ, JEDI, and any iteration thereof) should not be a part of the human resources function of an organization. The scope of HR is limited to internal people, processes, and procedures which does not allow for DEI efforts to become a critical aspect of other business functions beyond employees.

HR’s role is to mitigate risks and protect the company. If DEI ‘lives’ in HR, there is no entity within that structure that is actually FOR the employee. There may be individuals with empathy, but typically they have no power to drive systemic change and/or are helplessly undergoing the same foolishness you are.

When I speak to clients about their experiences in TOXIC work environments 10 times out of 10, it’s the same HR playbook –

• • Tell us your grievance

  • We’ll do an investigation

  • We won’t find anything to ‘substantiate’ the claims

  • Your qualifications/skills/professionalism/leadership abilities become the issue (gaslighting)

  • Nothing happens to the people that have caused harm (reinforcing the toxic work culture)

  • You realizes it’s not worth speaking up anymore (psychologically unsafe) and begins to question yourself

You –

a) continue to work in toxicity while the same HR team pushes their recruiting team to tell other Black and Brown folks it’s a wonderful place to work.
b) decide to get legal support (which usually doesn’t understand how discrimination manifests in the workplace for people of color), and they get you a few dollars.. but not before you sign an NDA.
c) leave for another job without getting over the trauma created by the first

Here are a few pointers:

• Document EVERYTHING

• Don’t trust HR.. sorry to say.. even if they look like you (they have a job to do too)

• Find external support (coach, legal counsel, therapist)

• LEAVE!! Look for places that will value YOU and not just what you can do for them

Did I miss anything?