Diversity & Inclusion Doesn’t Work… Without Equity

Diversity & Inclusion versus Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion… What’s the Difference? The answer is more important than you might think.

The Missing Ingredient

For the past decade, Diversity & Inclusion has been the buzz word of companies and organizations hoping to make their work culture … how should I say, less white? But there is a key element missing here — Equity.

Think about DEI like a cake recipe — where “Diversity” represents the ingredients, “Equity” is the recipe, and “Inclusion” serves as the oven that bakes it all together. D&I efforts without underscoring equity is like trying to bake a cake without a recipe — not only rendering the “D” and “I” completely useless, but also potentially creating an “unpalatable” outcome.

Why Not Equality?

Isn’t the goal for us to be an equal society? Yes, and it will require deliberate equity efforts in order to achieve the ultimate goal of equality. Demanding equality is like advocating that everyone should have a place to breast feed or pump in the office, regardless of gender.

While equality means giving everyone the same thing regardless of whether or not they actually need it, equity means giving people what they actually need in order to create more equal outcomes. Diversity & Inclusion without the Equity piece is ultimately a lost cause.

Diversity

Diversity only means allowing different people into a space.

The power dynamics in America’s workforce are still deeply unequal. Simply inviting more BIPOC folks into a company is not going to fix that. On the contrary, it will further entrench company cultural norms by enforcing an assimilation model (i.e. “We welcome everyone here … as long as they play by our rules.”).

Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion means welcoming diversity into a space and working toward making it a shared space where all voices are heard.

Inclusion is intended to counter the inevitable tokenization and marginalization that will occur by simply “diversifying” the workplace. Inclusion requires us to acknowledge, honor, and incorporate the wisdom and value that others bring to the table. Moreover, it forces us to step back and make space for others, as well as recognize that we are no longer the only voice in the room.

While the intentions are positive, Diversity & Inclusion by themselves inevitably promotes an equality-based approach to change — implying that we are all coming from the same starting point.

Equity

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion means not only welcoming others and working toward creating a shared space, but also actively working toward strategically eliminating pre-established inequalities and lopsided power-dynamics that created the disparities in the first place.

By centering equity in this work, it reminds us that dismantling systemic oppression requires more than simply saying that we welcome and value other people. It also reminds us that we must start by acknowledging the reasons that we do this work in the first place.