After DEI: Imagining A Different Future for Race-Based Policies

• In Event: 31024 - ASA Awards Presentation and Presidential Address

Abstract

In the wake of organized backlash and federal opposition, many organizations are taking steps to downplay or dismantle their existing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming. While there are some exceptions, institutions have largely chosen to retreat from rather than embrace DEI. This stance has prompted disputes over DEI’s effectiveness, shortcomings, and potential. In this address, I argue that debates over the merits of DEI miss the mark. In an increasingly diverse, multiracial society, the more important question is not whether DEI has value, but what will follow it. Organizational behavior in the aftermath of DEI will have heightened significance as work becomes both more automated and more relational, thus producing new ways of maintaining racial hierarchies. To resolve this, I consider various factors that precipitated attacks on DEI and suggest that rethinking policy orientations can help close racial gaps in rapidly changing workplaces.

Author

• Adia M. Harvey Wingfield, Washington University in St. Louis