The recent headlines say it all:

“Inside the anti-DEI crusade” (The New York Times)

“DEI efforts are under siege” (CNN)

“DEI is under attack” (Harvard Business Review)

With initiatives toward diversity, equity, and inclusion enduring a backlash on several fronts, advocates would be well-advised to rethink their goals, strategies, and messaging. If there’s still a strong business and moral case for DEI, what approaches will work better in the current climate of culture wars, corporate austerity, and legal challenges? Experts on a panel at From Day One’s February virtual conference discussed the path forward.

While the headlines make the struggle seem dire, panelist Sue Schmidlkofer, global director of diversity and inclusion at UPS, says not to be alarmed. “There are cycles to this kind of work,” she said. “It’s not going away, and it’s part of the foundation for organizations large and small.” Much of the controversy, she says, comes down to the proper framing and education about the initiatives.

William Rolack, chief inclusion & diversity officer for management at Kroll, agrees that the added scrutiny around DEI comes down to a lack of understanding or “misplacement” of its role within the broader corporate conversation. “DEI is not a policy. It is a philosophy,” he said. “We influence policy for equity. We don’t write policy.”

“There has been an ebb and flow for DEI, as a term, and certainly as a perceived discipline. In many cases, it's been politicized and weaponized,” agreed Lauren Guthrie, VP of global talent and inclusion, diversity, equity at VF Corporation. “But I personally believe that it is an essential set of concepts, skills, and capabilities that are necessary in our culture for an organization to be successful.”

Taking a Global Perspective

“We are a consumer-serving organization. And for us to do that work effectively and authentically, and to connect with our consumers around the world, we have to embrace and uphold the tenets of what it means to serve those who are different than ourselves,” Guthrie said. Her organization upholds “integrity, growth mindset, and consumer centricity” as three of its core company values. This infuses the philosophy of DEI into every level of the business – from hiring and establishing a leadership competency model to building an environment of psychological safety for employees, decision-making, consumer support, and beyond.

Schmidlkofer says that UPS’s DEI initiatives grew from the company’s global reach, dating back to the 1960s as the company began to reach outside of the United States to what is now over 220 countries and territories. “You're going to reflect the fabric of those communities,” she said.

“I love how you say, ‘We need to look like our customers.’ I think that will embed diversity into your efforts automatically,” said moderator Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review. Having DEI ingrained into the company’s culture allows UPS to operate from a position of strength, she says, so that any new initiatives become a natural extension of its past track record and don’t seem performative.

This long term commitment to inclusion can feel more natural and nuanced to potential critics. Gus Viano, VP of global diversity, equity & inclusion at Brink's, says that organizations that only started DEI departments as a response to the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement, face far more pushback than those that have been incorporating it into strategy for much longer.

DEI in Your Business Strategy

For Brink’s, Viano says, DEI is tied to ESG (environmental, social, and governance). “We have to report it to investors as part of our sustainability report,” he said. Guthrie agrees that DEI can have “dollar and cent impact” that can make it easier to make the case for its importance within an organization.

“We’re looking to maximize not only the productivity of our workforce, but their ability to live the corporate values in an authentic way,” she said, which in turn can impact benchmarks like retention, attrition, and engagement. Rolack warns that sometimes corporations can get so caught up in compliance and education on DEI, that they miss the economic value, “the understanding that everything that DEI touches has a financial formula.”

Looking at consumers from a DEI perspective can also expand customer reach and therefore increase profits. Guthrie notes that inclusive philosophy can come through in marketing efforts, product websites, and advocacy initiatives. “We’re always thinking about this holistically through the lens of associate, consumer, and community. And through each one of those filters, there is a set of metrics that we can use to hold ourselves accountable, and also demonstrate a very palpable return on investment for the work that we're doing in this space,” she said.

Mitigating the “Threat Level”

Viano emphasized the importance of collaborating with the legal department to ensure that any statements or policies are just and defensible. Schmidlkofer encourages all organizations to do a legal audit of their current DEI practices, especially in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, to ensure they are still being intentional as well as legally compliant.

Schmidlkofer also reiterates the need for better awareness about what DEI really means to help decrease the feelings of threat and anxiety around the issue – and making it not just about race, gender, and compulsory unconscious bias training. “We all know how terrible it feels to be excluded. So let’s focus more on bringing people together so that the business performs better,” she said. These “courageous conversations,” as she calls them, take time and patience.

When DEI is under attack, employees from diverse groups may feel under attack by extension. “I advise the leaders of the company to speak openly about it, and to be very specific about the position of the company as it supports diversity and inclusion, making sure that employees not only feel safer and that there is a sense of sustainability with regard to the DEI, but also that leaders are committed to the work,” Viano said.

Incorporating DEI into employee systems also means ensuring people are not excluded, which can lead to resentment and the feeling of being under threat. “White males are sometimes left out of systems that may only have [identity-based] employee networks, but may not have an intersectionality network,” Rolack said. This nuanced approach to inclusion is crucial to cultivating allyship.

Moving the Work Forward

Establishing DEI as a philosophy that all employees feel ownership over is key to moving the dial forward. It starts with leadership embedding the philosophy, and then creating accountabilities for other employees too. “It needs to have a clear functional owner within the construct of the organization to drive that work,” Guthrie said.

“Through programs, processes, and ways of working, the evidence needs to be palpable. Getting tactical about the clear actions, which then can allow an organization to speak transparently about progress or lack thereof, is really where the ownership lies.” Crucially, organizations must choose a path that makes the most sense for its own structure and needs. “There’s so much opportunity to lean into this platform in an authentic and an effective way for your organization.”

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Honeysuckle Magazine, and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, and CBS New York.