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The Lens - April 2022
City of Iowa City sent this bulletin at 04/19/2022 10:00 AM CDT
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April 2022 |
The Lens, a newsletter to expand conversations on equity, justice, and human rights.
Anti-Racism and DEI Agendas
Conversations on racial equity have circled among the workplace
and in institutions for years, and leaders are questioning the best
way to develop a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda.
Usually, the agendas include structural changes, projects focused
on understanding cultural differences, and the goal of providing
equal opportunities to employees of color. However, Carmen
Morris, a former contributor for Forbes, states that an active
realization of anti-racism practices is usually left out of conversations and is instead brushed over with
unhelpful initiatives.
Morris writes, “Anti-racism lies at the heart of the DEI agenda, and initiatives that fail to underpin it risk
imminent failure.” Rather than being used as a PR or marketing tool to make an organization appear
more diverse, anti-racist practices must be embedded into a system and be treated as a priority.
“Organizational change will only be developed through the establishment of an organizational culture
of anti-racism,” Morris continues, “and this must inevitably be built into all solutions that aspire to
develop and foster racially inclusive environments.”
Anti-racism agendas require recognizing and dismantling the systemic inequalities that prevent equity
within organizations. Leaders must step back and look at their institution’s overall identity, analyzing
whether their initiatives come with true intention or are simply obligatory. Morris recognizes that past
DEI efforts have commonly focused on recognizing equality between individuals rather than centering
on anti-racism and racism’s root causes. Although sometimes uncomfortable, these conversations are
necessary and require public commitment.
James Madison University sets an example with its explicit and proactive anti-racist and anti-
discrimination agenda it established during the 2020-21 academic year. “We are approaching these
initiatives with a focused urgency, acknowledging that we can no longer be satisfied with institutional
gradualism,” JMU states on its website. The agenda includes several foundational actions, a new
budget lens, planned accountability measures, and established DEI leaders. JMU also establishes five
broad goals with specific measurable outcomes including identifying and correcting oppressive
practices, achieving a critical mass of Black and Brown staff, creating academic opportunities that
recognize intersectionality, diversifying the university’s pedagogy, and strategically allocating
resources for DEI practices.
You can read more about JMU’s exemplary anti-racist agenda here.
There is no quick fix to ending racism, but leaders and organizations must make intentional decisions
by acknowledging systemic inequalities and moving forward with honest anti-racist initiatives.
Authentic commitment from everyone involved is necessary for change and a successful DEI agenda.
Who is responsible for DEI?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have become top priorities in the workplace. Eighty-three percent
of 656 responding organizations took on DEI initiatives, according to a study by WorldatWork, and
79% of companies will allocate more budget and/or resources for DEI in 2022, as reflected in Traliant
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and World Business’s Research report. The question these
organizations are facing is under which department should these
DEI initiatives fall?
Human Resources tends to hold the most responsibility for DEI
policies in the workplace; a company’s first thought when getting
started with DEI is to depend on HR to diversify and educate its
employees. In 2021, DEI moved up four spots on the list of HR’s
top priorities, sitting behind recruiting, developing leaders, and
controlling labor costs, three ceaseless struggles.
HR and executive leaders can train employees and managers on inclusion, find diverse job
candidates, track and report DEI data, create DEI-focused employee resource groups, and establish
diverse teams for projects, Shay Misra, a writer for JD Supra, says, “HR may need to establish
accountability for DEI, particularly when it comes to the organization’s leaders. Staff should be
informed and able to identify and consult on all manner of DEI barriers and issues.” Taking action as a
company leader can set positive examples for the other employees around you.
However, many companies are losing momentum by taking a “top-down” approach and only
implementing surface-level actions. Many businesses are relying on compliance, not commitment.
Toby Egbuna, Co-Founder and CEO of Chezie, argues that although HR greatly interacts with DEI
work, DEI must be its own department. Cramming all DEI responsibilities into HR takes efforts away
from their sole function, and it doesn’t allow DEI to reach its full potential. It also signals to other
departments that DEI isn’t their responsibility and implies that there’s nothing they can do to promote
it.
Like any other business function, companies need a DEI team that prioritizes its needs, dedicates its
resources, and tracks the progress. Furthermore, DEI must interact with every part of the company,
not only HR. DEI efforts should not be arbitrary; they should stem from the business’s strategy and
reflect the brand and its workers. HR can play a crucial role in DEI enforcement, but to make the right
impact, companies need to make it its own priority and integrate it throughout the entire business.
Roll Back of Rights
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) labelled 2021 “the worst year
for anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent history.” The U.S. Supreme
Court will almost certainly overturn Roe v. Wade in June, and a
growing number of activists worry Griswold v. Connecticut is next.
(Roe protects a woman’s right to an abortion; Griswold protects the
right to contraception.) From Texas’ vigilante-enforced abortion ban
to Oklahoma’s almost-total ban with no exception for pregnancies
resulting from rape or incest, 22 states have abortion bans on the
books, ready and waiting for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe.
Seventeen states, including Iowa, currently restrict how teachers
may frame lessons about history, race, gender, and similar topics, while numerous additional states
are considering such legislation. Sold as “parents’ rights” laws, these are in fact teacher intimidation
tactics. A nationwide concerted effort is underway to roll back societal progress.
All this may feel infuriating and overwhelming, especially to people old enough to remember fighting
for their rights the first time around. “I would never, ever want anybody to go through what I went
through,” a woman who had an abortion in 1970 told the New York Times. “I was lucky that I didn’t die
… There were so many girls from that era that did not survive,” said another, who had one in 1959. "If
you had told me decades ago that the gay liberation movement would get to this point, where we'd go
from being arrested, evicted, fired from our jobs for being gay to now the Supreme Court ruling we
can't be discriminated against at work, I wouldn't believe you! I can't believe it's happened during my
lifetime," a man who participated in the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising at age 17 told Business Insider.
But here we are, with these rights at risk again. So what can we do to resist?
While it may seem like one person can’t do much, if no one acts, nothing will change. Here are some
strategies for turning the tide:
Identify your issue(s). With all the demands life puts on us, we only have so much time and
energy to devote to causes we care about. The list of attacks on rights is long, but if your efforts
aren’t focused, you won’t accomplish much, if anything. What is most important to you? Work
on that; leave the rest to someone else.
Do your research. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Google is your friend. Learn about the
issue—what bills are in your legislature? What exactly do they say and what would it mean if
they were passed? Who supports and opposes them? Find out which organizations and people
are involved in your area, what efforts have succeeded or failed and why, and what is already
planned going forward.
Identify your skills. What can you contribute? It’s great if you can do specialized tasks like
providing free accounting for a struggling non-profit, but it’s just as valuable to make dinner for
campaign workers putting in long hours on the telephone, or to be one of the people making
calls.
Keep track of your goals and accomplishments. Studies show that goals are much more
likely to be realized when they are written down.
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Get out there and do something. Anything. Remember every act of service is a contribution.
It isn’t necessary to be Mother Teresa, and burning yourself out won’t help anyone. So do only
what you can reasonably do, but never give up.
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