What Every Manager Should Know About Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Managers who follow current events are wondering if they should still be promoting DEI in the workplace after it has come under harsh political attacks from those who view it as a negative influence on America.  The media has been full of stories about conservative politicians railing against DEI and “woke” cultural initiatives, painting it as an un-American and discriminatory against White Americans.  The easiest thing for managers is to simply avoid the topic altogether, but in the increasingly diverse U.S. workforce, pretending that we are all identical is a mistake that causes more problems than it solves.  Instead, managers need to be smart about how they think about their diverse workforce and how to engage them to achieve maximum productivity.

What Exactly is DEI?

 

To start, let’s clearly define what DEI is and importantly, what it is not.  Starting with the terms themselves, diversity means the presence of differences: backgrounds, identities, perspectives, characteristics (race, gender, age, disability, culture, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, etc.).  It is abundantly clear in most parts of the U.S. that we are indeed a diverse nation and have become even more so in the past half century as immigrants from every corner of the world have made their way to the U.S., both legally and illegally.

The latest data from the 2020 U.S. census produced the following ethnic breakdown of the American public:

White  =    60%
Hispanic = 20%
Black   =    14%
Asian  =       6%

Moreover, the trend is showing growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations, while the percentage of White Americans from Europe has declined over the past 50 years from 80% to 60%.  If trends continue, demographers predict that by 2040, just 15 years from now, Whites will no longer be the majority.  Contributing to this trend, about 10% of Americans are multi-racial and that number is growing too. We are looking at a future where a multicultural, multiracial society will emerge with no one ethnic group dominating the others.  This has already happened in states like Hawaii and California.

If we consider gender diversity instead, America has witnessed a major shift in the employment of women and LGBTQ+ people.  A century ago, women made up only about 20% of the workforce, primarily in low level support functions, while today that number is closer to 50%, including 11% of Fortune 500 CEOs.  A century ago, being gay was a crime. Today, about 9 percent of the workforce identifies as LGBTQ+.

America is more diverse in other ways too, including religion, language, culture and age.  To ignore this reality and claim that only White Americans and their culture represents America is a huge blunder that will only cause even more conflict and pain in the future.

So, regardless of how managers feel about diversity personally, the reality is that America is becoming more diverse, not less, and the trend is accelerating all over the globe.  Unless you are employed in a small family business, the chances that you will be working only with people who represent your own “group” are virtually nil. The future workforce will look vastly different from the one that existed just a few decades ago and will include people working together from all over the world.

The next term we need to define is Equity.  It means fair treatment and equal access to opportunities.  It should not be confused with equality, which is the condition where everyone is treated exactly the same.  Equity recognizes that people’s starting points in life differ and that our economic and social status are not the same, but we are all entitled to be treated fairly.  Moreover, fairness may mean leveling the playing field by providing different resources or support for historically unrepresented groups when necessary.  For example, adults with disabilities may require reasonable accommodations to join the workforce, like modified workstations.

Finally, “Inclusion” means creating a culture and environment where every person feels valued, respected, heard, and able to bring their full self to work. It compels managers to welcome everyone into the workforce and value the contributions that each individual makes to the overall effectiveness of the organization. Inclusion also means being open minded and considering different points of view from our own.  That can be exceedingly difficult to accomplish in a time of social and political turmoil.

Critics of DEI have lodged a number of complaints against it.  They argue that DEI is divisive.  By pointing out how we are different, critics claim we are setting ourselves up for conflict.  While diversity can lead to conflict and must be carefully managed, it can also lead to incredible creativity.  Living in the futuristic state of California all my adult life, I can testify that the many creative and technological breakthroughs we have accomplished are a direct result of the diversity of our workforce.  By combining the best ideas from all over the world, Californians have been able to invent the future.

Critics also point to some early failed attempts to implement DEI that deployed its principles as a bludgeon against those who do not embrace it or against Whites in general. Training programs that cause people to become defensive or trigger more conflict than they resolve often backfire.   Some Whites have complained that they feel under attack for historical events like slavery that they had nothing personally to do with.

Critics also hurl condemnation that is not accurate.  For example, they say DEI encourages reverse discrimination or preferential treatment for minorities and women.  They insinuate that “DEI hires” are unqualified. These critics are not describing DEI, but an earlier effort known as affirmative action, a movement starting 50 years ago that attempted to overcome centuries of racial and gender discrimination by providing  some preferential treatment for minority and female candidates.  These programs have generally been held to be illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court and are not a feature of modern DEI.  Instead, the focus is on equal opportunities for all while insisting that competition for talent be based firmly on candidate qualifications.

To further define DEI, it is helpful to consider its opposite – SIE.  That stands for Segregation, Inequality and Exclusion.  Although DEI critics rarely admit it, if we follow the logic of their demand to eliminate DEI from America, they are really advocating for a return to the days of segregation, when White males were accorded privileges in voting, employment, housing, transportation, finance and other aspects of society that were denied to non-Whites and women.  Some now openly advocate for the elevation of White Americans at the expense of non-whites, returning us to a time before civil rights were universally granted.  They demand that immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Asia be excluded from the United States in favor of immigrants who are White.

Just consider for a moment what it might be like if SIE was your organizations’ official policy instead of DEI.  Would you really want to work for an organization that openly practices racial and sexual discrimination, treats employees unfairly because of who they are and excludes anyone who doesn’t look like the CEO?

In light of political attacks on DEI, having clarity about what it means matters for managers.  If your team doesn’t share a clear understanding of what you mean by DEI, your efforts can be meaninglessly vague or spark a backlash. And when managers themselves are unclear about DEI, it creates risk of misunderstanding, unequal practice, or superficial compliance.  Given all this, the temptation is to just ignore it and pretend diversity doesn’t exist.  However, burying the issue will only allow it to fester and undermine everything managers are attempting to accomplish.

How DEI Affects the Workplace

 

In most large organizations in America today, no matter where they operate, their workforce is already diverse and becoming more so as younger generations mature into the future workforce.  These trends will not disappear, no matter how opponents fight against them.  Given this reality, managers cannot ignore diversity or wish it away.  Instead, they need to work to bring all their workforce together behind a common mission and strategy.  Sociologists have noted that the workplace is the one place, and for many, the only place, where Americans interact regularly with people who are different.  If these interactions deteriorate into conflict or discrimination, they undermine everything else the enterprise is trying to accomplish.

When done correctly, DEI is not simply a moral issue of doing the right thing for everyone, but provides concrete benefits.  These include employee engagement, innovation, recruitment and legal compliance.  Diverse teams, when inclusively led, bring a variety of perspectives, which helps problem-solving, decision making and creativity.  When people feel included and treated fairly, they are more likely to stay, perform, and contribute, resulting in lower turnover and higher employee engagement and loyalty.  A strong DEI culture helps attract a broader talent pool and build positive brand image for companies who serve a diverse customer base.  Finally, DEI initiatives are increasingly subject to regulatory and legal scrutiny — so managers need to understand the implications. For managers and supervisors, the key takeaway is this: DEI is not optional window-dressing if you lead a diverse team. Your team’s success, morale, and strategic alignment depend on how you lead in an age of increasing diversity.

Translating DEI into Leadership Behavior

 

Here are six practical behaviors managers should adopt to lead DEI effectively on the ground.

1. Model inclusive leadership
   Managers’ actions matter far more than their words. An inclusive leader invites diverse perspectives, encourages all voices, listens actively, has humility about what they don’t know, and intervenes when bias or exclusion appears. When managers don’t model inclusion and play favorites, the rhetoric becomes hollow.
2. Ensure fairness in workplace decisions
   Look critically at recruitment, promotion, assignment of work, performance evaluation, mentorship, and sponsorship opportunities in your organization. Are you treating people equitably (in terms of opportunity) and being consistent in applying criteria for promotions and raises? For example, ensure project-assignments are transparent, mentorship opportunities are offered broadly, and promotional opportunities are based on visible criteria that are open to all.
3. Cultivate a sense of belonging and voice
   Inclusion is more than acknowledging diversity. Employees must feel they belong and that their voices count. Ask yourself: Do all team members feel comfortable speaking up? Do we have formal and informal channels for feedback? Are we attuned to cultural dynamics? Do we celebrate all our employees and their backgrounds or only a select few? Are we excluding employees based on who they are?  When conflict arises, managers should quickly intervene to mediate and get to the source of it before it starts to create factions and feuds.
4. Build and monitor metrics and accountability
   Managers should set measurable DEI goals, track progress, share results, and hold people accountable. For example: track participation in DEI programs, employee engagement surveys by demographic groups, retention by demographic groups, and internal mobility rates for under-represented employees. But be cautious about relying on employee metrics alone — qualitative insight matters too. Companies that use employee surveys, focus groups and exit interviews to gauge the attitudes of their workforce are able to make adjustments to create a more welcoming organizational culture for all their employees.
5. Embed DEI into the culture and systems — not just training
   DEI training is helpful, but by itself often insufficient. For DEI to stick, it must be built into a company’s daily practices, systems, policies, and leadership behaviors. For example: the way managers assign teams, evaluate performance, design roles, structure mentorships, recognize contributions and assign work all affect employees’ perceptions of equity and inclusion. As a manager, you have influence over culture through multiple actions, including whether you run meetings inclusively in terms of who speaks and how decisions are made. The way managers allocate desirable stretch assignments, provide feedback and reward behavior should always be consistent with inclusion principles.
6. Take meaningful action when DEI principles are violated
   Managers also need to act when employees engage in behavior that undermines DEI, such as attacking other employees based on their personal characteristics or engaging in hateful acts against others. Looking the other way when an employee acts in a racist, sexist or hateful way only encourages more of this negative behavior and undermines any corporate proclamations to the contrary.  Too many organizations have allowed hateful behavior to go unchecked, leading to a toxic work culture that undermines the mission and accomplishments they are purportedly committed to achieving.  Left unchecked, hateful behavior can lead to workplace violence.

Practical Actions to Implement DEI Principles

 

Here are action-oriented suggestions that you, as a manager or leader, can begin implementing right away to make your workplace more equitable and inclusive:

• Conduct a team diagnostic:
  Survey your team (anonymously if necessary) to ask: Do you feel you can bring your whole self to work? Do you feel your voice is heard? Are there barriers you face? Is your development on track? Do you feel fairly treated? Are you being given opportunities to advance? Analyze by demographic groups.
• Review your team’s processes for equity and inclusion:
  Look at how you assign work, make promotions, choose mentors, give feedback. Are there hidden biases or structural barriers? Are opportunities distributed equitably? Consider whether some voices or identities are under-represented or ignored when making decisions.
• Communicate your DEI commitment clearly:
  Talk about why you believe equity and inclusion matter, how you’re going to lead it, and what behaviors you expect to see. Don’t assume silent assent. Invite questions and invite accountability.
• Create inclusive meeting and decision practices:
  Run meetings inclusively – invite less vocal participants to speak; rotate meeting leadership; ensure diverse perspectives are explicitly sought; call out when someone’s idea is overlooked and ensure credit is fairly given. Make important decisions by consensus to get everyone’s buy-in.
• Sponsor and mentor purposefully:
  Look at your high-potential employees: Are they diverse? Are they included in stretch assignments, leadership opportunities, training and development opportunities? Mentorship alone may not be enough — sponsorship (active advocacy) is often what elevates people who lack access otherwise.
• Hold yourself and your team accountable:
  Managers should emphasize inclusion and fairness as part of how they evaluate performance. Managers should recognize and reward inclusive behaviors explicitly.
• Intervene to oppose exclusionary or hateful behavior:
  When micro-aggressions, exclusion, or “othering” occur (even unintentionally), managers should intervene. Don’t just pass it on for HR to manage. Your response signals your tone and commitment to an inclusive workplace.
• Keep learning and adapt:
  The field of DEI is evolving along with the workforce and the political climate. Stay current on best practices and legal rulings, be open to feedback, and adapt your approach as circumstances warrant. What worked in the past is not guaranteed to keep working in the future.

Conclusion

 

DEI is much more than a political slogan.  It is a way of managing growing diversity by embracing it and according to everyone opportunities to become their best selves.  However, in 2025, organizations are navigating a shifting landscape: legal scrutiny and outright hostility towards DEI programs, political and cultural pushback, evolving definitions of inclusion, and changing employee expectations. As a manager you may face uncertainty or mixed messages from senior leadership, or your team may question why they should abide by DEI principles.

It is best to lead DEI  by personal example, acting with fairness and inclusion in all leadership matters.  Point out how everyone benefits from fair policies and procedures and equal opportunities.  Be prepared for pushback from those who have been led to believe that DEI is reverse discrimination or an attack on White Americans.  Listen to their complaints empathetically and help set them straight about the nature of the organization’s polices. Measure DEI progress and publicize success, making sure to include everyone.

Organizations who make themselves inclusive places to work can cast the widest net in their search for talent, thus attracting the best and the brightest.  When those organizations also operate under principles of equity and inclusion, their employees are satisfied and loyal, rarely inclined to quit.  As the world shrinks, diversity grows.  Embrace it and be part of the future or resist it and join the dinosaurs of history.

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Tagged as DEI, diversity, human resource management, people management