DEI isn't optional. It's org design work.
don't pull back when it counts most
Most companies say they’re DEI more than they actually practice DEI. They put more marketing into DEI than the actual hard, necessary work.
At least, I used to think that. Now, after Trump signed Executive Order 14151 to “end radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing,” companies are pulling back DEI efforts.
2020-2024, companies were all about diversity (or at least more concerned with being perceived as diverse). But now, I’ve seen a lot of major companies pull back on DEI efforts.
Many are scrapping their goals entirely. But thankfully, some organizations are remaining committed, even if DEI is no longer the label.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not optional
In 2021, we published everyone’s salary data internally after everyone consenting. Hugh, LJ, and I initiated this change at garden3D — my last company.
We opened the opportunity for anyone to object to this change, and while some felt uncomfortable with exposing their salary, no one objected. We valued transparency and fairness, and knew that making salaries transparent would reduce bias in compensation. Unfair pay is rampant in the tech industry — women in tech earn just 83% of what men earn, and racial pay gaps persist even when controlling for education and experience1. We wanted to do something about it within our locus of control.
What we found was an uncomfortable truth.
While we were more diverse in race, ethnicity, and gender identities compared to the tech industry, most folks who held senior or lead roles were white males. People of color weren’t in senior roles or higher—we were either experienced mid-level, mid-level, or junior. Why was this? Our company hired more inclusively relative to the tech industry, but our early employees and senior hires were mostly white males. As Mekka put it, we were paying down our inclusion debt.
So we began with one experiment: provide support for newer designers and developers to become project leads. We also decided to publish our DEI data publicly, sharing what we’ve learned and what we’re trying next, to both hold ourselves to a standard and be open about what we’re doing.
This took a ton of commitment, a willingness to get out of business-as-usual, and a lot of uncomfortable conversations. We even hired a DEI consultant and worked with a facilitator to help us understand how soft power influences who gets chosen for opportunities and included in decisions.
We started writing about our DEI journey in 2022. To this day, garden3D continues to share lessons from their journey.
Over the last year, DEI efforts have been drastically de-prioritized in the tech sphere. Many major companies cut DEI programs created to support underrepresented groups as a result of tightened budgets. Reports continue to be published while the actual efforts are unclear, and the data collected still limits representation. For example, only one out of the ten biggest tech companies mentioned including any gender nonbinary statistics.
At garden3d however, we feel this work is as urgent as ever. Our three years of focused efforts shaping conditions for all people at our company to thrive has taken root, and we’re now seeing the fruits of this labor.
DEI work is org design work
Companies are going to want to pull back.
If you’re in a leadership role, don’t pull back. If you’re an organization designer, you share the same goal as DEI advocates.
DEI (or JEDI, belonging, inclusion, talent, development—however your company frames it) is more important than ever.
Lily Zheng reminds us that DEI work is 99.9% operational:
There is only one "ideology" present in DEI work done right, and it's shared by pretty much every pluralistic democratic society in our world: that everyone deserves dignity, respect, and opportunity regardless of the beliefs, values, needs, circumstances, experiences and perspectives we hold. That's it. The remaining 99.9% of the work is operational. How do we remove barriers to opportunity and fairness in the workplace? How do we meet people's many needs so we can bring out their potential? How do we create an environment where different people can come together and build something bigger than themselves?
Surprise! This is org design work.
Building more equitable processes and practices is org design work. Removing systemic barriers to opportunity and fairness is org design work. This is DEI work. This is the work.
Not only are systemic and operational efforts less legally risky in this specific moment, they're way more effective than programs focused on specific groups. If you don't believe me, believe Alexis Robertson:
Instead of viewing DEI as a set of programs focused on certain groups, view it as an effort to transform the organization through positive changes that impact everyone, while closing gaps for the most marginalized. Integrate your DEI work into all talent development work and anywhere.
Moving from the programmatic to systemic is not only the best way to minimize legal risk, but also more effective. (There’s still a place for some programmatic efforts. To the extent you have them make these targeted to specific organizational concerns and endeavor to have them open to all. If they're not open to all, work with your in-house counsel to weigh to risks presented.)
Where to start
Don’t know where to start? That’s ok. Others are wondering too. Here are some resources to get started:
If you have any stories about how your company is navigating this moment, I’d love to hear. Send me a reply to this newsletter.