Diversity training is too important to eliminate
At a time when our country is reeling from multiple events that have brought greater awareness of the deleterious impact of systemic racism and bias, President Trump has moved to discontinue diversity training in all federal workplaces. This serves to not only discount the impact of system racism, implicit bias and intolerance of differences but also shuts down discussion, curiosity, and candor about an issue that is not going away (even if the training is).
It would appear the Trump administration could greatly benefit from the training that they are eliminating — his cabinet is primarily made up of whites (over 85%) and his judicial appointees are predominantly white (and male) as well. His selection decisions are a significant disconnect from the racial diversity that exists in the US, where minorities make up close to 40% of the population.
Consider these sobering statistics: Just 0.8% of Fortune
500 CEOs are Black, under 5% are women and only 0.4% are openly gay. Despite the fact the government is the largest employer in the country and has one of the most diverse workforces (according to the Office of Personnel Management Data, about 37% of the federal workforce identifies as a racial or ethnic minority). But when you look at the Senior Executive Service, it tells a different story — just over 21% of positions are occupied by minorities. It is evident that the federal workplace suffers from a similar lack of diversity and inclusion as much of corporate America.
The importance of recognizing and addressing diversity and inclusion challenges can best be understood by looking at neuroscience. Many of our reactions, decisions, perspectives and judgments happen below our level of awareness. We frequently tend to react before we have a chance to think. That’s because our brains are oriented toward safety and survival — the brain has more threat detectors than rewards detectors — making us react more strongly to threat, real or perceived. And, due to an inherent brain laziness, we frequently rely on cognitive shortcuts. Complex cognitive processes that require rational thinking such as challenging assumptions and considering others’ perspectives, require effort so, taking the path of least resistance, we develop biases (often unconsciously). This allows us to quickly arrive at a conclusion, judgment, or opinion without having to slow things down long enough to consider we might be wrong.
Additionally, we quickly (and often unconsciously) form what is referred to as “in-groups” and “out-groups.” People who think and/or look like us fall into our in-group and those that don’t are relegated to our out-group. We tend to trust, like and believe those in our in-groups and blame mistakes on external factors. The reverse is true for those in our out-groups.
Our brains are wired to react to those outside our group with fear and suspicion. It is no wonder that implicit biases exist and flourish in our society.
While diversity and inclusion programs may not be having the kind of demonstrable impact that the Obama administration had intended, this is not the time to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because of the complexity of systemic racism, now is the time to redouble our efforts to develop programs and approaches that more effectively address unconscious bias. To overcome or at least mitigate these inherent biases, three things are required: an awareness that a bias exists, a willingness to question our initial, more primitive and unconscious reaction to people that we perceive as different (especially those in different ethnic or racial groups) and a conscious intention to consider differences in a more curious and inclusive mode.
We must open the doors to the difficult conversations and realizations that need to be had
— that racism and intolerance of differences have created a workforce in the U.S. that is severely lacking in diversity and inclusion. We need to foster a desire to discover, embrace and learn from differing backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, rather than using those differences to form judgments, divides and marginalizations.
Now is the time to consider more effective strategies for creating workplace cultures that promote inclusion, curiosity and openness to different perspectives. And we need to provide opportunities for people in minority groups to be selected, retained, developed and promoted to more senior levels in the workplace. Then, and only then, can we even hope to create a workforce that is more reflective of the tapestry of individuals who live in America — a country that espouses equal opportunity and rights for all.