From Zero-Sum to Everyone: How Exceptional DEI Strategies Leave No One Out
DEI is not a zero-sum exercise
When it comes to DEI, many assume progress for one group must always come at the expense of another. Some believe gains for marginalized persons equate to losses for those in the mainstream. Others labor over DEI priorities through the lens of which marginalized group’s needs are most pressing, and who must wait. Both perspectives are founded in a belief that DEI initiatives always result in winners and losers. And both are wrong.
DEI can benefit everyone
As we examine how organizations and societies function in ways that privilege some and limit others, our aim is not to replicate the challenge by switching up who has power. Rather, our goal is to help organizations and societies work for a full mix of people. To make the most of the “collective superpower” of diversity, as Alison Maitland and I describe in INdivisible, we must ensure that each multifaceted person can thrive, reach potential, and fully contribute to shared goals. Simply, progressive DEI strategies must engage everyone without leaving anyone out. The challenge is how we do this.
Breaking free of the zero-sum approach to DEI with Targeted Universalism
Targeted Universalism provides a helpful framework. Contrasting with approaches that start by focusing on individual marginalized groups, Targeted Universalism begins by setting universal goals important to everyone. As detailed by john a. powell, Stephen Menendian and Wendy Ake in their paper on the subject, this requires examining how people are bound together by commonalities and shared purpose.
But it doesn’t stop there. While oriented toward a unifying goal, Targeted Universalism also accepts that our existing societal and organizational structures and systems make the path toward that goal smoother for some and harder for others. These differences require targeted approaches if all people are to achieve common goals.
The five steps to Targeted Universalism outlined by powell and colleagues can be explored through a DEI example: Cultivating an organization where everyone is free to Speak Up.
1. Set a universal goal: An organization committed to innovation might set a universal goal of every worker Speaking Up to contribute a diversity of ideas and views to collective creativity.
2. Measure how all employees fare relative to that goal: With this universal Speak Up goal established, the organization must next understand how all of its workers are currently supported or hindered in freely, comfortably, safely, and effectively sharing their ideas.
3. Measure how different population segments fare relative to that goal: Next, the organization needs to understand how patterns vary by subgroups. Are white men speaking up more than Black women? Does level in the organizational hierarchy matter? Are ideas of new hires more commonly disregarded than those of established employees? Are introverts’ ideas routinely missed? Etc.
4. Understand what helps or hinders different segments: Once differences are known organizations need to understand why they occur. Are the observed patterns related to bias or organizational norms? Are they linked to how meetings are structured and facilitated? To a reliance on oral instead of written communication? And so on.
5. Enact targeted strategies based on different needs and context so all can achieve the shared goal: With an understanding of the current state, an organization can design specific strategies. This might include general efforts encouraging everyone to Speak Up, such as rewards incentivizing sharing new ideas for innovative products. And it can involve targeted efforts for segments currently experiencing constraints. To address a barrier that women often face, for example, an organization can introduce a new rule that interruptions are not permitted in meetings - never cutting in on what is being said by women or by those of any gender. Or to enable greater contributions from introverts, an organization might establish avenues for written input.
Notably, we often see that changes removing barriers for one marginalized group end up helping a broad array of people. We can even amplify this by designing targeted solutions that aim to benefit everyone whenever possible.
Together, a cohesive set of general and targeted approaches can become part of an inclusive ecosystem fully enabling everyone to Speak Up.
We can all win by inclusively advancing toward shared goals
Targeted Universalism can help activate DEI approaches that make things better for everyone and engage all in contributing to a more successful organization and society. Dispensing with the notion of DEI winners and losers, this framework can guide an organization to directly address between-group differences and disparities while also equitably enabling common goals.
With Targeted Universalism, DEI can enable all of us to advance together without leaving anyone out.