How large companies take DEI seriously

There’s a lot of discussion in companies, in higher education, and among politicians about DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion. DEI is changing how some of the largest companies and institutions hire and promote, how they treat employees and how they deal with customers and vendors.  

Here is what it is: Diversity is the presence in a workplace of people of different races, ethnicities, genders and cultural backgrounds. Equity looks at how people of equal skill and experience get paid for the same job, and who gets recruited, hired and promoted. 

Inclusion is harder to pin down. It is concerned with behaviors that can make folks feel valued or not. Inclusive behaviors – or the lack – have an impact on how enthusiastic people are to come to work and how productive they are. Who gets to speak in meetings? Are disrespectful comments toward co-workers tolerated?

High-ranking folks are working at it in some of North Carolina’s largest companies and institutions, possibly your customers or competitors.

But opinion is split.  Defenders say it is about hiring the best talent, paying and promoting fairly and treating people well. Critics say it is the progressive agenda run amok, a newer, more corporate version of reverse discrimination that favors some groups over others, and penalizes folks who had no responsibility for past injustices.