Reducing Backlash Through Emphasizing Authenticity, Competence, and Connection

Abstract

In this current climate, DEI gets critiqued as exclusionary, ineffective, and anti-scientific. For those who would like to preserve DEI efforts in institutions, backlash needs to be taken seriously and addressed proactively. In this piece, the author calls for a reframing of DEI, rather than a renaming or dismissal of it entirely. She argues that we should accurately reframe DEI as a tool for achieving the type of fair and decent workplace that is widely desired. Specifically, the author proposes explaining DEI efforts as the pursuit of several universal needs: authenticity, competence, and connection. She defines each of these three terms, discusses their universality in terms of human need, and then discusses the ways in which particular groups are more likely to be denied these needs in the workplace. The piece closes with a call for all of us to see DEI as a tool for creating a workplace where these basic needs are met for all.