How a new framework built around fairness, access, inclusion, and representation can succeed where DEI has failed. by Lily Zheng
January 23, 2025
Illustration by Michelle D’Urbano
Summary.
While backlash to DEI has challenged how many companies and practitioners approach creating more equitable workplaces, fewer have considered whether DEI work itself has room to improve. A new framework, built around the core outcomes of fairness, access,
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The need for more inclusive workplaces for all is undeniable — 91% of workers have experienced discrimination related to race, gender, disability, age, or body size, and 94% of workers care about feeling a sense of belonging at work. But anti-DEI rhetoric and backlash has sunk support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to a low of only 52% of American workers.
Read more on Diversity and inclusion or related topics Business and society, Marginalized groups, Workplace discrimination and Social and global issues
Lily Zheng is a strategist, consultant, and author who works with leaders to build fair, accessible, inclusive, and representative organizations. They are the author of the forthcoming Fixing Fairness: 4 Tenets to Transform Diversity Backlash into Progress for All.