The merging of institutions with DEI policy and procedures

Race Reflections AT WORK

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on when Diversity, Equality and Inclusion policies, procedures, rules and regulations, become blockers to achieving, or advancing, diversity, equality and inclusion within the workplace. Or as she prefers to see define it blockers to combating inequality, injustice and oppression getting in the way of achieving liberation.

She shares her observations around how these instruments designed for social progress eventually become corrupted by the status quo serving only to maintain the apparatus of oppression or domination. She thinks about how these mechanics function.

She isolates three specific ways that DEI policies and procedures operate:

1. Social performance
2. Helping to ensure (at least in the mind of the institution) legislative compliance
3. Preempting defence and anticipating what charges may be made against the institution

She also considers how written statements of intention and aspiration can be blurred into being seen as statements of fact, and how this can obscure our understanding of actions taken, and position institutions as over-identified/indistinguishable with these positions.

She finishes by considering what can be learnt from this and ways to mitigate these effects.

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