Why DEI Rollbacks Are Scary AF (And Why You Should Care)
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[00:00:00] Hello and welcome back to the Gen X Remix, Midlife Laughs and Next X. I'm your host, Tabatha Jones, and I have a question for you that's been on my mind over these past couple of weeks. Do you believe companies rolling back DEI programs won't affect you? If you're a woman, newsflash, you're part of DEI too.
Today, we're diving into diversity, equity, and inclusion, why these initiatives exist, why it's terrifying to see them being dismantled, and how this rollback affects, well, pretty much all of us who aren't wealthy, white, heteros, who were naturally born with penises. I said what I said. Now before we go in deep, I am going to just say I apologize for my nasally voice.
I went in for my mammogram and I came out with the flu. Amy, what an amazing door prize. I'm on the upside, but still sounding a little crappy, so please forgive any [00:01:00] raspiness or potential pauses while I take a sip. So let's jump in. I want to start by clearing something up. DEI doesn't mean giving minorities, women, LGBTQ plus folks, or differently abled individuals a fair, an unfair advantage.
Despite what some people might claim, it's about leveling the playing field when historically that playing field has been anything but level. And let's be really clear, white men absolutely deserve jobs and opportunities too. This isn't about taking anything away from them. It's about making sure it isn't easier for a Straight white man to land a job than it would be for a black trans woman of equal qualifications.
People from all backgrounds deserve a fair shot when it comes to hiring, career advancement, leadership, and let's face it, life. [00:02:00] DEI ensures that if two candidates are equally qualified, we don't automatically default to the white dude in the suit. Because we're comfortable with him. Historically, leadership teams looked suspiciously similar.
Surprisingly, not female, not terribly diverse. DEI attempts to correct that imbalance. So fun fact, giving someone an equal chance or an equal opportunity doesn't take anything away from you. Equality is not a pie. No one's fighting over the last slice or the bigger slice, blah, blah. We should all be taking an equal slice.
and fighting together to ensure each other's rights. That's how DEI actually works. So why am I ranting about this now? Well, other than the fact that I've been down for the last five days feeling crappy and as much as I try to avoid the news and headlines, I just can't ignore this [00:03:00] one. Seeing that DEI is being challenged at the federal level and then seeing that some companies are caving to pressure of shareholders or simply following suit to dismantle DEI programs.
It's a bit scary. And you might ask, But Tabatha, isn't that just the pendulum swinging back? Oh, friend, that mysterious freaking pendulum. Let's be real. That pendulum is swinging back really freaking hard, and it's about to knock out a lot of people's opportunities on its way back. Are you okay with that?
I'm not. The other interesting thing is, it's really easy now to google, which companies are supporting DEI. And which ones are either quietly or blatantly cutting back their DEI efforts and programs. There's some big names out there like Target, Walmart, Amazon, you know, some of my favorite companies. Yeah.
Rolling back DEI efforts. [00:04:00] So I haven't seen any backup plan or any way they're going to compensate for the situation. So that has me a little concerned because. Most of my products come from either Target or Amazon. So I've got some rethinking to do about where my spending goes. Meanwhile, we've got great companies like Apple, Costco, Trader Joe's, and JPMorgan Chase who are standing firm because they understand that dismantling DEI means reverting to a system where the good old boy network just thrives, completely unchallenged.
That's not okay. There's a whole list out there, so I encourage you to go and Google and think wisely about where you're spending your money. Um, you know, I research companies for clients all the time. I would say all of my clients tell me that culture is really important when it comes to identifying companies they want to work for.
And part of that culture is almost always [00:05:00] diversity. Now I do work mostly with women, um, and a few lucky men, as I like to say, but the fact is diversity is important to them for a reason. They're women and a variety of races. With a variety of education. So that is so important to them. I do a lot of research when they tell me they want to work for a company.
The quickest thing you can do to find out about a company's culture, what was he on over to their website? Take a look at their leadership pages, their board members. And if you see a sea of faces that look alike. That's kind of a red flag. So pay attention, especially if this is important to you. And if you're listening, I'm sure it's important to you, or you would have hung up by now or ended the end of the podcast, right?
So here's the thing. D E I effects. [00:06:00] All women, yes, even white women, we are part of DEI. So if you're shaking your head thinking, wow, this doesn't really apply to me, guess again. Historically, women have been excluded from top tier roles, from board seats, and from equal compensation. We're literally in the same fight for equity.
Being a woman in a male dominated corporation means DEI can literally open doors for you that were once slammed in your face. And if these programs vanish. It's scary for all women who want equal pay and advancement opportunities. Think about DEI as the bouncer at the club who makes sure that not all of the seats go to people who look exactly the same.
When you don't have that bouncer anymore, good luck getting on the inside. Now, rolling back DEI without a backup plan, so what I'm saying is blatantly we're shutting down DEI [00:07:00] programs. Which is actually a W T A F moment. Uh, what do you mean there's no backup plan? There's no, why isn't your HR team screaming at you?
Rolling back DEI without a backup plan means you can go straight on back to that fabulous homogenous group dominating all decisions. Do we really want to lose diverse perspectives that fuel innovation and drive change? Because that's what's at stake. Fewer diverse hires, fewer promotion opportunities, lower morale among underrepresented groups.
One thing that is very important for people to realize is that it's really hard for someone to imagine themselves growing their career when they can't find a mentor who has grown their career, when they can't look at their leadership team and see people who look like them. So what are we going to do?
Are we going to keep a lot of [00:08:00] people in frontline type roles or maybe lower level management roles? Because we're just going to make this decision and make this change without any plan. I don't know. Seems crazy. And I would say that some companies risk some backlash. I, for one, am going to be rethinking where I shop.
Again, a little tough with that Target Amazon thing because that's literally where a lot of my stuff comes from. Because I don't always need 4, 000 of something that I would get at Costco. But there's some thinking to do. And this will impact everything from company culture to market competitiveness. So if you think it's just politics, I ask you to think again.
Now, you're probably thinking, because I'm pretty sure I said this on a podcast a while back, Tabatha, I thought we avoided politics here. Yeah, yeah, we do. I did for a while. But ignoring politics [00:09:00] doesn't always mean the politics ignore you. This one literally was coming for me. You know, at election time, I did what I could.
I voted for the candidate who I believed represented all people. Not just, again, the wealthy, white, hetero, natural born men with penises. And some folks A lot of women that I heard saying she just was less qualified, but did anyone really check her qualifications? Or is it just that she's a woman and maybe they hadn't followed her career very closely or maybe they didn't like one or two things she did?
I don't know. But my point is this is the kind of crap that comes out of places where the candidate was less qualified without any real research. How often have you seen a company announcement come out and someone was promoted? A bold black woman was promoted to a new director or vice president role, [00:10:00] and you start hearing the whispers.
She was a DEI hire. Stop feeding that bullshit. Stop feeding that fire and start standing up for that woman and celebrate her for landing that role because I can assure you she fought twice as hard to get it even with DEI roles and programs in effect. So friends, voting is one way to help protect DEI programs.
Another way is to really think about how and where you spend your money. Brand loyalty is huge. Can you hit the pockets of the brands that aren't being loyal to you? Or will you stay loyal to them and take some time, learn what companies are standing firm with us and which ones are definitely rolling back against us.
if equity matters to you.
So let's sum it up. DEI programs [00:11:00] exist because not everyone has been playing by the same rules. We wouldn't have needed them if people would naturally just hire the best damn candidate. But not all humans behave like that. Rolling back DEI programs and processes doesn't magically level any playing field.
It tilts it right back to how it was before. It's pretty scary if you ask me. So here are a few things to think about. One, DEI does not threaten your rights. It expands everyone's rights. Two, DEI is not about unqualified hires getting a job because of the color of their skin or their sexual orientation or their gender.
It is about giving equally qualified people an equal chance. Number three, ladies, this one's for you, [00:12:00] women, all of us are part of DEI
number five. Nope. Sorry, just getting number four. If you've ever whispered or thought or fed into the rumors. That she was a DEI hire. You're part of the damn problem. You don't know her qualifications and you don't realize that she worked twice as hard to show up to that interview as her competition.
And number five, we should be championed for each other's rights. That's what real DEI is all about. So if you start thinking, well, removing DEI is no big deal, why don't you ask yourself who benefits from rolling back DEI? The answer is not going to surprise you, but I'll tell you it's the same group that always has benefited.
So you [00:13:00] know, before we wrap up first, let me say thank you for putting up with my nasally sound and a couple of sniffles. Um, but let me just say, before we wrap up, if you're a corporate woman and you're wondering if you should worry about DEI rollbacks, the answer is a resounding yes. If you care about seeing all kinds of faces at every level, pay attention, speak up at work.
If you're on a hiring panel, you don't have to cave to everyone else's opinion. You can point out things that other people are ignoring, but with your wallet, stay loyal to the brands that are staying loyal to you. I know we got to figure out that target Costco thing, but we will. And don't be afraid to support the brands that stand firm on equity for all people.
Now I'm going to call this a rant today. So sorry. It's what it kind of felt like. Like I said, I was [00:14:00] trying to avoid it. I want it to be a little bit more fun, but I've been sick. So you got to bear with me. I haven't had any vitamin D in about five days, but if this rant resonated with you, I'd love for you to share it with a friend who also needs a wake up call.
We all have a place in DEI. All of us, and we need our allies, we need men, white men to support DEI as well. And if we all do it, that's a lot of people rowing in the same direction, friends. So I'll close with stay fierce. Stay focused and stay you, because your rights and opportunities should not be up for debate.
Oh, and remember to get those mammograms, but maybe wear a mask during flu season. Just saying. Be sure to check the show notes for important links and offers. And until next time, let's keep pushing for that actual [00:15:00] level playing field where we can all thrive together. Take care.
