Who Leads DEI Work? How Do We Talk About It? And Why Does it Matter?

In the Harvard Business Review article “Women Leaders Took On Even More Invisible Work During the Pandemic,” Marianne Cooper discusses research that women are leading the majority of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) work in organizations. She writes that DEI is often framed as “office housework” and tied to women’s assumed care-taking abilities. This contributes to burnout and emotional exhaustion.

This research—and its meaning for the Shanti Alliance as an organization that is committed to advancing equity and inclusion in schools—is important. We must all consider the questions: Who is leading DEI? What supports do they have? What are our assumptions about their motivations, their skills, and the effects of doing this essential work?

As important as asking these questions is being aware of how we frame our thinking. In the article, there is sometimes a sort of “language creep,” whereby the word “women” seems to be a stand-in for “white women.” The author compensates by differentiating women of color, LGBTQIA+ women, and women with disabilities.  

Why does this matter? As people who fall under a gendered category, are women of color, LGBTQIA+ women, and women with disabilities, automatically included? Well yes, and then again, no. Women of color are underrepresented in leadership positions. Additionally, LGBTQIA+ women, and women with disabilities are often in the position of “covering” (to use a concept discussed by Kenjo Yoshino in his book Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights) parts of their identity so that they will not be penalized in the workplace. Further, intersectionality reminds us that none of us is just one thing, and a woman of color can also be an LGBTQIA+ woman. 

Engaging in DEI work as a member of an already under-represented group has an additional cost. The power to be seen, to be supported, and to make change, lives in the specific details of each of our identities. Marianne Cooper raises an important issue in her article, and it deserves to be considered and addressed in a way that promotes visibility, acknowledges intersectionality, and allows us to more fully ponder the questions: Who Leads DEI Work? How Do We Talk About It? And Why Does it Matter?

Alain Sykes

Shanti Alliance Fellow

Dean of Equity and Social Impact, Drew School