Even if You Think DEI Isn't Good for You, It Is (2024)

What do sidewalks have to do with the feeling that you belong?

The Curb-Cut Effect is a phenomenon in which a small change intended to help one disadvantaged group ends up making life better for everyone else. It began as an effort to improve sidewalk travel for those who use a wheelchair by creating a smooth transition from the curb to the street. The broader effect, however, was that bicyclists, delivery workers with carts, those handling strollers or suitcases, and others, also found themselves benefitting from the innovation.

Similarly, the benefits of closed-captioning TV extend well beyond those with hearing impairment, increasing clarity and reducing noise in airports, doctors' offices, lobbies, and other shared spaces for everyone else. Virtually all of us use the automated push-button doors intended for those who use wheelchairs. And maternity leave has been joined by paternity and parental leave, helping to reduce workplace turnover, which makes an entire business more stable.

The political attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) overlook a simple truth. Far from giving special treatment to the benefit of the few, these values create a society that is better for everyone, where all of us can feel that we belong.

And that brings us back to what it means to experience true belonging – while working, shopping, or gathering. Belonging is a feeling that results from empathy – for the historically disadvantaged but also for everyone else. Importantly, a sense of belonging means that when our different identities, life experiences, and perspectives are allowed to surface authentically, we all enjoy wide-ranging benefits such as innovation, national competitiveness, profits, and improved quality of life.

The idea isn't new, despite some political pushback today. Dozens of major companies were represented in a brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of upholding affirmative action in higher education.

"Empirical studies confirm that diverse groups make better decisions thanks to increased creativity, sharing of ideas, and accuracy," states the brief, which was approved by General Motors Company, General Electric Company, Proctor & Gamble Company, and others. "And diverse groups can better understand and serve the increasingly diverse population that uses their products and services. These benefits are not simply intangible; they translate into businesses' bottom lines."

Disney, which has been targeted for its inclusive programming and policy positions, understands well the value of appealing to diverse customers.

The company's CEO, Bob Iger, told CNBC that the company's primary goal is to be an "entertainment first company" but was clear that Disney is "trying to reach a very, very diverse audience."

He continued: "And on one hand, in order to do that, what you do, the stories you tell, have to really reflect the audience that you're trying to reach, but that audience, because they are so diverse, really, first and foremost, they want to be entertained ... . And we just have to be more sensitive to the interest of a broad audience."

Fostering a climate where everyone belongs means excelling as a company and hiring the best employees from the largest possible talent pool. McKinsey & Company found "a 39 percent increased likelihood of outperformance for those in the top quartile of ethnic representation versus the bottom quartile." Workday released survey results in February in which 78% of 2,600 global business leaders across departments said the importance of DEI increased in the past 12 months.

Embracing diverse customers and young people powers brand affinity and business growth today while positioning a company to thrive in the future. After all, shoppers of color have a greater chance of being members of Gen Z because it is more racially and ethnically diverse than previous generations, Pew found. Their spending power amounts to $360 million, according to Edelman, which also found that 84% of Gen Z are "belief-driven buyers."

But some companies have a belonging gap to close. A SEPHORA-commissioned study on racial bias in the retail sector revealed that shoppers of color commonly adopt "coping mechanisms" to prevent and respond to bias. These include avoiding store samples, interacting with store employees to show an intention to buy things, and keeping their hands out of their pockets. The survey found that 30% of shoppers of color felt they were treated unfairly because of their ethnicity, but only 13% spoke up to store management. As a result, three in five of these customers who felt unwelcome said they would not visit that store again, while two in five said they would avoid that store at any location.

The solution to this absence of belonging can be found in our traditional values of empathy, inclusion, and connection across differences, values that have long set America apart. These are the same values that have allowed us to achieve great things – from scientific and technological breakthroughs and brilliant, culture-defining creative works adored and adopted by the rest of the world to our interstate highway system, public libraries, and other projects that have powered our global dominance. The uniquely American commitment to equality and social mobility, however evolving, guides us as a superpower.

Open to All, a national nondiscrimination program, brings businesses and nonprofits together to work to ensure there is room for everyone to experience true belonging. This new Open to All playbook helps organizations build the case for internal buy-in at a time when heated political climate has led some companies to pull back.

We must all work together to shape a future in which job applicants know their merits are being genuinely considered, and that their gender, race, speech, disability, class, or other identity-based qualities are not quietly disqualifying them. We must all help to advance a society in which everyone feels safe and respected and has something to contribute, no matter how different they seem from the majority. And where we all feel that we can walk into a business and be treated with courtesy, regardless of what we look or sound like, or how we physically navigate the space.

These are just a few of the hallmarks of belonging.

Today there are so many attempts to divide us, to insist that one person's dignity is a loss for someone else. But we can turn back the divisiveness. We can come together as Americans and recall how we became the country the rest of the world looks to. Our businesses focus on this every day; it's how they compete.

Let's create a world where we are all welcomed, valued, and seen—and let us all share in the rewards.

Calla Devlin is the managing director of Open to All, where she convenes the nonprofit sector with businesses to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.