DEI: Performative Training vs. Authentic Action

Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the innerworkings of companies and organizations has become a widespread goal. Initially, many organizations default to enrolling in DEI training sessions, either voluntarily or based on a requirement from leadership. DEI training sessions can serve as a crucial starting point, providing a foundation for learning and understanding of America’s complex and harmful history. However, merely acquiring knowledge of the past and DEI issues, raises the necessary question:

What’s next?

It is not enough to participate in DEI trainings without a comprehensive plan for implementation. Merely attending a session does not automatically reshape attitudes, practices, or systems.

• Is training the end all be all or are there steps being taken towards tangible changes within the organization’s culture and operations?

• Post-training, does the organization truly embody DEI principles, or is training simply a performative check-box?

There is an opportunity for organizations to genuinely integrate and embed DEI into their operations, but this requires a concrete and actionable plan. Exposure to DEI principles, though essential, is insufficient without a strategic roadmap for ongoing transformation.

To effect real change, organizations need to go beyond performative gestures and commit to sustained, purposeful actions.

While training provides knowledge, an action plan ensures that this knowledge translates into meaningful change. It is through the strategic implementation of DEI principles that organizations can authentically foster a culture of inclusivity and equity.