DEI leaders of colour deserve better
Note: Today’s letter is specifically written to BIPOC folks leading DEI and JEDI work
However, I think it’s important for anyone working with people in this role to also read this. Especially when we consider that the vast majority of people hired into Chief Diversity Officer roles in the US are white.
According to the online recruitment site Zippia, in 2021, 76.1% of Chief Diversity Officers were white. 7.8% were Hispanic or Latino. 7.7% were Asian. 3.9% were unknown. 3.8% were Black. And 0.7% were American Indian and Alaska Native. I would not be surprised if similar statistics also showed up in other countries.
These statistics are appalling and I ask any white Chief Diversity Officers or employers who have hired white people into these roles to consider the impact of this on meaningful DEI and antiracism work at their organizations.
And now, onto your letter.
Anytime anyone even mentions the idea of me leading long-term DEI or antiracism programs inside companies, I feel like the walls are closing in on me.
Maybe it’s my high introversion and high sensitivity. My aversion to anything corporate ever since I left the corporate world 13 years ago. Or the full body recoil that happens to me anytime I feel like I’m being asked to fit my square peg self in a round hole.
It’s probably all these things. And… it’s probably the fact that I know just how hard this work can be, especially as a Black woman. And that it’s a role that not only requires competence, but a calling. Because the daily toll is immense and often traumatising.
There is also so much gaslighting that happens inside of this role for BIPOC leaders.
To be hired into a role with the belief and agreement that you will be supported to make meaningful change... to then find out that you've often been brought in as a token or act of performative anti-racism is heartbreaking.
There is so much I could say about this but what I'm really trying to say is, it's a lot.
This is why I strongly believe that if companies are going to get existing BIPOC staff or hired consultants to overhaul their DEI efforts, then they should also be investing in their leadership development.
Period.
One of my biggest gripes with organizations who leap into diversity, equity, and inclusion is that they don’t consider the cost they are asking their DEI leaders of colour to pay.
Yes, the financial cost.
💰If the person of colour being asked to do DEI work doesn’t have that work in their employee contract, then they need to be well-compensated accordingly.
💰The person of colour being hired to do this work full time (as an employee or external party) should also be paid well for this work.
But more importantly, I’m talking about the physical, mental, and emotional cost.
A cost which cannot be compensated by money. It takes so much time, energy, courage, resilience, and commitment to do this work.
Everyday you have to deal with:
👿Passive aggressive colleagues who want you to stop making everything about race and gender.
👿Ridiculous policies and procedures that seem purposely designed to slow down systemic change.
👿Managers and leaders who mean well, but aren’t supportive in the ways that would help you most. You don’t need a pat on the back. You need the power to change things, and their authentic allyship as you make these changes.
👿Colleagues, clients, and stakeholders who are so over everything being ‘woke’.
It’s no wonder that most Black, Indigenous, and professional leaders of colour doing systemic change work in their organizations struggle with exhaustion, frustration, and isolation.
You’re being asked to do the impossible. But everything is working against you. And you’re not getting the support you need.
In other words, it’s like you’re being asked to ride a unicycle, while juggling swords, and singing the words to Break My Soul. Backwards. 😰
You are not a clown. And this is not a circus.
One of the most simple yet highly effective ways that organizations can support their professional changemakers of colour is by investing in their leadership development.
And not just your typical leadership development programs led by white consultants who cannot even begin to understand the toll that doing this work takes. But leadership development designed with healing, self-care, and social justice at its heart.
As a professional changemaker you are doing the extremely heavy-lifting work of systemic and institutional change.
❌You don’t need to learn how to “Lean In” or “10x your productivity”
❌You don’t need to learn how to be “more assertive” or “less aggressive”.
❌You don’t need learn how to better “fit in” to the company culture.
You need culturally relevant mentorship and trauma-informed support, that centers your life experiences and the unique challenges you face as a leader who is likely one of the First, Few, and Only* who look like you at your level.
Not only are leadership development programs that are not like this less helpful. They can actually be harmful, by reinforcing biases and perpetuating stereotypes, ultimately hindering your success as a leader, and the progress of change at your organization.
It’s time for your organization to put their money where their mouth is, and invest in YOU.
This is not you asking for a favour or special treatment.
This is your appropriate ask as a leader for them to meaningfully invest in your personal and professional development. So that you can do the work they’re asking you to, without also asking you to lose yourself in the process.
If you’ve seen a mentorship program that you’ve been wanting to invest in, share it with your employer and make the case for them to cover the cost for you (in full or part).
And if you’re interested in 1:1 mentorship with me, let me know. I have a couple of spots open for Good Ancestor Mentorship, my 3-month personal mentorship for changemakers leading social change.
To asking for what we need,
Layla
*There’s a book by Deepa Purushothaman called The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America that’s on my reading wish list!
It’s described as a “deeply personal call to action for women of color to find power from within and to join together in community, advocating for a new corporate environment where we all belong—and are accepted—on our own terms.”
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