Greising on DEI: Let’s face the national headwinds with perseverance

Many of the recent conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion objectives focus more on the headwinds being faced than the progress being made or why progress should be made.

Rather, DEI has been a frequent target in the recent milieu of partisan politics. The headwinds seem particularly strong right now—from the attacks on programs aligned with DEI objectives to lawsuits to block priority programs. Even law firms are getting sued and threatened over DEI programs.

Yet, the fundamental objectives behind DEI efforts seem, to me, much more aligned with the fundamental values of our democracy and our business and professional interests in the legal sector than opposed. Despite the headwinds, continued perseverance will lead to progress for our profession and for society as a whole.

I offer my thoughts with full confession that I am a white male. I have not suffered directly the challenges of society’s bittered trappings that gave rise to the more current DEI efforts.

Some might question whether I have even felt the impact indirectly. But I have lived through the times of race riots and assassinations, the times of segregation and efforts at desegregation, the challenges of busing to achieve inclusion, and the failures of so many dreams and too many programs.

So even a white male can recognize the harm that has been felt and, if nothing changes, will continue to be felt at all levels of society. If nothing changes, the documents that launched this great country will continue to reflect unfulfilled promises and unattained visions.

The premise that all are created equal and the vision that we can build a more perfect union will remain suppositions and hollow dreams.

DEI objectives and controversies have been part of the fabric of our society since the founding seeds of our country were being planted at our beginnings and over the centuries.

Our early days were launched by those seeking religious freedoms even if those groups often turned to religious intolerance. Immigration issues have been part of our history as a country of immigrants—needed for our growth but threatening the cultures and values in place at their time of arrival.

Gender equality issues have made headlines since Abigail Adams promoted equal education opportunities for women and the beginnings of the women’s suffragette movement in the early 1800s. More recently, but even now too many years ago, the civil rights movement focused on the rights of Blacks while coalescing with the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and with women’s rights.

So, the tensions around DEI are not new, and the polarization is not new. But those tensions do not and should not prevent progress.

Asking “Why DEI?” will lead to compelling responses. Many reports extol increased profitability, improved decision making honed by diversity of thought and perspective, and better employee recruiting, retention and morale as among the positive results of building a welcoming DEI mindset in your firm.

And clients for years have been asking about the diversity of the teams servicing their legal needs. Clients want to tap into the benefits of successful DEI efforts. Making your firm more attractive to clients looking for firms that embrace DEI should help with business development efforts.

These results address the “why” from an internal perspective rather than communal. Leaning into DEI values helps sharpen our advocacy for our clients and can expand our client base. They have been shown to improve the bottom line. At their core, DEI efforts further our self-interests as businesses and as legal advisers to our clients.

But the societal benefit should not be ignored. Among the key objectives of DEI efforts is the development of community and understanding, even empathy, among those with different backgrounds and cultures. A DEI mindset will help break down the walls built to exclude “the other,” whoever that may be.

So many of the hot coals of societal tensions result from the lack of understanding of those not like us, the lack of empathy for the positions important to them, the absence of shared experiences that can overcome unintended slights and a lack of sensitivity to the reasons behind the positions “the other” holds dear.

Building bridges of understanding can help relieve misunderstandings that mushroom into relationship disasters between employees and employers and among colleagues and our fellow citizens. Feelings of microaggressions may be defanged. Assumptions of ill-will can be deflated.

The DEI literature certainly includes views denying the effectiveness of DEI programs and training: they don’t work, and their results evaporate like dew after sunrise. That guidance supports arguments that DEI efforts waste time and money. And as shown by the recent Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions, the legality of certain preferential programs may be suspect.

Today’s message is not about fixing all of society’s shortcomings, nor is it about who to vote for or which businesses to boycott. This piece does not provide all of the answers and may even engender more questions.

Rather, I hope that each of us will better understand DEI ideals and why our profession will benefit from building shared values and that we will seek common paths to live into those ideals as a community of professionals sharing this journey.

One summer some years ago, I was paddling across the open waters of a large lake directly into a headwind. Despite our vigorous stroking, we seemed to be going nowhere. The winds pushed us off track with ease.

But we continued paddling and even tried setting a sail with our ponchos to help us get across. Eventually, we made it to our campsite that evening with even a little daylight to spare. We learned that with focused perseverance, headwinds can be overcome.

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Robert A. Greising is a partner at Krieg DeVault LLP where he chairs the firm’s DEI Committee. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He thanks Rogelio Soto Navarette, another member of their DEI Committee, for his contributions to this article.