A new study argues that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs are failing not because they are “too political,” as critics claim, but because they refuse to engage with politics and power at all. Researchers who examined DEI practices across three Australian organisations found that well‑publicised initiatives often create the appearance of progress while leaving deep workplace inequalities untouched. As one participant put it: “We have the window dressing – but behind the scenes, I can tell you, it’s nothing like that.”
The study, published in the journal Work, Employment and Society, looked at a national sports organisation of about 100 staff, a technology services company with more than 500 employees, and a community liaison agency of 70 people whose core mission is DEI. Each was chosen for its visible commitment to equality and recognition for DEI “best practice,” making their shortcomings especially striking.
First, DEI treats people as fixed categories. Programs that focus on single labels—“woman,” “Indigenous,” “LGBTQ+,” or “people with disability”—oversimplify lived experience and typically ignore class and the overlap of identities. Managers in the study relied on superficial, apolitical understandings of diversity and avoided confronting the real issues shaping employees’ lives, a dynamic that can reinforce stereotypes rather than dismantle them. One Indigenous leader described feeling looked down on by male peers: “most of [my male peers] are smug arseholes who look down at me— I don’t get treated with the same respect as my peers by some of them and partly it’s obviously I’m Black, partly it’s I’m a woman.”
Second, DEI has been commodified. Organisations buy standard training, hire consultants and tick boxes to signal compliance, but these measures rarely alter how power operates internally. Workers labelled as “diverse” reported pressure to present themselves in ways acceptable to the dominant culture; women, for example, were told they could be accepted in senior roles only if they behaved like “one of the boys.” DEI thus becomes a set of measurable activities to be managed and reported, not a pathway to justice.
Third, DEI avoids talking about power. Inequality is embedded in everyday workplace structures-who gets promoted, whose voice is valued, and who is assumed to be a leader. The study found organisations often portray themselves as tolerant while limiting how much minority voices can challenge the status quo. Employees who speak up risk being branded “troublemakers”: “There’s been a lot of these things where I’ve spoken up-we’re seen as troublemakers,” one participant said. Management can be reassured by visible DEI activity and wrongly conclude equality is improving.
The researchers conclude that a politically effective DEI would confront who holds power, who benefits from existing systems, and who is excluded. Rather than asking whether DEI is too “woke,” the real question is whether organisations are willing to redistribute power, challenge hierarchies and pursue the structural change genuine equality requires. (The Conversation)
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/02/23/diversity-programs-need-to-become-more-political-not-less/
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Publish Date: 2026-02-23 04:44:00
