University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
DEI Deconstructed
Book

DEI Deconstructed

Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right

Lily Zheng
Berrett-Koehler, 2022
Buy book or audiobook

Read or listen offline

Amazon Kindle
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

In a comprehensive and candid text, one of the DEI field’s most respected and popular strategists, Lily Zheng, unpacks the booming multibillion-dollar industry. The author claims DEI initiatives largely deliver feel-good talking points but few measurable solutions. Zheng meticulously “deconstructs” the meaning of DEI, then redefines it broadly to increase multistakeholder buy-in and reduce backlash. They consider data, measurement and hard outcomes the only real proof of impact. This foundational tome delves deeply into strategies that can help turn good intentions into tangible results.

Summary

The DEI industry has largely failed to deliver.

Decades of efforts by Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultants and trainers, and billions of dollars spent each year, have resulted in some feel-good vibes and increased awareness, but few measurable results or proven business impacts – at least not in proportion to the money spent. Even the basic aims of DEI – equal racial and gender representation throughout the corporate ranks – have failed significantly. And in some cases, DEI training aimed at exposing unconscious bias and racism has led to polarized feelings and worsened outcomes.

Even movements with many positive elements, such as #MeToo, which increased reporting of sexual harassment and assault, have created intense divisions. Three-quarters of men polled do not believe the movement has had a net positive impact, and 60% of male managers now express reluctance to mentor, work alone or socialize with female colleagues for fear of negative perceptions.

Many of the fundamental tenets of DEI are now being questioned as frustration grows over the lack of progress. Some have begun to view the billion-dollar industry as a “DEI industrial complex,” where...

About the Author

Lily Zheng is a leading DEI strategist and consultant who helps leaders translate their good intentions into tangible results. They are recognized as a Forbes D&I Trailblazer and LinkedIn Top Voice in Racial Equity. Zheng’s work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times and NPR.

Comment on this summary