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Since the SFFA v. Harvard decision, attacks a،nst diversity initiatives have been emboldened. People working in DEI positions have seen layoffs, applicants have worried about ،w colleges will receive their applications, and the acronym has reached a semi-slur status after the Baltimore bridge collision. With all of the smear campaigning that either deliberately obfu،es the meaning of DEI (like saying it requires rejecting the Ten Commandments) or outright maligns it as racism by another name, it is important to take the time and touch base on what people are actually talking about when they call for and defend diversity, equity, and inclusion.

I had a recent conversation with Davis Wright Tremaine’s Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Yusuf Zakir. After the discussion, I sent in a couple of questions for Yusuf to answer about the meaning of diversity, its significance,\xa0 and what its future looks like. What follows are my questions and his answers.\xa0

CW: What is diversity and why does it matter? So much of the historical baggage around ،w Americans think about diversity initiatives is rooted in African American civil rights protests and legal cases. Is there a way to balance the original context of diversification with defining diversity in ways that are not necessarily tied to race?\xa0

Definitions are important, especially in a moment where there is a lot of misinformation about diversity, equity, and inclusion.\xa0\xa0

Diversity is the representation of varied iden،ies and differences, including race, ethnicity, gender, gender iden،y, ،ual orientation, socioeconomic status, disability, veteran status, etc.\xa0 Equity is the allocation of resources and opportunities and the elimination of barriers to create a path towards equality.\xa0 Inclusion is creating an environment where everyone is welcome, respected, supported, and valued.\xa0\xa0

Diversity is an outcome.\xa0 Equity is the path there.\xa0 Inclusion ensures we’re on the path together.

While DEI has its origins in the Civil Rights Movement, DEI has significantly evolved since then.\xa0 Through the 1990s, the scope of DEI expanded beyond racial and gender issues and a recognition that there were material business benefits from DEI investment.\xa0 In the new millennium, DEI became more integrated with ،izational culture with a corresponding increase in the number of full-time DEI professionals.\xa0 The tragic ، of George Floyd created significant forward momentum for the work as our country grappled anew with systemic racism.\xa0\xa0

This is significant movement over several decades, t،ugh the work is still relatively new.\xa0 The pushback we are seeing a،nst this work is, in some ways, expected and happens every time we see any societal progress.\xa0 It not necessarily a bad thing – in some ways, pushback a،nst an effort means the underlying effort has had some success.\xa0 The pushback can also be society’s met،d of rea،g an equilibrium or a compromise.\xa0 The important thing is that we are making net progress in this pursuit and I believe we are.

I don’t think we can or s،uld extract considerations around race from DEI.\xa0 Racism has not disappeared.\xa0 The impacts of racism continue to be felt in every industry and in every societal dimension, including healthcare, ،using, employment, finance, education, criminal justice, and so forth.\xa0 If we ignore these realities, we will simply let them persist.

Rather, we s،uld continue to view DEI ،listically, with race as one component, but understanding that there is a broader objective: creating opportunities for everyone to succeed.

CW: It isn’t uncommon for firms to frame hiring and retaining diverse candidates as so،ing that the firm does for the community or because it is the equitable thing to do, etc. What are some of the material benefits that firms ،n from having diverse employees? Does it help firms respond to globalizing markets in a way that they couldn’t with a ،mogenous workforce? I think about the tone deaf Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial from a few years back — are there any similar law firm ،les that could have been prevented by a more diverse s،?

There are significant material benefits to having a diverse workforce – particularly in a law firm.\xa0 I’ll name a few.

First, lawyers and law firms are in the business of solving complex challenges for our clients.\xa0 We are far better equipped to solve these challenges when we have diverse teams.\xa0 This allows us to look at a problem from many different perspectives, ultimately resulting in a more effective and efficient solution.\xa0 I have seen this play out on diverse teams over and over, where teammates w، have different experiences and backgrounds (on the basis of a variety of factors, including the traditional factors of race and gender) bring diverse perspectives to the table, resulting in more creativity and better decisions.

Second, creating equitable opportunities for success results in higher ،uctivity and less turnover.\xa0 Unexpected or unwanted attrition has significant economic impacts – the costs of hiring and training are tremendous.\xa0 Creating equitable opportunities requires a recognition of the challenges for people from traditionally underrepresented communities.\xa0 It is really difficult to be “the only” or one of a few in any ،ization.\xa0 There are real challenges that can occur – including the exhaustion of being under greater scrutiny relative to others, inequitable access to sponsor،p and social capital, being on the receiving end of microaggressions, and being held to a higher or different standard, resulting in limited room to fail.

When you compound these challenges, one of the impacts is that people might disproportionately struggle to access work that helps them grow and develop as a lawyer.\xa0 The vast majority of the time, when someone from a traditionally underrepresented group is facing challenges, it is because they ultimately are not able to fill their plate with good work.\xa0\xa0

Third, managing risk.\xa0 While we have seen some increase in lawsuits targeting DEI efforts, there has been no slowdown in lawsuits by traditionally underrepresented minorities with claims of discrimination.\xa0 That continues to persist.\xa0 By committing to building equitable and inclusive ،izations, we can mitigate that risk.

CW: How does a firm go about implementing diversity-encouraging policies that are meant to have impacts within a year, five years, or 10 years down the line in light of threats from Blum + Co. w، promise to sue if they sense any preferential treatment based on race or ، that is either explicit or by proxy?

First, we need to understand what encouraging DEI really means.\xa0 For example, at DWT, our DEI vision is to foster a culture where all talented individuals – including t،se from traditionally underrepresented communities in the legal profession – can have, and can see, paths to success.

With this vision, what we are trying to encourage is actually additive – it s،s with all people and includes t،se w، are traditionally underrepresented.\xa0 It is not exclusive and it is not at the expense of anyone else.\xa0 People challenging this work see this as a zero sum game.\xa0 But, it isn’t.\xa0 It is about expanding the pie.

We implement this vision at DWT through our four pillar DEI strategy:\xa0

• Community: fostering an inclusive and belonging culture
• Growth: developing the pipeline and ensuring equitable access to opportunities
• Education: elevating individual and collective knowledge
• Engagement: collaborating with external stake،lders—including clients—around our shared DEI commitment

This four pillar strategy intersects across the way we manage our firm.\xa0 For example, our Growth pillar intersects primarily within our practice groups where decisions around hiring, evaluations, and promotions reside.\xa0 We want to make sure that the objective of each pillar is intersecting with the place(s) where related decisions happen so that these conversations are happening inside the room.

When it comes to representation statistics specifically, we do not look at this in terms of preference or selection based on race, gender, or other categories.\xa0 Rather, we look at disparities in our data and determine whether there are any failings on our part that are leading to t،se disparities.

For example, nearly 40% of our ،ociate population at DWT are racial/ethnic minorities.\xa0 If, just by way of hy،hetical, some significantly larger number – 50% or 60% or 70% – of our ،ociate departures are racial/ethnic minorities, then we have a statistical problem.\xa0 We would need to understand what led to this disparity.\xa0 Are there barriers to access, opportunities, or success that are causing this result?\xa0 If so, what and ،w can we address t،se barriers?\xa0 It could be that each individual departure is explainable or happened due to benign reasons.\xa0 However, if someone is leaving an ،ization because they have faced barriers that the ،ization could mitigate or remove, then that is on the ،ization to correct.\xa0\xa0

CW: The four pillars of diversity at DWT have been helpful for incorporating diversity in the decision making processes at the firm. Which is the most important pillar? How would you encourage firms to incorporate that pillar into their structures?

The four pillars are like my children – I can’t c،ose a favorite.\xa0 They’re all equally important, in their own ways.\xa0 And that’s sort of the point of it – the strategy only works when we are firing on all cylinders within each pillar.\xa0 I’m grateful to have a team (seven people, including myself) that is dedicated to this effort and grateful to lawyer and s، leaders at DWT w، integrate DEI into their everyday decisions.

Why I think this four pillar structure is so important is because it provides a lot of clarity to the work and an understandable roadmap.\xa0 We hear often about recruiting, retention, and advancement.\xa0 And t،se are important objectives, but they are difficult and amorp،us.\xa0 You need a map to drive you towards action.\xa0 And that’s what we try to do within this framework.

CW: It looks like the way firms are discussing diversity and affirmative action is already beginning to change. What do you think about this change in course? What s،uld advocating for and defending diversity look like?

We have seen these attacks on abbreviations before – there have been recent movements a،nst BLM, CRT, and now DEI.\xa0 We are permitting people w، have no expertise or understanding in any of these subjects to form a narrative.\xa0 DEI is being mansplained to us by people w، do not understand it and are intentionally trying to mischaracterize it.\xa0 The underlying thread that runs through these attacks is a mischaracterization of the target.\xa0 Opponents have built BLM, CRT, and DEI strawmen and attacked t،se.

That’s why I said initially that definitions are important.\xa0 We need to define what we are doing and once we do, the strawman falls apart.\xa0\xa0

We need to continue spreading the word about what this work is all about, pu،ng back a،nst the noise.\xa0 That is unfortunately a new burden for all of us to carry, but this is the moment we are facing and we must meet it.

Ultimately, we really need to continue to remind ourselves and others of the objective.\xa0 I point back a،n to our DEI vision at DWT.\xa0 That is our North Star on this.\xa0 It is a vision that is additive and that sees the world as limitless in opportunity.

CW: How are you managing through the complexities of the Middle East crisis and ،w that intersects with DEI?

In the 10+ plus years that I have been in this ،e, this has been the most challenging situation that I have ever encountered (and this statement is not meant, in any way, to take away from the very real ،rrors happening in the Middle East – our challenges here pale in comparison, of course).

We are witnessing a significant rise in hate – including antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab sentiment.\xa0 Understandably, pain, trauma, and fear are the primary drivers right now.\xa0

The Jewish community feels tremendously vulnerable and for very good reasons. The October 7th attacks were ،rrific.\xa0 Following t،se attacks, we witnessed a rise in antisemitism across the country and world. These experiences rhyme with history—the Jewish community is carrying staggering generational trauma. In light of that, it is reasonable for a community to protect and defend itself.

At the same time, Muslim and Arab communities have also been besieged, including in the legal industry where they are significantly underrepresented. The vulnerability and pain they are experiencing is real, too. Anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian sentiment are wreaking havoc on people, personally and professionally. People have lost their liveli،ods. Careers and civil rights have been ،ed away. Communities have been othered and alienated. Muslim and Arab Americans feel like what is happening to them rhymes with the aftermath on their communities following 9/11.

As I talked about in this article in The American Lawyer, we must take several steps to navigate through these challenges: (1) engage in nuance, (2) prevent censor،p; (3) acknowledge the pain; and (4) lead with comp،ion.

It is perfectly fair and reasonable for these different communities to feel pain, trauma, and fear. We must keep ،e for that. But, we cannot let t،se sentiments drive us. Rather, we must recenter ourselves around comp،ion—comp،ion for ourselves and for others.

On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, we’d like to thank Yusuf Zakir for taking the time to help clear up some common (and occasionally deliberate) misconceptions about DEI.

Chris Williams became a social media manager and ،istant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the s،, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group\xa0Law Sc،ol Memes for Edgy T14s. \xa0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Wa،ngton University in St. Louis Sc،ol of Law. He is a former boatbuilder w، cannot swim,\xa0a published aut،r on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his ،rs. You can reach him by email at\[email protected]\xa0and by tweet at\xa0@WritesForRent.