Workplace DEI Breaks Down Barriers With Flexible Benchmarks

I have long felt that my life, and my family’s story, are quintessentially an American story. My parents immigrated to the Midwest from India in the 1970s with just $8 in their pockets. While that journey had challenges—we were often the only people of color in the rooms we were in—our family was deeply blessed with education, professional opportunities, and a safe and supportive community.

Because of my family’s experiences, I know what’s possible in this country, and that it’s due in no small part to our nation’s commitment to equal opportunity. Now, as an EEOC commissioner, my priority is to continue the work of making the promise of equal opportunity meaningful and realistic for all workers. That’s why I am outspoken in my support for lawful diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, or DEIA, efforts.

These programs, when carefully implemented, are important to breaking down barriers to equal employment opportunity and preventing discrimination, which unfortunately is still pervasive.

In the last fiscal year alone, the EEOC secured more than $665 million in monetary relief for more than 22,000 victims of discrimination. Robust DEIA programs can help prevent potential discrimination by eliminating practices that may have a disparate impact on some groups and addressing underlying risk factors for workplace harassment.

And a diverse workforce not only benefits individual employees and society, but study after study shows it benefits employers themselves. DEIA practices make it easier to attract top talent, boost employee engagement and retention, and improve companies’ and organizations’ connection with customers and clients. They can also reduce harassment and other related legal exposure.

The takeaway is that meaningful DEIA programs are good for employers’ bottom line.

There’s been a lot of confusion about the US Supreme Court’s decision last year in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, the case about affirmative action in college admissions. SFFA didn’t change the law about employer efforts to foster diverse and inclusive workforces or engage the talents of all qualified workers. Nor was it about employment or private companies’ rights or responsibilities under Title VII.

The university affirmative action programs at issue in SFFA involved using protected characteristics like race as explicit factors in individual higher education admissions decisions. Race or gender can sometimes be used in certain employment decisions, but only where they are part of a valid affirmative action plan.

Lawful workplace DEIA practices are different. These are forward-looking, proactive ways to remove barriers, reduce risk of discrimination, and create open and inclusive workplaces. They don’t involve using race or gender to make individual hiring or other employment decisions.

I’ve found that most employers understand these distinctions and remain committed to dismantling barriers to equal opportunity, even as they construct, review, and refine their own programs and practices.

My advice to employers is to start with self-reflection. How can you anchor your DEIA strategies in your organization’s overall business strategy and the business case for diversity?

Any DEIA effort should begin with examining key decision points for possible bias and barriers. This includes evaluating recruiting, hiring and compensation practices, work assignments and evaluation procedures, employee retention, promotion to leadership, and termination.

Data collection is an important part of analysis. For example, demographic data can provide useful insights about where an employer’s workforce might differ from the eligible labor pool, which can help identify existing practices that create barriers or opportunities for promising practices.

This information can also help employers set aspirational goals—not fixed quotas, but flexible benchmarks that are separate from any specific employment decision.

Once employers have done that initial self-evaluation, employers can and should consider how they can improve their employment practices and existing employees’ experiences. For example, employers can make conscious efforts to diversify their applicant pool by reaching out to historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, career fairs, and professional affinity organizations.

Rather than use specific prior credentials such as degrees as determinative filters, employers can use skills-based hiring to identify applicants who have the necessary experience.

Similarly, using structured interviews can ensure that questions are job-related, identical across applicants, and don’t require answers about protected characteristics. Structured interviews prevent situations where each applicant experiences a different interview, which can lead to inconsistent treatment of applicants and leave openings for unconscious bias influencing the selection process. Along with all of this, training is critical, particularly for interviewers and managers.

In addition to examining employment practices, employers should look at what they’re doing to retain and develop employees. Voluntary employee resource or affinity groups, open to all who share the group’s goals, can improve employees’ sense of belonging, as well as help identify potential further opportunities. And mentoring programs can help individuals grow and advance.

This is iterative, ongoing work—it is not enough to look at one’s data or practices once and then consider the work done. It requires ongoing focus and commitment. These proactive efforts to break down barriers to opportunity are important to ensuring that every worker in this country can realize their full potential and contribute to their communities. And I believe they lay the groundwork for a stronger and more prosperous nation in the long term.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark civil rights law, a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility—where all workers have the opportunity to thrive—is key to the ongoing work of bending the moral universe toward justice.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Kalpana Kotagal was designated by President Joe Biden as a commissioner of the EEOC in 2023. Immediately prior, Kotagal was partner at Cohen Milstein, specializing in civil rights and employment law. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the position of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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