Why Higher Ed and other Industries need DEI and Intercultural Learning

By Zainab Cheema 

Higher Ed and the Crisis of Diversity

Higher Ed is facing a diversity crisis. Due to economic pressures placed by the pandemic, more students of color are deciding to leave Higher Ed (temporarily or perhaps permanently). Blacks, Asians and other minorities are also reconsidering graduate school, given the increased uncertainties of finding a job and the spotlighting of institutional racism in the academy. This is a paradox, given that intercultural and diversity-based learning is more important than ever. How do these developments affect Higher Ed’s potential to provide a valuable service to society? What does this contradiction mean, and what are some solutions? Let’s explore.

Higher Ed and the Benefits of Cross Cultural and Diversity Learning

Due to globalization, cross-cultural competency has become one of the most in-demand skills and values in almost every industry. For instance, in the business world, almost 42% percent of overseas ventures and assignments fail, mostly due to lack of understanding about the different cultural backgrounds and nuances. Moreover, lack of awareness about race, ethnicity and gender in their complex constellations in different parts of the world often leads to breakdown of communication. Studies show that intercultural learning is directly correlated with key soft skills such as active listening, critical thinking, and communication, which are in high demand at the workplace. Diversity and intercultural competence are tied to high employee motivation; an inclusive workplace environment; and increased creativity and productivity. It also develops the leadership potential of the organization; you can’t be a leader unless you understand the beliefs of your different stakeholders and employees.

Corporations offer diversity and intercultural training, but these programs have a high rate of failure. One measure of success is greater inclusiveness brought about by increased hiring and retention of talent brought by people of color. According to a 2016 report by the Harvard Business Review, “among all U.S. companies with 100 or more employees, the proportion of black men in management increased just slightly—from 3% to 3.3%—from 1985 to 2014. White women saw bigger gains from 1985 to 2000—rising from 22% to 29% of managers—but their numbers haven’t budged since then.” The pandemic has negatively impacted these trends. In Sept. 2020 McKinsey reported that “Women—especially women of color—are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed during the COVID-19 crisis, stalling their careers and jeopardizing their financial security.” A March 2021 CNBC article stressed that Black and Hispanic women are not sharing in the economic recovery following governmental bailouts. “Employment for Black women is 9.7% lower than it was in February 2020. Employment for white men, white women, and Black men is down 5%, 5.4% and 5.9%, respectively.”

In the wake of BLM and other social justice movements, corporations have grandstanded their DEI and intercultural trainings but more often than not, these initiatives tend to be token performances of inclusivity that give license to proceed with business as usual. These programs are simply insufficient for the task at hand. They are not integrated in a long range plan melding individual and institutional identities; they lack the kind of commitment modeled by the scholar activists who inspire student communities; they don’t have historical and scholarly nuance; and they also lack diversity, not offering “everyone a seat at the table,” as a March 2021 Forbes Magazine article put it.

Higher’s Ed’s Diversity Crisis is an Opportunity

For all its woes, Higher Ed has considerable potential to step in the gap. Over the past twenty years, the increased pressure to be relevant has had the beneficial effect of rendering syllabi and academic activities more reflective of our social landscape. The outstanding work by scholars of color and pro-diversity scholars have raised awareness in new generations of students; helped influence media and culture; and shaped exciting community-based initiatives and programs. These successes can be replicated in the business world. And yes, escalating resistance from entrenched structures of power and privilege are a sign that Higher Ed is attempting to broach difficult conversions and loosen its paddocked doors, though significant room for improvement remains.

Yet, these developments are in peril from the struggle for the soul of Higher Ed is currently taking place. Recent high profile media cases such as Cornel West’s and Nikole Hannah Jones’ refusal of tenure are symptoms of broader issues such as privatization of the university; adjunctification of the labor force; and politically motivated administrative interference in scholars’ intellectual production. This brings us back to the supply and demand problem discussed at the beginning of the article. If minority students are dropping out and scholars of color face a glass ceiling in the Higher Ed project, recent innovations of the academy in diversity and intercultural scholarship and programs will taper off too.

The fact that scholars of color face increased odds of gaining a secure academic position threatens to harm the university’s value and social relevance. This is not just a numbers game. The weeding out process of systemic disenfranchisement begins early. Many students of color are disadvantaged by the lack of mentorship needed to gain entrance to high-success graduate programs and later, to gain academic success. According to Josiah Hardy, a student of color studying biochemistry and molecular biology, “It’s so hard to get into graduate school because the path to get there is like a secret that’s only given to certain people. If you don’t have guidance or a mentorship or any example of people who’ve done it, there’s no way you can know that.”

If Higher Ed is not able to solve its diversity problem, it risks losing out on an opportunity.