DEI programs often miss opportunities to develop equity. DEI workers may have blind spots for their own biases. Executive positions are overwhelmingly held by white people. White-adjacent refers to a non-white person who aligns themselves with whiteness. Many DEI initiatives in higher education fail to be inclusive when it comes to academic policies and grading, reducing those initiatives merely to diversity theatre
Gassam Asare (2023, p. 87) asserts that many companies ignore the “equity” part of the equation. They focus more on racial and ethnic diversity (I would say, also gender), because it is easier to measure (p. 123). The result of this would then logically be lagging diversity and inclusion as marginalized people would feel less safe and less motivated to participate. Organizations would be expected to see worse retention for marginalized people as a result.