TITLE:
Breaking the Invisible Wall: Barriers to DEI Program Implementation
AUTHORS:
Ajuolachi Nwoga
KEYWORDS:
Barriers, Change, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Initiatives
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.11 No.4,
July
27,
2023
ABSTRACT: Many organizations acknowledge the importance of
creating inclusive workspaces but struggle with implementing effective DEI
initiatives. The purpose of this study is to uncover the internal
organizational barriers to effective DEI program implementation in
organizations. The researcher conducted a comprehensive database search and
quality appraisal for the best available data resulting in the inclusion of 13
high-quality articles. Synthesis of evidence that emerged from inductive
thematic coding of the 13 articles yielded findings of this study which are—DEI solutions not aligned with organizational
DEI needs, no pre-mortem to minimize implementation challenges, and
organizational culture at odds with DEI strategy. A limitation of this study is
the small number of articles synthesized so the study may not have addressed
all the contexts related to this study. This study highlights the importance of
hiring a DEI consultant to help organizations navigate the DEI initiatives
implementation process, conducting a DEI audit to understand the DEI status of
the organization and existing gaps, setting DEI goals based on existing gaps
and incorporating metrics to track and measure success. This study provides a
good starting point for organizations looking to implement DEI initiatives
effectively.