Diversity, equity and inclusion work: a difference that makes a difference … ?

PurposeI examine if current diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives can actually accomplish what they aim and claim to do. I argue that perforce they cannot, as they remain instruments of capitalist corporations and other similar structures.Design/methodology/approachI draw on a variety of literature, from poetry to theories and to empirical findings.FindingsDEI work so far does not live up to its hyped-up claims. It is time for scholars and practitioners to question the DEI industrial complex and its influence on organizational dynamics. It is not clear that justice can ever be achieved in a capitalist neoliberal economy.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is not an empirical paper.Practical implicationsDEI work needs to be re-conceived so that it addresses power imbalances, rather serving as a tool to keep organizations comfortable in seeming to change.Social implicationsDEI practitioners will need to draw deeply on their courage so that they do not reinforce the existing systems of capitalist oppression through their well-intentioned work.Originality/valueThe paper argues that DEI work can accomplish little without a radical reconceptualization of its nature as a genuine tool for change, rather than simply window dressing.