The Pomegranate Principle

CHAPTER THREESTOP DOING THIS: Relying on the Chief Diversity Officer Role to Solve Every DEI Problem

One of the other principal problems organizations have is an overreliance on the chief diversity officer to solve every DEI challenge. DEI is an institutional imperative and it is everyone's responsibility to operationalize the DEI strategy. Again, think about this like IT. Everyone has technology tools so the organization can be more collaborative, efficient, and innovative. It is not the chief information officer or chief technology officer's responsibility to deal with every single issue related to technology. Yes, you should call the IT help desk when your laptop doesn't start or when the Wi‐Fi network is spotty on your floor. But to think that a single person is responsible for how all technology is used, for solving for every glitch, for absolving everyone in the enterprise of their responsibility to use technology responsibly in the workplace would be profoundly misguided and ineffective.

I think it is important to understand the history and nature of these important and complex roles so that we can understand how to use these incredibly talented, insightful, and committed executives and their teams appropriately.

THE CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER ROLE

I want to provide some context for the chief diversity officer role because many people do not realize that the role has been a part of corporate America since the 1970s. I think of the role as evolving in three distinct time ...