Bring White Men Into the Conversation

A very powerful group has been mostly missing from discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion. That can change

- RON CARUCCI and DR. ZOE SPENCER-HARRIS

WITHIN TODAY'S DIVERSITY, equity, and inclusion efforts, white men are often absent from the conversation. In one survey, 68 percent of white men said they didn't feel part of DEI efforts and conversations. Some felt they were seen as the problem.

Others (64 percent) felt they didn't have the ability to speak candidly in conversations with colleagues from marginalized groups.

But given the wide representation of white men in positions of power in both the public and private sectors, we need to meaningfully engage them in the conversation to make real change. For example, of the 533 executive officers among the S&P 100, 70 percent are white men. In the public sector, despite representing only 30 percent of the population, white men hold 62 percent of elected offices.

The group holding some of the greatest power to influence change are the ones most absent from the conversation about making it. Both our firsthand observations and the social sciences have shown us that when it comes to influencing white men to participate in conversations about racial equity and creating a more equitable world, a powerful place to begin is with their own experience of belonging.

Engaging White Men

We each come to this conversation from different perspectives. I (Zoe) as a Black scholar, researcher and activist at Virginia State University, a historically Black University (HBCU).

And I (Ron) as a white man working to understand how the privileges I have enjoyed simply because of my skin color and gender have led to the disadvantages others have suffered.