I was just on a panel where too many couldn’t let go of the business case for DEI. I refuse to talk about the business case as a way to justify doing this work. Y’all, people are dying. The business case leads to pandering (exhibit A: rainbow washing), prematurely giving up, holding back resources required to do the real work, and ultimately, it’s not a sustainable why. I dedicated a whole chapter in my book debunking this with ample data and stories and present better alternatives to anchor our work. The hyper-intellectualization of equity work in our data obsessed capitalist society has extracted all sense of humanity from this work. We are robbing ourselves of the opportunity to create real, meaningful change when we continue to rely on the narrative of capitalism spewed by those in positions of power. Stop it. Stop seeing people as human “capital.” It is violent and destructive. Get the foundation right so we can get to the right outcomes. *drops 🎤 exits stage left* [image description: a screenshot of my tweet that says “If you’re still talking about the business case for DEI, know that you’re behind. We’ve been doing this dance for far too long trying to get executive leaders who don’t care to care. The truth is we cannot expect justice outcomes to come from a why rooted in capitalism. Period.”]