EQUITY
Breaking down Diversity, equity and inclusion hires For the last two years, DEI hires have been all the rage, but what does DEI mean? Here’s an FAQ to hopefully promote greater understanding By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
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ver the last two years, there’s been a considerable spike in the demand for jobs like chief diversity officer, diversity and inclusion manager, and vice president of diversity and inclusion, according to executive search firm Morgan Samuels Company. Leadership positions in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have “largely shifted from being a function of the HR department to being a strategic leader reporting directly into the CEO,” Morgan Samuels officials explained. According to a 2021 analysis by Glassdoor, the employment website, job postings for DEI roles in the United States rose by 30% in 2019. Following a drop at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, such postings rose sharply in the months following the George Floyd murder in May 2020. But has the understanding among regular people about what DEI professionals actually do risen with the profession’s growth? I’m not so sure. In fact, I’m certain that most people probably don’t know what DEI professionals do, because as a DEI professional myself, I sometimes have a hard time
figuring that out. That’s why I’ve compiled this (hopefully) helpful FAQ for you, based on my talks with DEI leaders in the Oak Park and River Forest area, which happens to be a bastion for them. So, why the DEI craze and why now? Precious Porras, the chief diversity officer for Dominican University in River Forest, told me that the most recent uptick in DEI hiring was prompted by the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the protests that happened in the wake of his death. Before then, the growing Black Lives Matter movement over the last six or seven years tilled the soil for today’s fertile DEI landscape. But the DEI concept is not necessarily new. Equity administrators have been rather common in institutions of higher learning for a while now, Porras said. This recent wave of hires is commensurate with a cycle that’s been happening since at least the Civil Rights Movement. Whether or not they’re effective, though, is another story, she said. “After the 1960s, you see the creation of minority affairs positions, where that person is in leadership, but generally is almost always a director
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Precious Porras is the chief diversity officer at Dominican University. of Black Studies or Minority Affairs or Urban Affairs,” she explained. “They’re managing student demand, but nobody is addressing structural issues of higher education.” The 1970s and 1980s brought equity within the academic realm, with the creation of women and racial centers, she said. Porras said this new wave of equity hiring, which extends below the university, large nonprofit and corporation level down to local school districts and libraries, may be the point at which institutions realize that equity work is really structural, as opposed to individualistic. How prevalent are DEI positions in the Oak Park and River Forest area? Oak Park and River Forest might be considered early adopters of the current DEI leadership phenomena. District 97, District 200, Fenwick High School, Dominican and the Oak Park Public Library all have DEI executives on board. Oak Park District 97 hired Carrie Kamm to be its senior
director of equity in 2017 — a full three years before Floyd’s murder. Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 hired LeVar J. Ammons to be its inaugural director of equity and student success in 2019. Meanwhile, the village of Oak Park is currently looking to hire a chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. And while DEI leadership positions are prevalent in town, they’re also susceptible to turnover. For instance, Ammons left after a few years in the position and his successor, Patrick Hardy, left after about a year. The position is currently open. Fenwick’s inaugural DEI director, Raymond Moland, recently left his position to take a principal position in nearby Bellwood School District 88. What exactly do DEI leaders do? The range of responsibilities that fall on DEI professionals vary based on the institution they serve. Virtually all of the DEI professionals in the Oak Park area serve in executive leadership positions and
