Performative vs. Transformative DEI: Why Your Checklist Isn’t Enough, Especially Now!

We’ve all seen it, especially post George Floyd, the protests, and the financial shot in the arms by industries all over the US.

You remember seeing the new webpage pop up on the company website titled “Our Commitment to DEI.” Some higher up kicks off a Zoom training on unconscious bias. An employee resource group is formed and given a $500 budget. Monthly DEI (or any related acronym: DEBI, REDI, DEIB, DEIA, DEIAB, DEIJ, DEISJ, etc) meetings that lead nowhere, maybe discussed a Netflix movie or series based (or lightly based) on gentrification, racism, slavery, and so on.

Then silence.

There was no follow-up. No real accountability. No shift in leadership demographics. No new decision-making structures. Everyone goes back to business as usual, with the comforting illusion that something meaningful has changed.

Yep. You get the idea. Sounds familiar?

Keep reading because this is the world of performative DEI, which is rooted in appearances. It checks the box, takes the photo, prints the t-shirt. It creates the feeling of progress without the discomfort of transformation. But here’s the thing: if your DEI work hasn’t made someone in power uncomfortable, it probably hasn’t done much at all.

I promise I am not trying to be mean about this. It’s the reality many of us have lived through, especially in the last five years. Even more so unfortunately in the last 4 months!

The “Neverland” Illusion

I had this one potential client reach out to me about one year ago. It’s an organization in my town that I recognized and I was very excited at strategizing with them on their DEI efforts. When I asked: “Why now? Why hasn’t your organization, in its 30 years of existence, ever done any DEI work?” The Executive Director, an older white male answered and I was baffled. His reply: “The Board did the 5-year strategic plan about two years ago. This is one of the Board’s goals. We are already in year two, and nothing has been done. We need to get it done.”

I was petrified by the answer. There was no intent to do transformative work, it was all a call to “check the box.”

Here is the thing: performative DEI gives the impression that we are getting there (or getting ready) when in fact, we’re standing still. It placates dissent. It delays change. It often centers the comfort of dominant groups instead of disrupting the systems that exclude.

And the cost of this delay to staff form marginalized groups? Burnout. Disillusionment. Turnover. Communities of color, LGBTQ+ employees, and other marginalized staff begin to lose faith that anything will ever shift. We see the glossy messaging and feel gaslit by the reality on the ground.

So, I did not end up taking them on as I did not feel they were really ready to be uncomfortable. This was especially true when they told me they surveyed the staff and the staff did not want training.

What Transformation Requires

True DEI work is transformational.

It changes how an organization looks and how it thinks, operates, and leads. It questions deeply held beliefs and practices. It unearths the hidden norms that shape who feels safe, who is heard, and who advances.

This kind of change isn’t linear. It doesn’t fit neatly into a quarterly report. It requires courage, humility, and most of all, *time*.

As an organization (or small business owner) you can be that visionary leader who is committed to building equity into every level of your business – yes, nonprofit organizations are businesses. So, instead of launching your efforts with a flashy campaign, begin by listening. You can hold story circles with frontline staff. Review job descriptions, pay bands, and feedback loops. Slow down just enough to hear what probably has been silenced for years.

The process may reveal interesting patterns like advancement that depended on personality over policy, evaluation tools that penalize cultural difference, or even a deeply entrenched fear of naming race.

Transformation starts not with new language but with new listening.

The Hardest Part: Slowing Down

In our hustle-driven culture, one of the most radical things an organization can do is pause. Not perform. Not produce. Just pause long enough to ask: what are we actually doing here?

That pause is where transformation begins.

Because when we slow down, we start to see what we’ve normalized:

• Jokes passed off as “harmless”
• Performance metrics designed without cultural context
• Leadership pipelines that reward conformity over authenticity
• A culture of silence where speaking up feels risky

Transformative DEI calls these patterns out without shame and without retreat. It gives them names. It creates new agreements. It builds new skills. And most importantly, it redistributes power.

It’s Not About Perfection

Some organizations delay starting DEI work because they fear doing it wrong. They wait for the perfect plan, the perfect hire, the perfect language. But, let’s call it what it is in this case – “perfectionism” is one of the very tools white supremacy culture uses to stall progress.

What we need instead is progress over perfection.

One of my favorite moments in a DEI strategic session came when the Chief of DEI at a local law firm said, “I realize I’ve been waiting for the right consultant to make sure our leadership listens to what I’ve been saying all along. I can’t tell them, but you can. This will benefit the partners, the associates, and the administrative staff.”

That moment didn’t cost a dime. But it shifted the entire conversation. And it was the beginning of something real.

The Work of Culture Change

Culture isn’t built by mission statements. It’s built by micro-decisions:

• Who gets included in the mentoring opportunities.
• Who gets grace when they mess up because this may be their first time in this role.
• Whose ideas are taken seriously and placed into actual business moves.
• Who gets invited into informal circles of influence that affect them and other like them.

Transformative DEI is about recognizing these invisible patterns and choosing, deliberately and consistently, to change them. It is also playing a balance by dismantling historical systems and replacing them with impactful business moves.

That means that you may need to redesign hiring practices to reach beyond your traditional networks; create feedback structures that don’t punish vulnerability; build leadership development programs that reflect your team’s lived realities; and make room for joy, grief, tension, and accountability. Yes. All at once. And that’s only the beginning.

Why? Because this isn’t just about doing better. It’s about being different and creating a difference.

What We Do at Mejora Inc.

At Mejora Inc., we don’t just talk about equity. We embed it.

We work with organizations ready to move beyond performative acts and into sustained, systemic change. Our DEI Integration Strategy Sessions are customized to your context. Whether you’re a grassroots nonprofit or a midsize business, we meet you where you are.

Among several other things, we can help you:

• Identify where power lives in your organization or business
• Map the spoken and unspoken rules of your workplace culture
• Build equity into your operations, leadership models, and communication norms
• Center voices that have been historically excluded from decision-making

We approach this work with compassion, strategy, and 30 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, community engagement, and systems transformation.

Because DEI done right isn’t a program or a box to check off. DEI is a practice.

And like all meaningful practices, it evolves.

Let’s Get Real

If you made it this far, I’m guessing you are dealing with your own DEI challenges, especially in today’s political climate in the US. From ICE raids to deportations, from sense of entitlement to employees feeling impacted with the most recent laws, from your own nonprofit’s or business’ legal responsibility to moral commitment – we get it.

You want to build something that lasts. You’re ready to shift both policy and culture – and be the leader you want to be.

If that’s you, let’s talk. We got you!

📅 Book a DEI Strategy Session 📧 Or email me directly at avalentin@mejorainc.com

It’s time to stop performing. Let’s start transforming.