Ending Checkbox Diversity: Rewriting the Story of Performative Allyship in Corporate America

By Dannie Lynn Fountain

DEI isn't just a box to check.

As a triple minority who passes for a straight white woman in corporate America, Dannie Lynn Fountain has seen too many companies pretend to care about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) only for its public relations outcomes. In Ending Checkbox Diversity, Fountain explores how the current structure of corporate DEI lends itself to the continued oppression of marginalized identities. She examines the narrow objectives and metrics that allow for shallow or no improvement and how shifting diversity responsibility to employee resource groups enables companies to disclaim responsibility for making meaningful progress. She looks at the impact of Zennials and Gen Zers, the most diverse generations ever, and breaks down precisely why some notable examples of poor DEI initiatives failed (and what should have been done differently). And she builds a road map for what real DEI looks like and how to avoid the performative allyship trope.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781523001378

Dannie Lynn Fountain

Dannie Lynn Fountain is a staffer at Google by day and a DEI and employee engagement strategist for private clients and corporations by night. She is also a seasoned corporate speaker and a regular guest contributor who has been quoted and interviewed by the New York Times, Forbes, Bustle, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan, the Everygirl, Girlboss, and others. She was named to the 2020 OBO list of 100 Most Innovative Entrepreneurs and awarded the Albion College Young Alumni Award.

Book preview

Cover: Ending Checkbox Diversity: Rewriting the Story of Performative Allyship in Corporate America

ENDING

CHECKBOX

DIVERSITY

Rewriting

the Story of

Performative

Allyship in

Corporate

America

Ending Checkbox Diversity

Copyright © 2023 Dannie Lynn Fountain

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Ordering information for print editions

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First Edition

Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-5230-0135-4

PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-0136-1

IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-0137-8

Digital audio ISBN 978-1-5230-0139-2

2022-1

Book producer: Susan Geraghty

Cover designer: Sophie Greenbaum

Interior design: Lewelin Polanco

Author photo: Catherine Lavy, Lavybug Photography

Art featured in author photo: Alannah Tiller, aLILscribble

To everyone who has ever had

to fight for basic respect at work.

You deserve a far better world.

Contents

Before You Read (A Note from the Author)

Laying the Groundwork

Introduction: Why Now?

PART I: The Historical Context of Corporate DEI

1. Where Did DEI Come From?

2. Does Diversity Training Actually Impact Inclusive Behaviors?

3. How Do We Measure Diversity?

PART II: A Change in Perspective

4. Modern-Day DEI and Why Things Are Changing

5. DEI Failures

6. The Impact of COVID-19 on Corporate Diversity

7. The Language of Inclusion

8. The Underrepresented Advocacy Experience

PART III: Toward Human-Centric DEI

9. A Roadmap for Truly Effective Corporate DEI

10. Intentional

11. Thoughtful

12. Bold Leadership

13. Acknowledge Your Mistakes

Discussion Guide

Notes

Resources: What to Do Next

Acknowledgments

Index

Love This Book?

About the Author

Before You Read

(A Note from the Author)

While these pages tell the tale of modern-day Corporate America’s experiences and failures with DEI, they also hold the impact, trauma, and outcomes of my own experiences as an other navigating this country’s white-collar, buttoned up, still-too-stodgy offices. I’ve removed some personal details, not to protect those within the stories, but rather so you might more easily find your own experiences mirrored or magnified in mine.

Every personal story and public news piece discussed in this book is written from my perspective, the way I remember it happening, through my lens as a human defined by the many labels assigned to me by society.* Your labels might be different. You might shoulder more; you might be burdened by less. You might remember these stories differently depending on your perception of the situation. Your reactions to these stories and suggestions for what to do next might be different than mine. In fact, reading this book might make you feel angry, frustrated, discouraged, or a myriad of other heavy negative emotions.

I encourage you to sit with how you feel before you react. Consider whether your reaction is to the words I’ve put on these pages or to thoughts, feelings, and experiences within your own existence that have been magnified by the book you hold in your hands. Know that the weight of your own experiences is not a weight you’ve created but one that Corporate America has set on your shoulders. And if you feel light, not bogged down by the heaviness of the tales herein, consider why that might be.

And above all else, I encourage you more than anything to take action not just when this book ends but along the way. Make notes in the margins, snap photos and text to friends, read passages aloud to your partner as you consider your own experiences in Corporate America. Once you’ve done that, consider how these words might leave the page, how they can spark deeper conversations in your organization. Let the words move you toward change.

Dannie Lynn Fountain

* You might find yourself wondering what exactly my labels are. Although many of our labels change over time, based on our own self-concept and those created by our society, here is a brief list of some of my labels at the time of writing: queer, multiethnic, neurodivergent, heavily tattooed, married, plus-size, first-generation, cisgender, woman. I was raised in a lower-class household and currently am a debt-free member of the upper class.

Laying the Groundwork

Trigger warnings for this book: sexual harassment, racism, various discussions of discrimination and workplace acts of aggression.

Quick definition: Throughout this book, we will use the terms underrepresented identities, marginalized individuals, and minorities somewhat interchangeably. These three terms have varying definitions, but all are used within this text to reference any individual who holds an identity, belief, or experience that is contrary to or separate from the majority norms of the white experience in Corporate America. An individual may be a member of one of these groups (i.e., marginalized) but not another (i.e., underrepresented) and still experience harm in Corporate America.

What do you do when your company claims to care about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), but is also incredibly successful at discriminating against or ignoring your identities?

The answer for many underrepresented folks is to feel defeated, wonder whether they made the right career choice, second-guess every accomplishment that got them to where they are, and generally feel overwhelmed and exhausted. The answer for me? A little bit of that defeated feeling, but a much more pronounced urge to rage against the system. It may be the Enneagram 8 in me (the Challenger), or more likely it’s that underlying feeling held by every person who has an underrepresented identity—the powerful desire to join the ever-present battle to gain just a smidgen of ground closer to equity.

I’ve been in Corporate America for nearly a decade now, and as an underrepresented triple minority who passes for a straight white woman, I’ve seen and heard a lot of things that corporations would prefer I hadn’t. This experience as a wolf in sheep’s clothing reaffirms our understanding that all too often, DEI initiatives are motivated by profit, not respect for humanity.

This book is the story of Corporate America’s DEI duality. As someone who started their career in marketing and now works in HR, I have seen this duality firsthand. The creation of marketing campaigns on the basis of the sales they might garner instead of on the basis of celebrating the represented communities is all too common. Highlighting underrepresented individuals in company marketing materials and then failing to pay them equitably or offer them career advancement opportunities is the norm. The same individuals on billboards in Times Square or front and center during a Super Bowl commercial have been discriminated against, sexually harassed, and openly harmed, while corporate policy enforcers fail to respond appropriately because the incident didn’t rise to the level of what the policy protects.

From the outside looking in, DEI initiatives are on-trend; they make for great PR fodder and really separate the inclusive companies from the outright discriminatory ones. That’s not actually the truth, though. DEI is rarely a true priority, rarely receives equitable capital investment, and rarely has consistent and unilateral leadership buy-in. As a result, DEI initiatives are underfunded, underreported, and generally have underwhelming performance as a result, all while companies continue to discriminate against and actively harm their underrepresented employees.

It’s possible that you picked up this book because you feel the pain of this duality as much as I do. You might also be wrestling with the same questions I am: Is Ramsey Solutions (Dave Ramsey’s financial empire) somehow a better company than the tech industry giants because at least Ramsey Solutions is transparent about what (or who) its priorities actually are? Ramsey Solutions is consistently discriminatory toward underrepresented identities (see: the lawsuits that just keep coming), whereas the tech industry’s only consistency is in its murkiness of discrimination and active harm while also investing in DEI.

Or maybe you picked up this book because you’re a leader who is not sure what to do. You know that current efforts are failing, but you don’t have the background or context to begin to figure