116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa Ideas: Iowans must go ‘beyond writing a check’ to advance diversity
Panels include discussions of Diversity, Equity and Inclusions’s next steps
Programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion have been adopted by schools, businesses and government agencies across Iowa as a way to create opportunities for and encourage participation by historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.
It’s intended to create a sense of belonging and respect. But DEI, as it’s widely known, has also come under fire.
This year, Republican state lawmakers passed and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an Iowa Board of Regents funding bill that prohibits regents universities from new spending on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, training and new employees. The board is also required to review campus DEI programming and submit a report to the Legislature.
During debate over the bill in March, Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, asserted that DEI programs at colleges and universities are part of a “woke agenda” used to “impose ideological conformity and promote far-left political activism.”
Kyle Clare, a University of Iowa student, argued this year at a subcommittee hearing that the UI’s DEI officer should be fired, in part, because she is paid six figures “so she can vilify and make white, male, straight and other students feel like oppressors.”
The Gazette’s Iowa Ideas conference — a free, virtual event on Oct. 12 and 13 — will include 17 panel discussions about DEI’s intersections within the nine tracks of the overall conference, covering everything from energy and environment, to economic development and human and social services.
‘We have to get away from these buzzwords’
Proponents of DEI say opposition to it is misplaced and driven by talking points that paint it as divisive. In reality, they say, the inclusivity such programs encourage benefits society as a whole.
Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy at One Iowa — an LGBTQ advocacy organization — said when they talk about the work done by DEI officers and departments, people rarely object.
“Outside of the legislative session, when I’m having conversations with conservatives, if you take the acronym out and talk about what the actual policies are, they don’t care anymore. The actual content is totally unobjectionable,” said Crow, who’s scheduled to participate in an Iowa Ideas panel discussion.
A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Crow used the school’s DEI office as an example.
“They’re helping ROTC students adjust their schedules, they’re putting on MLK Day activities, they’re planning things for Black History Month. Nobody disagrees with any of that,” Crow said. “We have to get away from these buzzwords.”
Crow said now is the time to be discussing DEI because of recent state legislation. In particular, Crow pointed to a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a law that requires people in K-12 schools to use the restroom that aligns with their biological sex and a recent proposal by Iowa’s Board and Commissions Review Committee to eliminate a decades-old requirement that state boards and commissions have an equal number of men and women serving on the board.
“When you look at issues that impact marginalized communities in our state, it seems as though every time they’ve had a choice between a policy that helps those groups and a policy that harms those groups, particularly in the last four to five years, the Legislature and governor have made the choice to pick the policy that harms people,” Crow said.
Beyond writing a check
Even among people who’ve accepted DEI as a valuable investment, there’s still work to be done to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, said Anthony Arrington, a member of Iowa Ideas’ DEI Advisory Council, which helps plan the conference.
Arrington, of Top Rank — an executive search and diversity consulting firm in Cedar Rapids — is scheduled to moderate an Iowa Ideas panel discussion about organizations that go “beyond writing a check” to support inclusive practices.
“There are many companies that write checks every year. That matters. But it’s an ‘and,’” said Arrington. “Are we writing the checks to say we were involved, or are we writing the checks because the humans who make up the culture in those organizations truly value this work?”
Arrington said a check — or even one-time training — without follow-through doesn’t truly promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
“It’s important to have this discussion now because it’s been easy for organizations and easy for companies with money to write checks but avoid the realities of what’s happening when it comes to ‘isms’ — racism as an example,” he said.
“We’ve got to address these head-on, and it’s not just money that’s going to do that. It’s people — humans with leverage and voices at the tables.”
Iowa Ideas DEI track
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion track at the Iowa Ideas conference does not stand alone. All 17 DEI sessions are part of the nine other tracks at the conference. Find descriptions and lists of panelists for each DEI track online at iowaideas.com/topics/dei.
Daily Newsletters