Diversity was on the rise in the aftermath of George Floyd in 2020, but now in 2023, diversity fatigue has taken over. Where companies once created ambitious plans and long-term DEI goals, newly expanded DEI departments, and DEI initiatives supported by employees of all levels, we now see the opposite trend. Common signs of diversity fatigue include: DEI programs are shrinking from lack of support from C-suite leaders, and employees failing to understand the point of diversity training programs.

Diversity fatigue has both external and internal reasons, meaning that besides corporate leaders and executives, the DEI industry itself should also be accountable for for diversity fatigue’s main factors: over-focusing on diversity numbers; prioritizing diversity while overlooking inclusion and equity, putting gender and race before any other diversity criteria; hidden diversity quotas; positive discrimination, inefficient or inappropriate training programs and so onCompanies should reevaluate their DEI approach in order to reverse the diversity fatigue trend. This event will provide practical knowledge on how to spot the early signs of diversity fatigue and manage them preemptively.

Managing DEI Fatigue – CRIPS Model

Movell will present a case study of how she assisted a client in overcoming DEI fatigue. The speaker will lay out the problem – The DEI strategy was developed in isolation of staff and not regularly revisited or socialised, therefore there was limited buy in and activities were disjointed and misaligned leading to fatigue. Movell will explain how fatigue impacted the staff and the DEI practitioner and the impact that had on the overall company both from an internal and external point of view.

Movell developed the Double CRIPS(C) model to help clients(both companies and DEI practitioners) understand how to manage fatigue. The model consists of 5 key stages that will help users to:

• Understand needs of staff & practitioner
• Keep momentum without fatigue
• Encourage ownership DEI across the whole organisation

The presentation will take the audience through the 5 stages relating them back to the case study and demonstrating how they can use the model to prevent as well as manage DEI fatigue if it occurs. Attendees will leave with a blueprint for practically managing/eliminating DEI fatigue.