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DEI Must not DIE: Rethinking the Impact of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policies: Addressing Inequalities and Dynamics of Group (Dis)Advantage

par Oberlin, Julia
Président du jury Mattijs, Jan
Promoteur Toma, Claudia
Publication Non publié, 2026-03-17

Thèse de doctorat

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Résumé :

Despite significant investments in diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, progress remains limited and evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. While DEI initiatives can foster positive outcomes, they are often criticized for failing to address structural inequalities, and discrimination persists among disadvantaged groups. Moreover, DEI efforts may generate unintended negative reactions among advantaged groups, while growing political backlash, particularly in the United States and amid rising right-wing movements globally, places organizations under conflicting pressures to scale back such initiatives while managing diverse workforces. Together, these dynamics highlight the need to reconsider the impact of DEI policies.This dissertation, therefore, centers on the concept of DEI policy impact, with the objective of clarifying when, how, and for whom DEI policies produce meaningful impact in organizational contexts. Many initiatives fail to achieve their intended outcomes because organizations often lack clarity regarding which practices to prioritize, how to implement them effectively, and how to assess their impact. In this context, it becomes essential to understand how DEI impact can be demonstrated and evaluated. Accordingly, this dissertation investigates DEI impact from multiple angles and, more specifically, focuses on addressing inequalities and the dynamics of group (dis)advantage.These objectives are addressed across six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the context, rationale, and overall structure of the dissertation. Chapter 2 develops the theoretical framework by clarifying the relationship between DEI policies and climate and identifying key antecedents and outcomes of DEI policy impact. Chapter 3 explores DEI impact in practice through qualitative insights from DEI practitioners, highlighting challenges in sense-making and organizational barriers. Chapter 4 conceptualizes DEI policy impact in terms of disparity reduction between advantaged and disadvantaged groups and highlights, through empirical testing in organizations, the central role of policy coherence in fostering impact. Chapter 5 empirically examines group status as a key moderator of DEI impact, integrating both objective group memberships and subjective perceptions of (dis)advantage. Chapter 6 concludes with a synthesis of findings and their implications for theory and practice. This dissertation makes significant contributions to both DEI research and practice. First, it proposes an integrative multilevel framework that clarifies the relationship between DEI policies and climate, and defines impact in terms of reducing inequalities between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. It demonstrates that sense-making of change often limits DEI impact and highlights the central role of policy coherence in mitigating tensions across groups. It also emphasizes the importance of considering both objective and subjective experiences of (dis)advantage. Second, it contributes methodologically by studying two different national contexts, Belgium and the United States, offering a context-sensitive understanding of DEI impact. Practically, it provides organizations with actionable guidance to implement DEI policies with impact, highlighting the importance of defining DEI impact based on persistent inequalities and developing robust evaluation strategies to ensure sustainable change.