Diversity, equity and inclusion is in the headlines these days, and at the risk of opening an entire can of beans, when all I really want is just one bean (or, at most, a couple), I thought I'd take an opportunity to talk about what DEI means in the accounting space — and also what, specifically, it does not mean.
A couple of caveats: I am going to be talking about DEI only in accounting. Not in government, not in education, not in movies or TV, not in sports, not at the state level and definitely not at the federal level — just in accounting.
Also, if you have strong feelings about DEI in any other area, please do not share them with me. Similarly, if you have strong thoughts about DEI in accounting AND you believe that DEI in accounting involves depriving qualified candidates of jobs in accounting, please do not send me emails about that. Any time we run an article about DEI, I get plenty of emails making the same case.
And it's because that case is wrong that I'm writing this. DEI in accounting is NOT about depriving qualified candidates of jobs, or hiring unqualified people because of their race or gender. Accounting is in the midst of a truly massive staffing shortage — no one is turning away qualified candidates, no matter their race or gender or anything else. Instead, DEI (in accounting) is about finding new pools of qualified job candidates, drawing them into the profession, and getting them to stay. All the DEI programs that I've ever looked at, and all the DEI leaders I've ever spoken to — and this is all just in accounting, by the way — are focused on two things.
First, they're reaching out to groups that haven't traditionally thought about accounting as a career path, and encouraging them to try it. That means they're trying to get, say, Black and Latino high school and college students to pursue accounting degrees, with the goal then of hiring those who successfully complete their degrees and guiding them through successfully earning their CPA licenses.
Second, they're working to make their firms more welcoming and comfortable places for qualified people from underrepresented groups to work in, so that those people stick around.
Are DEI programs keeping track of the numbers? Yes. (It's accounting, after all.) Are they aiming to up the number of qualified members of underrepresented groups who join the profession? Also yes. Are they not hiring qualified white male job candidates? No. Believe me — if an accounting firm finds a qualified candidate of any race or gender, they're hiring them. Most firms would hire a qualified wildebeest, if the wildebeest were available and could start before the end of tax season.
So there you have it: what DEI (in accounting) is about, and what it most definitely is not.
