Anti-DEI Backlash harms Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color DEI practitioners differently than White DEI practitioners in terms of career trajectory, health, and even personal identity. Compared to some White DEI practitioners who are granted access to resources and relationships with White company executives, BIPOC practitioners often face othering from White Executives, are the first to lose employment during layoffs, and face more difficulty re-entering the workforce.

Racial stress causes specific physical and psychological injuries called Racial Battle Fatigue (Smith, 2008), which many BIPOC are predisposed to given their ancestral racialized labor trauma. Through a process of racialized Weathering (Geronimus, 2023), BIPOC DEI Leaders' physical and mental health suffer chronic illnesses that last long after leaving a DEI position. On a personal and spiritual level, Institutional Betrayal and Moral Injury can be especially painful for BIPOC DEI Leaders when their work is directly tied to a sense of family and community.

This session considers the historical and contemporary backlash against DEI and the distinct impacts of chronic racial stress and workplace racial trauma on BIPOC DEI leaders. Also discussed are cultural, ancestral, and somatic practices to protect our physical and mental health in increasingly hostile workplaces and society.

Presented by Heliana Ramirez PhD, LISW, RSW (She/Her/Hers), President, Workplace Trauma Recovery, LLC.

2:30pm Pacific Time (Los Angeles)
4:30pm Central Time (Chicago)
5:30pm Eastern Time (New York)
10:30pm British Time (London)
11:30pm Central European Time (Barcelona)