Identity + Strategy: What now?

Vincent N. Pham, PhD
Peter Campbell, PhD
Myra Washington, PhD
VPC Consulting
Portland, Oregon, USA

Identity has been a core part of how DEI has been organized for corporate America. However, the backlash against DEI has challenged and dismantled many of the ways that organizations do this work of inclusion and belonging. This panel interrogates and entertains the possibilities of how the contemporary anti-DEI movement can catalyze other ways to educate and activate identity as part of justice work.

From cultural identity food sharing to eployee resource affinity groups (ERGs), racial & cultural identity was the central focus of many corporate DEI efforts. The focus on cultural identity and personal lived experiences created an easy entry - and endpoint - for performative, surface-level DEI.

However, the backlash against DEI has challenged and dismantled even these perfunctory strategies mainstream organizations used to foster inclusion and belonging. Session panelists will interrogate the problematic patterns of workplace cultural appreciation and cultural competence trainings, and share possibile next steps agencies can take to educate workers and honor cultural identity, while creating more just, safe and supportive workplaces for their global majority employees.

Presenter Bios

Vincent N. Pham is a Portland, OR based scholar, trainer, and consultant. With over 20 years of experience working in higher education, Dr. Pham is an expert facilitator, seasoned teacher, and a respected researcher with over 50 talks and presentations on topics ranging to cultural belonging and citizenship in popular culture to organizational and institutional issues of diversity and inclusion.

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