A Call to Action Part 1: Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through Systems, Institutions and Policy Levers

A Call to Action Part 1: Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through Systems, Institutions and Policy Levers confronts one of the most pressing challenges in contemporary organizational life: how to sustain and strengthen DEI commitments amid intensifying political, cultural, and institutional resistance. Rather than retreating from this moment, the contributors to this volume respond with clarity, evidence, and resolve.

Drawing on cutting edge research across management, public policy, organizational behavior, and social justice scholarship, the chapters speak directly to researchers, leaders, policymakers, and institutional stakeholders. Each contribution identifies a critical priority for advancing DEI through structural, systemic, and policy based interventions. Together, they illuminate the wide-ranging levers―legal, economic, cultural, technological, and organizational―that shape whether DEI efforts falter, stagnate, or meaningfully transform workplaces and communities.

The book’s breadth reflects the complexity of the current landscape. Topics span parent supportive policy design, science censorship, disability inclusion, sexual harassment prevention, workforce reintegration, reproductive benefits, entrepreneurial ecosystems, anti discrimination legislation, and the emotional and institutional work that sustains inequity. Authors examine the backlash against DEI, dismantle persistent myths, and offer bold strategies for resilience, refinement, and renewed purpose. Across these chapters, a shared message emerges: DEI is not a passing trend but a foundational requirement for organizational effectiveness, societal well being, and long term success.

Together with A Call to Action Part 2: Transforming Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through Norms, Leadership Practices, and Mindset, the two volumes offer a comprehensive roadmap for scholars and practitioners committed to defending, reimagining, and advancing DEI in an era of profound challenge and possibility.

Eden King is the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Rice University.

Quinetta Roberson is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Management and Psychology at Michigan State University.

Mikki Hebl is the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Professor of Psychology and Professor of Management at Rice University.