Table 2 Comparative summary of... | Emerald Publishing

Table 2

Comparative summary of traditional and positive DEI approaches

Aspect of contrast	Traditional DEI (deficit-focused)	Positive DEI (strength-focused)	Positive DEI approach
Primary Focus	Problems and Compliance: Centered on identifying and rectifying biases, addressing discrimination and meeting compliance/quota requirements	Strengths and Potential: Focused on recognizing and amplifying existing successes, organizational strengths and opportunities for shared flourishing	Appreciative Inquiry (AI; Cooperrider and Srivastava, 1987): A collaborative process focused on identifying “the best in an organization to determine what it is doing well and how to build on that success”
Emotional/Motivation	Negative Affect (Fear/Guilt): Initiatives often based on minimizing risk, avoiding lawsuits or addressing problems, which can trigger defensiveness or backlash	Positive Affect (Hope/Engagement): Creates buy-in by using positive psychology to promote psychological safety, inspiration and proactive engagement	Purpose-enabled Diversity (Burrow and Hill, 2013): Purpose acts as a buffer against the “negative mood” and “distress” associated with exposure to diversity, demonstrating a psychological mechanism for stress reduction
Mechanism for Change	Top-Down Enforcement: Change is driven by external mandates, policy implementation or expert consultation (often perceived as being “enforced top-down”)	Collaborative Capacity Building: Change is driven internally through the collective effort of employees and stakeholders to discover, design and realize a shared future vision	PCB/AI Approach (Cabrera, 2021): Builds the “cooperative capacity of individuals and their institutions to make transformative decisions and turn problems into possibilities.”
Key Outcome Metric	Lagging Indicators: Measures are often focused on past performance (e.g. demographic headcount, complaint reduction rates)	Leading Indicators and Well-being: Measures are focused on future potential and overall quality of the experience (e.g. levels of psychological capital, employee well-being and positive social connections)	Purpose-enabled Diversity (Burrow and Hill, 2013): Highlights that purpose in life enhances well-being and positive adjustment in diverse settings, making these stronger outcomes than mere compliance

Aspect of contrast	Traditional DEI (deficit-focused)	Positive DEI (strength-focused)	Positive DEI approach
Primary Focus	Problems and Compliance: Centered on identifying and rectifying biases, addressing discrimination and meeting compliance/quota requirements	Strengths and Potential: Focused on recognizing and amplifying existing successes, organizational strengths and opportunities for shared flourishing	Appreciative Inquiry (AI; Cooperrider and Srivastava, 1987): A collaborative process focused on identifying “the best in an organization to determine what it is doing well and how to build on that success”
Emotional/Motivation	Negative Affect (Fear/Guilt): Initiatives often based on minimizing risk, avoiding lawsuits or addressing problems, which can trigger defensiveness or backlash	Positive Affect (Hope/Engagement): Creates buy-in by using positive psychology to promote psychological safety, inspiration and proactive engagement	Purpose-enabled Diversity (Burrow and Hill, 2013): Purpose acts as a buffer against the “negative mood” and “distress” associated with exposure to diversity, demonstrating a psychological mechanism for stress reduction
Mechanism for Change	Top-Down Enforcement: Change is driven by external mandates, policy implementation or expert consultation (often perceived as being “enforced top-down”)	Collaborative Capacity Building: Change is driven internally through the collective effort of employees and stakeholders to discover, design and realize a shared future vision	PCB/AI Approach (Cabrera, 2021): Builds the “cooperative capacity of individuals and their institutions to make transformative decisions and turn problems into possibilities.”
Key Outcome Metric	Lagging Indicators: Measures are often focused on past performance (e.g. demographic headcount, complaint reduction rates)	Leading Indicators and Well-being: Measures are focused on future potential and overall quality of the experience (e.g. levels of psychological capital, employee well-being and positive social connections)	Purpose-enabled Diversity (Burrow and Hill, 2013): Highlights that purpose in life enhances well-being and positive adjustment in diverse settings, making these stronger outcomes than mere compliance

Source(s): Author’s own work