While we can all agree that calling a white woman “Karen” (which is different from someone named Karen) is offensive, we shouldn’t be calling women that. But employees don’t need a presentation—or two—about why they shouldn’t.
Bo Young Lee, Uber’s Head of Diversity, held two events that focused on “dive into the spectrum of the white American woman’s experience” and “the character of Karen.” Predictably, this ruffled feather, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and Chief Human Resources Officer, Nikki Krishnamurthy, called me off.
Instead, the workers felt they were being lectured about the difficulties white women faced and why the term “Karen” was derogatory and that Ms. Lee was brushing off their concerns, according to messages sent on Slack, a workplace messaging tool, which were viewed by the Times.
This is the key to why a backlash occurs. Nobody likes lectures, especially two lectures on the same topic that anyone working in the DEI space should have known cause problems.
How can you ensure that your DEI programs actually help rather than harm? Here’s what you need to know.
