Less DEI, more FAIRness (ft. author Lily Zheng)

For years, organizations have poured millions into DEI training.

And yet most employees still report discrimination. Promotion gaps persist. Trust remains uneven.

So what’s going on?

In this episode of FUTUREPROOF., I sit down with Lily Zheng — strategist and author of Fixing Fairness — to interrogate a hard truth: much of what we call DEI doesn’t work. Not because fairness is unpopular. Not because inclusion is misguided. But because we keep trying to fix people instead of fixing systems.

Lily introduces the FAIR framework — Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation — and argues that the real leverage isn’t in workshops. It’s in incentives, evaluation criteria, hiring processes, and executive accountability.

We explore:

• Why standalone DEI training can backfire
• The “missing stair” metaphor — and how organizations normalize dysfunction
• The Cobra Effect of poorly designed diversity incentives
• Why representation is ultimately about trust, not optics
• What meritocracy gets wrong about itself
• And why rebranding DEI won’t solve structural problems

At a moment when DEI faces political backlash and corporate retrenchment, Lily makes a counterintuitive claim: the future of workplace inclusion will be more rigorous, more measured, and more accountable — not less.

This is a systems conversation.

Not about slogans.
 Not about performative commitments.
 About incentives, power, and what actually moves outcomes.

If you care about leadership, governance, and the second-order effects of institutional design, this episode will challenge you.