From Threat to Challenge: Addressing Resistance to Diversity Through Holistic Diversity Previews and Tools

ABSTRACT Support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a core public value and central to public administration. Yet, as diversity is realized through shifts in employee representation, organizational norms, and implementation practices, some members of socially privileged groups (e.g., White employees, men) experience discomfort and anxiety in intergroup interactions and perceive status or resource threat. This creates a gap between diversity‐as‐communicated (how organizations communicate the benefits and relevance of DEI to the public sector) and diversity‐as‐experienced (how public employees with privileged identities experience the implementation of diversity efforts), reducing employee engagement with diversity efforts and slowing implementation in public organizations. Integrating a multidisciplinary foundation, we propose a framework to increase socially privileged group participation by reframing diversity as a challenge to meet rather than a threat to avoid. We outline practical strategies to build DEI implementation capacity in public organizations while remaining anchored to public values and equity commitments.