The Importance of DEIB In Arbitration
And Why We Shouldn't Give Up Our Values Now
Organizations that adopt programs aimed to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) find themselves recently in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. Some companies have “complied in advance” by dismantling their DEIB programs without specific prompting from the government, while others, like Costco and Apple have affirmed their commitment to DEI in their companies.
Like many other organizations in the wake of the George Floyd murder and protests, the National Academy of Arbitrators looked closely at the question of whether DEIB were values our organization, and in 2020, undertook efforts to improve the diversity of arbitrator ranks, equity among arbitrators, and increased feelings on inclusion and belonging among our members.
There are several reasons why the NAA decided to commit to DEIB that stand apart from the general mood in 2020 that more needed to be done to fight racism. The ranks of arbitrators are shrinking, and the average age of NAA members was 68 years old. We need more arbitrators and it makes sense to take measures to increase the number of labor arbitrators and our membership. Thus, we wanted arbitrators from historically underrepresented backgrounds to feel included and like they belong in our organization. It’s a matter of organizational survival. You can hear the voices of DEI champions here.
In general, the U.S. workforce had become more diverse. Black workers have higher rates of union membership than the general population. Women make up half of union memberships. The NAA understood that it’s membership should better reflect the experiences and makeup of the workforce as a whole. That ensures that the parties who select us, regardless of their background, will trust that arbitrators do not operate from an elite remove, but understand the demands of the modern workplace.
Arbitrators from historically underrepresented backgrounds described barriers to selection that more experienced arbitrators knew they could help remove through mentorship and training. More experienced arbitrators can share their knowledge and connections and “vouch” for the good work of their colleagues who may face bias in arbitrator selection. These efforts fulfill our ethical obligation to our profession, which states: “An experienced arbitrator should cooperate in the training of new arbitrators.”
The NAA’s perspective on DEIB inspired it to lend early support to the Ray Corollary Initiative, which aims to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the selection of mediators, arbitrators, and other ADR neutrals.
None of the reasons that the NAA lent its resources and support to DEIB efforts have gone away. If anything, the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are more important now as we face a changing federal (and largely unionized) workforce. I expect that neutrals will play an important role in sorting out the changes being implemented by the Trump administration, and our diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging values will communicate our trustworthiness as professional neutrals.