MIT Sloan Management Review Article on How to Productively Disagree on Tough Topics

Conversations about identity, diversity, and justice are some of the thorniest human interactions of our time. Consider Uber’s head of diversity, who hosted a workplace event titled “Don’t Call Me Karen” to highlight the “spectrum of the American White woman’s experience” and foster an “open and honest conversation about race.” Following backlash from employees of color, she was placed on a leave of absence.

Or consider Stanford Law School’s associate dean for diversity, who tried to “de-escalate” student protests during a speech by conservative judge Kyle Duncan. The dean tried to placate the students, who were angered by the judge’s anti-LGBTQ+ views, while giving the judge the space to finish his talk. But her intervention led to a public furor due to a perception that she had prioritized students’ feelings over the judge’s right to free speech. She, too, was placed on leave.

About the Author

Kenji Yoshino (@kenji_yoshino) is the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at the New York University School of Law and the faculty director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. David Glasgow (@dvglasgow) is the executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Law. They are the coauthors of Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice (Atria Books, 2023), on which this article is based.

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