Integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into your financial wellness programs

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Yes, I am that weirdo that watches the same documentaries or reads the same books again and again, in search of any wisdom I may have missed the first or second time around. One of those documentaries that remains in rotation is The Pieces I Am, about the late literary scholar Toni Morrison. She was not only a great writer and the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, she was also an expert editor and publisher for other talented writers. Over the course of her life — in her writing, editing, publishing and in the way she lived — she always questioned perspective: Who is speaking? Who is hearing? Who is seeing? Who is being seen?

In typical documentary- nerd fashion, I thought about Morrison a few weeks ago while giving a talk on financial wellness. A plan sponsor asked, “What advice would you give to plan sponsors who are new to thinking through and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their retirement programs?” I replied, “Focus on perspective.” Here is what I meant by that: