Ending Checkbox Diversity Rewriting the Story of Performative Allyship in Corporate America

DEI isn’t just a box to check.

As a triple minority who passes for a straight white woman in corporate America, Dannie Lynn Fountain has seen too many companies pretend to care about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) only for its public relations outcomes. In Ending Checkbox Diversity, Fountain explores how the current structure of corporate DEI lends itself to the continued oppression of marginalized identities. She examines the narrow objectives and metrics that allow for shallow or no improvement and how shifting diversity responsibility to employee resource groups enables companies to disclaim responsibility for making meaningful progress. She looks at the impact of Zennials and Gen Zers, the most diverse generations ever, and breaks down precisely why some notable examples of poor DEI initiatives failed (and what should have been done differently). And she builds a road map for what real DEI looks like and how to avoid the performative allyship trope.

Dannie Lynn Fountain is a sales and marketing strategist for Google by day and a strategy developer for private clients and corporations by night. She is also a seasoned corporate speaker who delivers on DEI, marketing, business strategy, and employee engagement to organizations such as She Runs It, WeWork, and more. Fountain is a regular guest contributor and has been quoted and interviewed by Forbes, Bustle, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan, the Everygirl, Girlboss, and others. She was named to the 2020 OBO list of 100 Most Innovative Entrepreneurs and awarded the Albion College Young Alumni Award.