Malobi Achike Owner of DEI Directive
In 2020, Malobi Achike was in a demanding corporate position that required a lot of travel. She was ready for a change, but she was unsure of what her next step should be.
When the pandemic hit, travel stopped and work-from-home started. Balancing two children and remote work expedited her decision – Malobi put in her two weeks’ notice.
And then, the news about George Floyd broke. “I was in this two-week window, so my schedule wasn’t as heavily booked as it normally would be. I was actually really able to be present and absorb the news.”
The Tuesday following Floyd’s murder was Blackout Tuesday – a viral effort to pause business and publicly stand up to racism and inequality, with many businesses posting a black tile to their social media feeds.
“The Tuesday after was really the day that was very pivotal for me,” Malobi explained that it was good to see the support, but she knew the Blackout Tuesday effort would not result in any real impact.
She wondered, “What happens when we lift that veil? If I look at your organization, what are the dynamics? What are the conditions? What are the policies? What are the practices? Are those practices fair to the same group that you are publicly supporting through this black tile?”
That was the impetus for starting DEI Directive.
DEI Directive is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion technology firm. This B2B SaaS application is designed to help people who have been mandated with improving the DEI health of their organizations to make data-informed decisions that result in real impact.
Most organizations look at gender, race, and ethnic breakdown, but there is so much other rich information that can help leaders understand the DEI culture of their organization. DEI Directive helps diversity officers collect, standardize, and connect all of that information on their platform.
“[Diversity officers] are typically given this huge mandate and they typically don’t have a tool – technology or data insights – to be able to manage that process. In fact, only about 35% of organizations track DEI data, and most of the people who are doing it are doing it manually.”
Malobi likened the process to go to the doctor. Only when the problem is properly diagnosed can you start treating it.
When DEI data is accessible it makes it possible to holistically assess the status quo at the organization and to specifically diagnose what the issues are. Equipped with an understanding of what’s happening internally, companies can devise a targeted strategy that has a chance of working in the long run.
The NC IDEA grant funding awarded to DEI Directive will be used for software expansion and development that will enable the company to grow and have a greater impact.
To learn more about how DEI Directive can help your organization improve diversity, equity, and inclusion, visit www.deidirective.com or connect via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/dei-directive.
Founder Stories & Startup Wins — The Boost Pad
