When business is good, it’s easy to justify and implement programs designed to improve representation and retention among disadvantaged groups. But when a downturn comes, those programs are often the first to be cut back, often because of a lack of recognition that they can contribute to an organization’s financial success. At From Day One’s November virtual conference on workforce diversity, a panel of experts focused on “Persisting With Progress on Diversity and Inclusion, Even During a Downturn,” moderated by Spencer Whitney, digital editor at KQED in Oakland, Calif. The speakers made five essential points about why support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is an imperative regardless of what the economy is doing.

1.) DEI isn’t an HR strategy, but a business strategy. Paul Francisco, the chief diversity officer for State Street Corp., the financial-services firm, said that when things get tough, no one suggests getting rid of the finance department. “In the same way, we need to look at this work as critical to our business, critical to our sustainability. critical to our competitiveness. If anything, we need to lean in to make sure that we are getting the best, the brightest, the most diverse workforce.”

It’s not just about optics, either. Marginalized communities have immense purchasing power, and they are more likely to use that at companies where they feel seen and represented, he said. Commercial customers often see it as part of their agenda. After one client booked business specifically because of State Street’s DEI efforts, Francisco’s boss said he should get a raise now that he was positively impacting revenue.

“If you can get business leaders to understand the impact that it has on their business–not just from a people perspective, not just from an altruistic perspective or doing the right thing, but from a dollars and cents perspective–they will move it from a disposable piece of strategy to an imperative part of your business,” said Aryeh Lehrer, VP of talent management and acquisition and DEI at Comcast.

2.) Make sure layoffs don’t disproportionately hurt the people DEI is supposed to help. Because so many organizations still adhere to a policy of last-hired, first-fired, those who came in under new programs designed to improve diversity may end up being let go in larger numbers than the more homogenous group that has worked for your organization longer.

One way to make you have more options than just to fire someone is to create development programs and mentorships that give staff transferrable skills, says Mona Sloane, PhD, a sociologist and professor at New York University Tandon School of Engineering, who studies inequality in the context of technology and policy. “We need to extend extra care and training,” she said.

3.) It’s not just a department. “You have to find ways to integrate diversity, inclusion, belonging and justice into every area of your company, and it has to be organic,” said Rebecca Warren, director of customer success at Eightfold AI, a talent intelligence platform. “We have an employee led EIB council, we have a virtual company meeting every week to share topics of import to our employees, we have various employee-resource groups (ERGs).” The all-company meetings often include presentations on topics related to DEI, like what it’s like to work at Eightfold if you are neurodivergent, or some of the different holidays people celebrate. “It gives us a glimpse into the lives of others, makes us more empathetic, and makes us more connected,” Warren said.

4.) Being resilient means looking beyond the traditional. Lehrer noted that if you want a workforce that can flex with the times, you can’t just look in the usual places, nor can you look for the usual candidate. “Open yourselves up to non-traditional backgrounds and you get complementary skill sets that lend themselves to a variety of roles,” he said. “You will miss out without diversity of ethnicity, gender, background, or thought.” His company, Comcast, partners with local organizations to create upskilling programs for people in disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. This provides a pipeline of diverse potential candidates that can be tapped when hiring heats up again. The company has similar programs for existing staff internally.

Warren said it’s easy to get caught up in looking for a specific candidate profile. “But when you start looking for skills that are transferrable, you find a different pool.” At Eightfold, the firm found success with people who have previous experience as consultants, but not just any consultants–those who had experience as teachers as well.

Francisco recommends reviewing promotional material and job descriptions to ensure that the language they use is welcoming and inclusive. If it isn’t, it doesn’t matter if you go where that candidate base you seek is; they won’t consider what they don’t believe is “for” them. “This population is not just going to show up on your doorstep,” Francisco said. “You have to go a little bit deeper and ensure the people who are doing the recruiting are representative of the diversity you want to see.”

Beyond diverse people in recruiting, Lehrer said you need diverse people doing your interviewing, as well, so candidates “can see themselves and find kinship within your organization.”

5.) Shut it down at your peril. Warren said that often when executives get nervous about a downturn, they shut down departments and programs. “We see that a lot in talent acquisition. But if you aren’t doing the work when things are bad, it will be hard for people to believe you are serious about it when things get good again,” she said. “People need to know that there’s a place for them, regardless of what’s happening in the economy. Layoffs are part of a cycle. But the way we do business is an old-school model. We have to think about who we need to ensure stays in an organization and who we can redeploy. How you show up and invest in people, regardless of economy, matters.”

There’s a common assumption that during an economic downturn, employers don’t have to worry as much about employee retention because workers don’t have as many choices, Lehrer said. “But I think it’s the exact opposite. If you’re not locking those people down and making them feel stable and valued within your organization, they’ve got less incentive to stay with you if another opportunity presents itself.” This is the time to invest in employee development and prove that the employee is a priority for the organization.

While the economy certainly impacts how many organizations view, fund, and implement DEI efforts, Francisco thinks the biggest threat right now is activist investors, who may use the downturn to “punish” companies they feel aren’t focusing on what they view as important. “They are going after companies who are, in their opinion, injuring other demographics, i.e. white males,” with their policies. “That is going to make some companies jittery in terms of what programming they put together. They don’t want to be on that radar.” When money is tight, it is easier to “other” different communities, and view opportunity as a zero-sum game, Lehrer added. “People will point fingers, and I worry this work, because of its very nature, is a target.”

But you can’t let that stop you, Warren said. “When the market is good, you should be doing DEI well. When the market is bad, you should be doing it really, really well. As soon as a market recovers, you will lose folks if you don’t. It’s important that it is embedded as a business strategy, not just a virtuous side hustle.”

Lisa Jaffe is a freelance writer who lives in Seattle with her son and a very needy rescue dog named Ellie Bee. She enjoys reading, long walks on the beach, and trying to get better at ceramics.