Institutional power and the diversity paradox: A Middle Eastern perspective

When I walk into institutional spaces today, I see “diversity” plastered everywhere, from mission statements to posters on office walls. This has become even more pronounced in 2024, as institutions scramble to demonstrate their commitment to inclusion following the global scrutiny of diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at elite universities. Almost every institution, whether academic or corporate, has some sort of diversity centre, policy or agenda. However, something deeper is at stake here: as diversity initiatives become increasingly contentious and politicised, have they lost their power to create real change?

Let’s get personal for a moment. We’re all diverse beings. Each of us carries multiple identities that intersect and overlap, making us who we are. So, when institutions talk about “diversity”, it is often shorthand for anyone different from the dominant group; a way of marking people as “other” while maintaining existing power structures.

I’ve spent years studying and experiencing how institutions handle diversity, particularly in the Middle East where the dynamics get even more complicated. To truly understand institutionalised diversity, we need to first unpack institutionalised discrimination. We need to examine how certain practices make some people feel at home while making others feel like strangers, as scholar Sara Ahmed has noted.

The dynamics of institutional power become particularly complex in transnational academic spaces, especially as we witness an unprecedented expansion of Western universities in the Gulf region. While these institutions often represent themselves as bastions of progress and global education, they can unconsciously perpetuate hierarchies of privilege, sometimes in surprising ways. What’s often overlooked is how these power dynamics don’t just flow through traditional channels of privilege. They can be reproduced by those who have gained institutional authority through their position as “diversity representatives” or “cultural intermediaries”.

This brings us to a rarely discussed phenomenon: the way Western-educated people of colour can sometimes become gatekeepers of diversity discourse.

Having gained fluency in the language of social justice and representation, they may speak on behalf of other marginalised groups while simultaneously dismissing these groups’ attempts to speak for themselves. It’s a subtle form of power politics, one that transforms the authentic voices of marginalised groups into what institutions consider more “palatable” or “professional” narratives.

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This internalised hierarchy creates what I call “performative advocacy”, where individuals position themselves as ambassadors of diversity while unconsciously reinforcing the very power structures they claim to challenge. It’s particularly evident in academic spaces where the study of “the other” becomes romanticised, and certain voices are deemed more legitimate than others based on their ability to translate marginalisation into institutional language.

In the Middle East, these dynamics interweave with what’s called “‘uqdat al-Khawaja”, a cultural inferiority complex where colonised people internalise discriminatory attitudes. This internalised hierarchy creates what I call “performative advocacy”, where individuals position themselves as ambassadors of diversity while unconsciously reinforcing the very power structures that they claim to challenge. It’s particularly evident in academic spaces where the study of “the other” becomes romanticised, and certain voices are deemed more legitimate than others based on their ability to translate marginalisation into institutional language.

Global institutions are experimenting with various approaches to create more inclusive environments.

Some multinational corporations have introduced reverse mentoring programmes, where junior employees from diverse backgrounds mentor senior leaders about different perspectives and experiences. Universities are redesigning curricula to incorporate diverse viewpoints and historical experiences. These initiatives, while promising, often reveal the complexity of institutional change.

In academic spaces across the Middle East, we’re seeing innovative approaches to addressing institutional power dynamics. Some institutions have introduced collaborative research programmes that prioritise local knowledge and expertise alongside international perspectives. Others are developing new frameworks for academic partnerships that emphasise mutual learning rather than one-way knowledge transfer. These experiments in institutional practice suggest possible paths forward.

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Today, as our world becomes increasingly polarised, identity is often weaponised. The recent controversies surrounding DEI initiatives at major institutions, from corporate boardrooms to university administrations, reveal a deeper crisis in how we approach diversity. Instead of using identity to create belonging, we use it to create division. The recent backlash against DEI programmes in some Western institutions has ripple effects across global academic spaces, including in the Middle East, where institutions must navigate complex local and international expectations about inclusion and representation.

The reality is that discrimination is both obvious and subtle. It operates through formal policies as well as unconscious biases, through overt exclusion and the ways that we legitimise certain voices while silencing others. Institutional leaders might promote open conversations about discrimination, but real change requires examining not just who gets included, but also who gets to define the terms of inclusion.

We need to stop seeing institutions as fixed entities and start seeing them as fluid spaces shaped by human actions and interactions. Instead of counting how many “diverse” people we have in a room, we should be examining the everyday practices that keep certain power structures in place.

The way forward requires more than just recognising obvious forms of discrimination or celebrating visible diversity. We must confront the subtle ways in which power reproduces itself, even through those who consider themselves advocates for change. True institutional transformation demands that we examine not just who gets to be in the room, but also who gets to speak, whose voice is considered legitimate, and how authority over diversity narratives is claimed and maintained.

We need to approach diversity not as a destination but as an ongoing process.

Discrimination is creative; it finds new ways to reproduce itself. Our response needs to be equally creative and adaptable. We need solutions that go beyond token gestures and get at the root of how power operates in our institutions.

This moment of global institutional reckoning demands more than surface-level solutions. As we witness heated debates about the role of DEI in institutions worldwide, from Harvard’s leadership challenges to the expanding landscape of international education in the Gulf, we must confront the subtle ways in which power reproduces itself, even through those who consider themselves advocates for change. The recent surge in international academic partnerships across the Middle East offers both opportunities and challenges for creating genuinely inclusive spaces.

This isn’t just about making institutions look diverse. It’s about creating spaces where authentic voices can emerge without needing translation or validation from designated cultural intermediaries. In our current global climate, this work of genuine inclusion — of allowing multiple truths to coexist without hierarchy — isn’t just important. It’s essential for building institutions that truly serve all their members.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.