At Haas School of Business, the DEI, Justice, and Belonging initiatives cover 12 broad range of identities:
1. Race
2. Ethnicity
3. Gender
4. Age
5. Religion
6. Language
7. Abilities/Disabilities
8. Sexual Orientation
9. Gender Identity
10. Political Diversity
11. Socio Economic Status
12. Geographic Region
But for the Essay, the school has prioritized four identities – ethnicity, genders, lived experiences, and national origins.
Most of the four identities can be derived from the 12 identities, except for political diversity.
Admission Consultant's Note
You should be careful while using political narratives, even if the narrative is centralist in theme or about bipartisanship.
History of DEI at Haas
From 2021, Haas School of Business has a DEI Strategic Plan Status and Tracker report.
Started in 2019 with an Action Plan, Haas' approach to DEI is captured with three broad objectives.
1) Increase Diversity & Representation
2) Integrate DEI Skills
3) Cultivate Belonging
You can mimic a similar context for your DEI essay by shortlisting examples where one of the three objectives was met
1) Increase Diversity & Representation
The biggest challenge for using the increased diversity and representation narrative is your influence on team building. If you had a say on who should join the team based on your role – team lead, or project manager or any managerial role, use this narrative. But you must be subtle with the intervention and reasoning behind increasing DEI. It can’t just be based on a value. You must balance value with the ROI of increasing DEI. Or include a failure to demonstrate the importance of DEI. The admissions team is aware of the resistance to increasing DEI in many organizations.
2) Integrate DEI Skills
With the politicization of integrating DEI skills, many applicants reach out to me for assistance with the tone of the essay. Berkeley is a progressive university. Even if your tone sounds too forward for integrating DEI skills, make sure that you add a few historical contexts on the marginalization of minorities. The best essays have a line or two from a personal or a volunteering experience that demonstrates the need for DEI education.
3) Cultivate Belonging
If you compare the team composition or even the percentage of women in an MBA class or even workplace, society has made impressive strides. The challenge now is developing a feeling of belonging. A few common examples I have read are around celebrating food and festivals. Any example where you went a step further would help you stand out.
