Inclusive Leadership in an Era of Retrenchment: Why Equity-Driven Design Still Matters

Sasha Costanza-Chock once warned:

“I worry that the current path of AI development will reproduce systems that erase those of us on the margins... through the mundane and relentless repetition of reductive norms structured by the matrix of domination.”

This observation resonates well beyond the sphere of artificial intelligence. It describes a systemic problem, one vividly reflected in recent developments in higher education—particularly in Virginia, where the erosion of inclusive leadership threatens not only diversity initiatives but the foundational purpose of education itself.

When Leadership Becomes a Battleground

A recent New York Times article chronicles the political ousting and targeting of university presidents in Virginia who have prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The case of Gregory N. Washington, president of George Mason University, echoes eerily with Costanza-Chock’s concerns. Washington, the institution’s first Black president, is under siege from partisan attacks for advancing an “antiracism agenda”—one that sought to reckon with George Mason’s historical ties to slavery, increase faculty diversity, and support marginalized students.

Despite his attempt to align with federal restrictions and even to moderate the university’s DEI visibility, Washington is now the subject of federal investigations and public scrutiny, alongside inflammatory commentary from board members that underscore the racialized nature of the backlash. As Sasha Costanza-Chock points out, systems don't need overt malice to inflict harm—they just need repetition of exclusionary norms.

The Matrix of Domination, in Practice

What Costanza-Chock terms the “matrix of domination”—a framework derived from Black feminist thought—includes intersecting systems of power that uphold white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and ableism. AI design often mirrors these systems, but so too do university governance structures. In Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s appointees have used their influence to shift the ideological landscape of public education toward a conservative orthodoxy, dismantling DEI frameworks under the guise of "reform".

This is not merely a policy disagreement; it is a campaign of ideological control. As professor Lauren B. Cattaneo rightly noted in the Times piece, these investigations are a “smoke screen.” The goal is “power and control and ideological constraint.” Whether in algorithmic systems or academic institutions, the pattern is the same: those committed to inclusion become targets in systems designed to preserve dominance.

Leadership Rooted in Justice

So what does inclusive leadership look like in such a context?

It looks like Sasha Costanza-Chock advocating for design justice—a framework that centers those most impacted by systems of oppression in the design process. It looks like President Washington establishing memorials to enslaved people, creating antiracism task forces, and defending the dignity of diverse voices even under duress. It looks like university faculty—Jewish and non-Jewish alike—standing up to denounce politicized investigations and support leaders who reflect their institutions’ highest values.

At Inclusive Knowledge Solutions, we believe inclusive leadership must:

• Confront the matrix of domination—not replicate it through passive design or disengaged governance.
  
  
• Center marginalized voices in all processes, whether building a technology product or hiring a university president.
  
  
• Hold space for resistance even in hostile environments, because leadership without integrity is simply performance.
  

Building Forward

We cannot afford to treat AI ethics, DEI policy, or university leadership as separate issues. They are threads in the same social fabric. When leadership becomes constrained by ideologies of exclusion, and when design is stripped of justice, we risk weaving a future that erases rather than empowers.

In the spirit of Costanza-Chock’s call to action, we must ask ourselves not just what we build—but for whom.

The choices we make in leadership and design today will shape who feels seen, heard, and valued tomorrow.