Diversity and Inclusion - The Cringe Team

Disclaimer: If you're squarely against D&I initiatives at corporations or don't believe D&I in general is an important/valid subject, this post may not be for you. Please be respectful. We all have our own views/interests.

I've been placed on a committee of a D&I initiatives for a customer facing organization. On a group call (20+ people), one of the leaders noted that the purpose of the committee was to "capitalize" on the importance of D&I for our clients.

I am aware that D&I has become a huge topic in the U.S. over the past two years and that companies/brands ARE capitalizing on it. The lines between capitalizing on D&I and promoting the cause are really, really blurring as employees hop on committees, teams, initiatives, and goals because it matters to them on a personal level and then companies turning around and enjoying the profits of it.
It's not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation on the state of how things are at present.
Profitable corporations can drive major change solely due to access to a lot of money and therefore power. It's just how it is - for this topic and others.

After acknowledging that - I still feel incredibly turned off and a million red flags popped up during this call. I don't want to be part of a group that's commoditizing such an important topic. We've seen enough "watering down" of issues and performative activism for profits. But I also see the value of putting resources/bright minds/solutions behind it - often solutions are things our company can contribute to.

At this point, it feels like a rhetoric/narrative issue in the way we position this initiative as we go out into the field and speak to customers... and as the sales teams are ingesting content/programs this committee plans to put forth. I'm not confident in the leadership of this committee.

I feel responsibility to do something about it, but I'm not sure if I'm the best person/most equipped to guide this conversation in the right direction... it's such an important topic to me, I feel like I'd be putting a lot of myself out there and I don't want to get branded as the D&I know-it-all.

What do you suggest?