# Using a Black Undergraduate Women Leader Identity Model in an Anti‐DEI Landscape

## TL;DR

This paper explores how to support Black women students in leadership education despite anti-DEI policies.

## Contribution

It introduces the BUWLI model to guide design thinking in anti-DEI educational contexts.

## Key findings

- The BUWLI model helps educators create inclusive strategies within anti-DEI constraints.
- Design thinking can be adapted to meet the needs of Black women students effectively.
- Leadership educators can still support diverse students despite policy limitations.

## Abstract

In a climate where anti‐diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) legislation bars leadership educators from using certain terms, sources of knowledge, and overtly liberatory pedagogy, leadership educators must still find a way to meet the needs of diverse student populations. This article explores the use of design thinking in serving Black women students in college. The Black undergraduate women leader identity (BUWLI) model is used to inform the design thinking process and provides educators with ideas for generating educational strategies within the limits of anti‐DEI policy.