The US is ragged with hatred and division. It is a war state. One of the weapons being deployed by the conservatives is the illegitimacy of DEI in both education and business. Since 2023, 81 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 28 states, primarily to row back on diverse admission programmes, and eight have been signed into law.
The tremors of the rise of the right are reverberating globally. This impact is not just political; it is intricately linked with the economy, how the big players conduct their business, what they prioritise, and what they are willing to sacrifice.
Diversity and inclusion legislation and policies have been around since the birth of the civil rights movement. This is not a flash-in-the-pan reaction. However, in the grand scheme of things, it is a relatively new concept that we have yet to get right.
The aftermath of George Floyd’s murder rightly brought a groundswell of heat to the discourse—every company with visibility needed to be seen to resource its DEI intensity. A LinkedIn report from last year showed that between 2019 and 2022, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer roles grew by 169%. According to a report by Zippia, black women, the most discriminated against group, were least likely to be hired for DEI leadership roles.
This explosion was a reflex action, and in some organisations where these hires were starved of necessary resources, it was largely toothless.
Despite the indisputable demand from both the market and the talent pool for companies to authentically address their approach to people, some big businesses are capitulating. McKinsey research from 2021 talked about 66% of Americans described as ‘Inclusive Consumers’, with their social values shaping their purchasing decisions. Indeed, research shows that the top three requirements of job seekers are competitive compensation (fair), company culture, and community. According to Glassdoor’s 2020 report, 76% of job seekers prefer companies with diverse cultures. Interestingly, Glassdoor is among the many behemoths slashing its DEI team, joining Zoom, Tesla and, just this week, Microsoft.
Now, DEI is being reshaped into an attack against the incumbent majority. Much like the desire to exert control over women’s reproductive rights, this move is grounded in fear. The fear is of displacement and obsolescence. It’s a grating and groundless position of the small-minded and the insecure. Creating cultures of psychological safety where everyone can be trusted and respected regardless of difference – that is the goal, and everyone means everyone. Simply put, in the ideal culture, anyone can go to work and contribute to the organisation’s success without fear of discrimination.
I have met many brilliant leaders who have the vision to move beyond individuals and identities into the realm of humanity and build company cultures of trust, psychological safety, and fairness.
Of course, the tremors from the US, the silent erasure of DEI from strategy documents and annual reports and the expensive chairs left swinging from departing DEI leaders do not mean the foot can come off the European pedal.
As an organisation with 500+ employees, you are already living the 2024 data you will be reporting on when mandatory CSRD reporting starts in 2025. Environmental, social, and governance practices are the broad pillars that house categories such as pollution, carbon, water, waste, and social impact (in our experience, this is the one companies struggle with the most).
We need to zoom out of the individual compliance requirements, policies and underrepresented groups and remember why this stuff is important. The vision is to shape a world where people can be respected and respectfully contribute to a better way of living in a thriving world
That’s not too much to ask?
