The idea that DEI is just a trendy cause bears no scrutiny
The backlash has begun. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is under fire, at least in America. Ten states in the union have approved legislation to starve DEI programs of public funding or political support, or rendering them illegal altogether. Academia is at the forefront of the revolt. The great state of Texas has banned diversity offices in universities.
Yet corporate America has been targeted too. Florida legislated to prohibit diversity programs run by private businesses. A lawsuit by companies led to the move being declared unconstitutional (although the state may appeal).
It is undeniable that the 2020 killing of George Floyd caused businesses to look again at their recruitment practices, leading to a boom in awareness of DEI among organizations. “After the killing… the heat could be felt in the air-conditioned corner offices above,” The Economist wrote at the time. “America Inc rushed to announce plans to tackle racial inequality.”
It is a matter of record that DEI policies within major organizations have become higher profile in the intervening years. Yet it is wrong to consider – as many DEI critics do – that business’s drive towards greater equality and inclusion is a bandwagon that should be stopped in its tracks. It is neither a reaction, nor a fashionable cause. Rather, it is the modern incarnation of ongoing social progress. And that should be encouraged, not resisted.
I was struck by the words of Sarah Boddey, global head of DEI at Munich Re. “We need to challenge the concept that DEI is new,” she told delegates at Duke CE’s Lead with Her conference earlier this year. “Humanity has been fighting for diversity, equity and inclusion for as long as humanity has existed – particularly the underrepresented groups within humanity.”
The recent backlash against DEI is a response to the post-Floyd world. But DEI as business policy traces its origins back more than 100 years. The Women’s Bureau was established in 1920, a few months before women won the right to vote in the US. (It remains part of the US Department of Labor today.) The Bureau enabled the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938; it documented wage inequality between Black and white women, and allowed women to sit civil service exams.
In 1963, the US Congress issued the Equal Pay Act. The act protected against sex-based wage discrimination. But, while government acts laid the groundwork, the private-sector maintained progress. By the 1970s, many Fortune 500 companies emphasized diversity in their hiring practices as a conduit toward a larger, more richly talented, labor pool.
Boddey is right: there is nothing new about DEI. It has come under the spotlight because of its widespread adoption by the West’s most dynamic companies. But that is because of its strengths as a concept, not its flaws. DEI is an enduring business decision. The research is clear: inclusive teams can make better decisions nearly nine times in ten. More diverse companies are likely more innovative and react quicker to market trends.
The drive towards DEI is the story of human progress itself. It is part of our DNA. Companies support DEI because it is good for people – and good for business. “We don’t need to persuade most businesspeople on diversity,” Marc H Morial, president of the National Urban League, told NBC News recently. “We just have to encourage them to be courageous – and not be intimidated.”
