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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   31025 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 3, 2023

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How corporate America is slashing DEI workers amid backlash to diversity programs

Years after the death of George Floyd shined a spotlight on societal inequities, diversity professionals say some companies are turning their backs on the progress that's been made to address them. DEI positions have been disproportionately hit by layoffs across industries, but particularly at tech companies, which have faced financial challenges as sales slowed from the blistering pace attained during the pandemic.

A LinkedIn study found that chief diversity and inclusion officer positions grew by 168.9% from 2019 to 2022.... Starting in late 2020 -- months after the killing of Floyd set off a racial reckoning -- a host of companies escalated cuts of DEI professionals, a survey of more than 600 companies from data firm Revelio Labs found. Last year, the layoffs accelerated significantly, the study found. One in three DEI professionals lost their roles over a one-year period ending in December, the survey said. Over that period, the study added, non-DEI workers experienced a relatively lower attrition rate of 21%.

At the same time, conservative elected officials such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began to target DEI initiatives. DeSantis last month signed into law a bill that prohibits state or federal spending on DEI programs at public universities in Florida. In February, Abbott's office ordered state agencies to stop using diversity, equity and inclusion programs in hiring, calling them "illegal." And in June, Abbott signed a ban on diversity offices in state-funded higher education institutions.

In addition, several DEI executives at major Hollywood corporations have left in recent weeks. A common theory is that DEI programs are a luxury program, the first to go when businesses look to trim fat. It looks like the diversity industry may simply be seeing its bubble pop, or the court's ruling on affirmative action may encourage further lawsuits focused on the workplace.

The rapid organizational movement toward addressing inequalities was initially exciting for DEI professionals. But in just a couple of years, that excitement wavered as growth rapidly fell apart.

"The honeymoon is over," Cecil Howard, a DEI consultant and former chief diversity officer at the University of South Florida, told ABC News.

"Right after George Floyd's killing, everybody who didn't have a diversity office quickly created a diversity office," he added. "A few years later, they started realizing, 'We checked the box and things are a little quieter now.'"

This might be teaching the wrong lesson, if the rule is 'unrest will be rewarded with jobs, lack of unrest will be punished by the withdrawal of jobs'. Groups respond to incentives after all.

Also, if positions grew 168% but then fell 33%, they're still doing pretty well.

I think that it shows that there aren't as many True Believers in corporations as claimed. The people in charge, if they really are True Believers, will slash everything else but keep the DEIB lot on board as long as possible.

That they're getting the boot as luxury unproductive items shows that it's all down to the money, honey: when ESG scores affect your stock price, and ESG scores are given out based on your DEI staffing, then you hire the "fragility microaggression critical thinking" lot.

When you have to cut jobs by the thousands or go under, these get the sack too because your ESG score won't stop you from going bankrupt.

They could be true believers who think that you can do enough with a few DEI people that rest aren't worth the cost.

But I assume it's that they think the value added for the workers cut is less than if they cut other people—they don't directly contribute to the company's products, after all.

I don't think this is the case at all. Money trumps personal belief on the priority list, that doesn't mean personal belief isn't there.

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