More than half of companies that have done away with diversity, equity and inclusion policies or scaled them back say it was political pressure or public scrutiny that led to those decisions.
But one in seven companies who did so now say it was a mistake, according to a survey of 750 business leaders at organizations who’ve done so in the past six months.
Now, the survey indicates 20% of leaders at companies who’ve rolled back DEI policies say they are bringing back DEI initiatives, but quietly, not with public fanfare.
“Companies don’t want to seem performative, or even admit that they were wrong. They want to recruit more diverse talent. Bringing it back quietly, like putting information on their website, allows them to do it without making a big deal out of it,” said Julia Toothacre, career strategist at Resume Templates.
Some of those companies are renaming those initiatives to things such as “inclusive culture” or “culture of belonging,” not necessarily to hide their purpose, but to get away from the negative stigma “DEI” has now.
Toothacre also notes some irony in one of the common reasons companies are bringing back DEI policies.
“Thirty-three percent said it was harder to hire diverse talent. What did they think was going to happen when they eliminated all of their DEI initiatives? And so they inadvertently created an environment that said, ‘Hey, we don’t care if you are comfortable here or not,’” she said.
The evolution of diversity and inclusion was intended to improve company culture. But of those responding to the survey, 75% said reviving DEI policies is actually about the bottom line, or doing what is best for the company, rather than being rooted in values or social responsibility.
“There was a lot of negative PR, and that impacted the bottom line with consumers, especially younger consumers. But also I think it hit productivity for some of these companies as well, because there was a lot of internal turmoil that happened. We probably saw a lot of people quit,” Toothacre said.
Boycotts, damaged brand, loss of customers, clients and partners, and negative media coverage were all cited as ultimate reasons for bringing back DEI policies that had been rolled back or altogether canceled.
The return to official diversity, equity and inclusion policies is not universal. While 22% of survey respondents said discussions are underway, 40% of companies said they are avoiding new DEI-related initiatives, and 4% said they were unsure.
Full survey results of the Resume Template survey conducted between April 25 and May 5, are online.
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