Phoebe O’Carroll-Moran
Change is afoot in the corporate sphere. Donald Trump is giving major institutions a mandate to throw off the mantle of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and companies are heeding the call. Having once embraced the dogma of diversity, the consensus of corporate responsibility, firms are shucking it off.
The list of organisations divesting from DEI is growing at such a clip that Forbes has mapped them onto a helpful timeline. Companies concerned include everything from State Street to Victoria’s Secret. It all prompts the question: was DEI always a political stunt?
The merits of corporate diversity initiatives are worth debating. One can fairly argue that corporations should not be expected to be activist in their politics. However, once committed, executives are advised to stay the course, or stand accused of virtue-signalling to the left, then the right.
In their defence, Deloitte, JPMorgan and others may argue they are engaging in a strategic appeal to the powers-that-be. That, rather than pandering, they are simply practising savvy public affairs.
I disagree. Yes, when appealing to policymakers, it helps to be able to point to a spiritual kinship, a mirroring of values. However, well-judged engagement accounts for all of your stakeholder groups, not just those who shout the loudest. Everything from Deloitte’s renunciation of pronouns to JPMorgan’s trading ‘equity’ for ‘opportunity’ suggests their commitments are lightly worn indeed.
This isn’t a phenomenon isolated to the states. International partners holding US government contracts are already subject to its diversity diktats. France, ever ungovernable, is pushing back. We Brits are sadly proving more biddable. We have a tendency to import American social movements no matter how ill-fitting. Even at several layers removed, corporate America’s ‘DEI dump’ is causing ripples on this side of the pond.
It isn’t just about Trump. In an uncertain political climate, organisations are casting about for ways to appeal to the UK’s own insurgent party du jour, and its voter base. The rise of Reform has captured the corporate imagination and is the subject of every second conversation I have. In Scotland, these conversations carry an added frenzied speculation. No one knows yet what a Scottish Reform will look like. In the absence of clear targets, strategy and messages, organisations may be drawn to gesture politics.
It can fairly be argued that the pendulum swung too far to the left on major cultural issues – a case in point being the Baillie Gifford book festival row. Episodes like this fostered enough resentment and exasperation that, at the first sign of a reversal, corporate leaders are more than happy to swing the other way.
They are overcorrecting. The arc of history bends towards justice, more often than not. A just world needn’t demand our organisations have a conscience, but it is one in which talented people are not hobbled on their way to the top by virtue of their inherent characteristics.
To executives, I have the following plea: if you aren’t persuaded by appeals to your values, instead consider your bottom line. Research shows that diversity improves workplace performance. Secondly, consider your long-term interests. History will not look kindly on organisations that turn tail on once solemnly held commitments. Trust is currency — virtue-signalling costs.