{"id":3600,"date":"2023-07-02T08:08:50","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T08:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/leadership\/as-supreme-court-erases-college-affirmative-action-new-reports-find-companies-refusing-to-deliver-on-dei-promises\/"},"modified":"2023-07-02T08:08:51","modified_gmt":"2023-07-02T08:08:51","slug":"as-supreme-court-erases-college-affirmative-action-new-reports-find-companies-refusing-to-deliver-on-dei-promises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=3600","title":{"rendered":"As Supreme Court Erases College Affirmative Action, New Reports Find Companies Refusing To Deliver On DEI Promises"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We just celebrated Juneteenth last month. It became a federal holiday in 2021 following decades of activism. The call for legislation began in 1968 and ended after a powerful protest walk by \u201cGrandmother of Juneteenth\u201d Opal Lee from Dallas, Texas to Washington D.C. Despite this landmark decision, pandemic and workplace changes along with anti-woke backlash has spurred new challenges for leaders seeking to build more inclusive organizations\u2014including equity for racial and ethnic groups, women, immigrants or the inclusion of neuro-diverse, gender minority or any other out-group. Adding to the trend, during the week of June 2023, the Supreme Court erased race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

The pattern is showing up in the workplace, too, according to a DDI 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report which found that companies are failing to deliver on DEI promises. It reveals an 18% decrease in leaders\u2019 endorsement of their company\u2019s overall DEI efforts in the last two years. Plus, the data show that the number of companies that didn\u2019t offer DEI programs increased from 15% in 2020 to 20%. The number of companies with DEI programs is shrinking with more than 40% of senior female and minorities planning to quit.<\/p>\n

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I sat down with Chantalle Cuba, a partner at Korn Ferry, who told me, \u201cThese statistics are an indication of a lack of understanding about the needs of those groups of people to feel safety and belonging and express their highest good in their jobs. It\u2019s hard to change jobs. That many people are not changing jobs over pay. There is a lack of the organization\u2019s alignment with these employees who have needs that are unmet.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new report from the Edelman Trust Barometer supports Cuba\u2019s point. It found six in 10 employees won’t work for organizations that fail to speak out against racial injustice. A full 62% say companies are “doing mediocre or worse” in living up to their promises to address racism. The findings suggest that most employees favor DEI initiatives. Those saying that companies aren’t doing enough to address racism rose eight percentage points from last year. Among the employees who said their company isn’t making meaningful progress in addressing racism, the top reason is unfunded DEI initiatives.<\/p>\n

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With the stress of economic uncertainty and labor challenges, companies have turned their attention away from DEI toward these urgent issues, but that has left many leaders, especially those who are women and from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds, questioning their company and role,\u201d says Stephanie Neal, Director of DDI\u2019s Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research. \u201cIf companies don\u2019t act now to rekindle and reinvest in their DEI programs, the loss of talent will have a profound impact on future business success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuba insists companies are turning away from DEI because they\u2019re just getting to the tough part. \u201c\u2018We\u2019re in a difficult time. CEOs are backing down from DEI, scared of being criticized by employees, customers and investors. Politicians call out companies on a daily basis. When you get to the middle of DEI work\u2014which is where we are\u2014that\u2019s when it gets hard. The excitement, support and emotions have waned. When it starts to get hard, you\u2019re in to the real part of the work\u2014culture design and culture change\u2014the place of being honest about what your true culture is and deciding whether you\u2019re going to change. And that\u2019s the heavy lifting part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Randal Pinkett agrees. The co-founder and CEO of BCT Partners and author of Data-Driven DEI suggests why this is happening despite the best intentions of many leaders. \u201cAny effort to mitigate bias and grow inclusivity within an organization must begin with its people,\u201d he told me by email. \u201cAt the end of the day, organizations do not change; people change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cA key question posed by these findings is how companies can create an inclusive remote work culture and embrace diversity in all aspects,\u201d said DDI CEO Tacy Byham. \u201cGender, racial, and ethnic diversity in leadership is a clear business advantage, and you could be pushing away these highly talented leaders by taking away flexible work options. Options like remote work empower them to do their best work for the organization while meeting personal goals and family obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research shows that an inclusive environment, fostering a sense of belonging, improves mental well-being, particularly for women and marginalized groups. The DDI report cited four reasons that diversity, equity and inclusion are good for business:<\/p>\n