Report: Major Corporations Remain Committed To DEI Despite Massive Backlash
A relatively recent report claims that major S&P 500 companies are committed to DEI initiatives, programs, and policies despite significant backlash to it.
A report published on October 1st from public relations and advisory company Teneo by Faten Alqaseer, Lisa R. Davis, and Rose James claims that “DEI will survive” moving forward.
The report, which analyzed 250 S&P 500 companies and their sustainability reports, revealed that all of the companies have some kind of DEI policy or agenda. However, it noted that the percentage of companies that use the term DEI has declined from 99% to 94%.
Nevertheless, it noted that “of that 94%, the percentage of companies that now prioritize “inclusion” by placing it first in the acronym has risen. There has also been a noticeable addition of “culture” or “belonging” focused titling instead.”
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Furthermore, the report reveals that “a little under half (43%) of the S&P 500 continues to maintain and promote quantitative, time-bound DEI goals within their sustainability reports, with almost 80% of these goals remaining unchanged from last year.” 47% of companies disclosed DEI within their reports in 2023.
Those goals include representation quotas based on sex and race, supplier diversity goals, as well as hiring quotas from certain colleges such as Historically Black Colleges.
The report noted that 1/3 of all the companies had representation goals while 14% had supplier goals. 23% had hiring goals based on where individuals graduated from or from “investing in under-represented communities.”
Interestingly, the report revealed that 24 companies “omitted specific DEI goals from their disclosures, including 16 related to diverse representation, nine on supplier diversity and seven tied to diverse community investments. Conversely, 13 companies introduced new DEI goals, including eight on representation, two on supplier diversity and six on broader initiatives such as HBCU recruiting efforts and pay equity.”
The report also revealed that 67% of companies feature “talent programs such as mentorships, fellowships, internships and scholarships that focus on specific demographics.”
The report shared that these companies frame them “as essential tools for reaching diverse candidates as part of a holistic recruiting strategy” despite being exclusionary and likely illegal.
78% of companies also disclose they have supplier diversity initiatives.
Given the report was published October 1st before the elections in the United States of America, it will be interesting to see what the report looks like next year under the incoming Trump administration.
Dozens of financial advisors warned corporate America that in the wake of Donald Trump being elected the 47th President of the United States that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies are now a “liability” in a letter published on November 15th.
The letter declares, “This November, the American electorate overwhelmingly rejected the ideological takeover of political and civic life by narrow-minded identity politics. Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) purport to promote belonging and inclusion, but in reality sacrifice true diversity and equal opportunity by focusing only on differences based on skin color, sex, or religious status.”
Next, they warned, “It is now a liability for any institution to tout adherence to DEI ideology. Recent Supreme Court decisions have cast serious doubt on the legality of DEI, which has led to a full-scale ‘legal assault’ on DEI according to The Wall Street Journal. The data underlying the push for DEI have been exposed as overstated at best, or worse, downright false.”
The financial analysts and advisors did not stop there, they predicted that the incoming administration led by President Donald Trump and his Vice President J.D. Vance “will likely advance and enact policies that increase the risk of current DEI policies at every corporation.”
The letter was published by the Alliance Defending Freedom who manages the Viewpoint Diversity Score that “23 state attorney generals, 17 state financial officers, and 100 investment advisors with over $250 billion assets under management rely on … to engage with and assess your companies.”
And on top of warning numerous corporations and businesses, it instructed them on what they should be doing. Specifically it says they should distance themselves from “DEI and highly divisive groups like the Human Rights Campaign—which bullies companies into adopting radical, wrong-headed, and reputationally disastrous policies.”
It also notes corporations have a clear choice to make, “You stand at an important crossroads. Either you can heed the voice of the American people— your shareholders, customers, and employees—or you can bow to fringe activists who demand that you double down on a failing ideology.”
What do you make of this report that DEI will survive in the corporate world despite the backlash it is receiving and the potential legal hurdles it might face with an incoming Trump administration? Become a paid member to leave a comment and let us know.