- Employers remain committed to DEI programs. According to a Littler survey, only 5% of responding executives pulled back from DEI efforts in 2023, while 57% reported growing their programs over the past year.
- Room for improvement. The study found 89% of chief diversity officers reported their organizations had clearly defined DEI plans and goals, while 31% of chief legal officers disagreed.
- Using metrics and incentives. Companies are giving more attention to DEI-based incentives to leaders or embedding DEI elements into manager performance evaluations.
When the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action in higher ed last summer, many experts predicted corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts would be next on the chopping block.
And while companies have indeed been targeted by reverse-discrimination lawsuits, a recent survey of 322 corporate executives indicates that business leaders remain committed to DEI efforts.
The survey, conducted by employment law firm Littler Mendelson, found only 5% of reporting executives pulled back from DEI efforts in 2023, while 57% reported growing their programs over the past year.
However, responses sharply differed between chief diversity officers (CDOs) and their chief legal officer (CLO) counterparts. Alignment between these officers can be key to both mitigating legal risks and deploying effective DEI efforts amid increasing scrutiny.
What’s Causing the Misalignment?
According to the Littler survey, only a third of corporate executives report having defined benchmarks and metrics to assess their DEI work. Notably, 89% of CDOs reported their organizations had clearly defined DEI plans and goals, while 31% of CLOs disagreed.
The two executive groups also differed on their knowledge or interpretation of what policies were in place:
- More than half of CDOs (51%) reported offering diversity fellowship programs, while 70% of CLOs reported their organizations were not implementing, or even considering, such programs
- Nearly half (49%) of CDOs reported offering DEI-related incentives to executives versus only 8% of CLOs
The report points to lack of awareness between the divisions as a possible reason for the misalignment.
“CDOs are really in the trenches with these issues on a day-to-day basis, and I'm sure are feeling more of the scrutiny that is currently on these programs because of the Supreme Court decision,” said Jeanine Conley Daves, a shareholder at Littler. “After the Supreme Court decision, legal officers are paying closer attention, but programs are being created all the time, so making sure that chief legal officers are aware so they can better consult on these programs is important.”
The lack of clarity among the C-suite could also stem from leaders not clearly defining and communicating goals at the outset of an initiative, said Joanna Colosimo, vice president of workforce equity and compliance strategy, principal consultant, at DCI Consulting.
“Some organizations find that their DEI commitments were not designed with robust evidence-based practices to support their programs,” she said. As a result, the work can “suffer from a hodge-podge of efforts that are not interconnected, or that lack intention and accountability across work streams.”
Get Leaders in the Same Room Together
Purpose and communication are key to implementing effective DEI programs.
“Companies need to be deliberate and intentional about making sure those C-suite executives are in the same room, collaborating and sharing core values,” Daves said.
JT Saunders, chief diversity officer at Korn Ferry added, “DEI and belonging in an organization are not the sole responsibility of CDO. It’s a shared responsibility of the leadership team.”
Leaders must communicate the business case for DEI, Saunders said.
“Organizations can struggle with DEI if they react to a moment versus thinking about DEI as a strategic business lever,” he said. “Demographics in our country are changing, which means there is an emerging customer base that is growing that is more diverse. Organizations will need to meet the ever-changing needs of their current and future employees, customers and other key stakeholders. To do this, they will need employees from different cultures, backgrounds and experiences with different skill sets. This investment will be done through DEI.”
Developing the Right Metrics
Shifting the focus can also help to develop meaningful metrics and benchmarks, Saunders said.
“People assume that if you measure, then once you hit X percentage of a group, your DEI challenge for that community is gone,” Saunders said. “Representation is important but hitting 50% doesn’t necessarily mean you’re inclusive. What this moment is hopefully teaching us is to ask if we have the right metric and how that metric can be used to course correct where we lack parity.”
According to Littler’s survey, less than 25% of companies offer DEI-based incentives to leaders or embed DEI elements into manager performance evaluations.
“That is an area companies are giving more attention to, particularly because they want to ensure that what is underlying these types of incentives aren’t creating quotas or anything in that respect,” Daves said. “But creating a more inclusive environment, creating opportunities for your employees, doing the things that make employees feel valued — nothing prevents companies from providing incentives for that.”
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