While the battle against bias, discrimination, and exclusion has been raging for decades, the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 elevated global consciousness around DEI to new heights. In the corporate world, employees and customers alike demanded that companies make a greater commitment to racial justice, and leaders accelerated their efforts to address workplace inequities in response. DEI budgets skyrocketed, and indeed, as DEI researchers and a seasoned DEI executive, we witnessed growing interest in addressing these issues firsthand. But has this increased attention translated into real, on-the-ground progress?
What Has (and Hasn’t) Changed About Being a Chief Diversity Officer
Interviews with more than 40 CDOs in 2019 and 2021 explore how DEI has transformed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
September 23, 2022
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Summary.
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, corporate interest in DEI is higher than ever. But has this increased attention racial justice and inequity led to real, meaningful change? The authors conducted interviews with more than 40 CDOs before and after summer 2020 and identified four major shifts in how these leaders perceived their companies’ engagement with DEI: First, the CDOs confirmed that interest in DEI surged post-summer-2020. Second, the CDOs shared that they were increasingly expressing their personal values, rather than always resorting to the “business case” for diversity. Next, they shared that while their organizations had made a lot of promises, leadership often failed to live up to those commitments, and that a lack of strategic commitment and accountability stymied real progress. Finally, as a result of this and other challenges, they found that CDOs were more exhausted than ever. To address these issues, the authors argue that organizations must empower CDOs to drive long-term change not only by offering words of support, but by investing substantial time and resources into DEI, ensuring leaders across the organization are aligned and held accountable for DEI goals, and helping DEI professionals cope with the intense fatigue and burnout that often comes with the job.