Posted on 03/12/2017 4:20:31 AM PDT by Altura Ct.
When articles about diversity and inclusion appear in major newspapers, I inevitably get dozens of emails from leaders who want to know my response. That was certainly the case with the Wall Street Journal article, "In Trump Age, Taking a Different Tack on Workplace Diversity" by John Simons. But this time many of those leaders were surprised at my response.
The article talks about companies rethinking “how they cultivate a fair, inclusive workplace; include white men, show bottom-line results.” According to Simons, “A new political era has corporate diversity chiefs rethinking their roles. Donald Trump’s upset election victory caused shock waves among many traditional politicians who realized that a swath of American voters—many white, working class—felt left out.” He writes that, “Many executives who run diversity programs also worry that the policy momentum that helped fuel their efforts is set to fade” as Obama-era rules on pay, hiring and protections are rolled back by President Trump and a Republican Congress that wants to “encourage companies to create voluntary standards for diversity in employment and in suppliers.”
Now here is why those leaders were surprised: I agree with all of the above and think it will be a good thing in the end.
I have been told by HR and other executives in diversity and inclusion at several organizations that whispers about change have already started – of compliance officers coming in and saying not to put too much emphasis on diversity initiatives because things are going to change. Most of those leaders worry that this will mean change for the worse, resetting any progress made with compliance issues removed.
I will tell you the same thing I told them: At first, they might get worse as our obligations to the government and managing quotas are gutted or disappear. But I think this is a good thing if it forces diversity and inclusion to move out of compliance mode (cost center thinking) and into growth strategy mode (profit center thinking).
The truth our president has campaigned on and constantly stresses is the need to see growth and in this case he is right: diversity and inclusion must be seen as an investment and be placed where it belongs – in the center of all growth strategies. Why keep making our diverse and fastest growing markets and talent pools a compliance play? Why should the government keep forcing corporations to comply? Why ignore study after study that show the diverse workplaces with gender, racial and ethnic balance perform better in so many categories?
Focusing on compliance and quotas and keeping diversity and inclusion initiatives on the fringe of the organization, strips top talent of their potential, authentic identities and ability influence growth. What corporations should be doing is eliminating quotas and stop viewing diverse employees and customers as “underserved people.”
Unfortunately, the government has influenced that kind of thinking, conflating diversity with worker protections. I certainly believe there should be recourse for discrimination, sexual harassment, abuse, etc. But when it comes to talent in the workplace and growth in the marketplace, compliance may be well meaning but just leads to an excuse for doing the minimum
This is one of the reasons diverse employees are losing trust in their companies. These employees are wise enough to know that compliance thinking puts them in a compliance box and thus a competitive disadvantage. These companies don’t see their unique differences and perspectives as opportunities to influence growth. They solve for the widening recruitment and retention gaps amongst diverse employees as recruitment and retention “problems” not growth “opportunities.”
In other words, we are having the wrong conversations about diversity and inclusion and have been for years.
What organizations should be doing is what is right for the growth of the team and development, recruitment, and retention of all talent to maximize potential. None of that happens when the focus is on compliance and the mindset is cost center. All it does is give those organizations permission to widen engagement gaps and in the process unknowingly create tension. The moment organizations move diversity and inclusion out of cost center and into profit center, change becomes a real opportunity for evolution to drive influence and bottom lines by including more people in leading diversity and inclusion as a growth strategy.
And yes, like the Wall Street Journal article says, that means all people.
Just like we must welcome diverse populations into conversations about growth we must welcome non-diverse perspectives into discussions about diversity and inclusion to have a truly inclusive take on workplace diversity. In other words, white men, must be welcomed to the conversation. The cultural demographic shift is real and upon us. Demand exists. This is good for everyone; not just diverse people. But to get there we need to connect all people to understand and invest in this demand. This must include those non-diverse people (i.e., white men) who have had the greatest influence on profit centers in corporate America in the past and must be awakened by the growing number of diverse leaders who are discovering new profit centers and reinventing industries in the present.
Without that, all people will stay in their spaces. Silos will further widen. And all consumers and employees will feel that they are not being served in authentic ways which breeds unhealthy workplaces and marketplace growth that is not sustainable. The result will be continued loss of performance and retention of top talent in the workplace and revenue declines in the marketplace, because the people who have the most influence to change the conversations are not involved.
And to those diversity and inclusion officers – largely from diverse populations – who cry for diversity and cry foul that non-diverse people will be moving into their space? Stop feeling threatened by any change that challenges your perceived value and influence. Diverse people who think they have been influencing in this space are the ones who are going to have to step up their game or risk being exposed as being as compliant as the non-diverse leaders who moved diversity and inclusion to the fringe in the first place. Do what needs to be done to evolve and grow, not what must be done to comply.
Simply put, diversity needs to stop being us versus them. We need leadership that leads through this not worrying about protecting their domain. We need to get beyond diversity and embrace diversity of thought to manage differences as opportunities for more strategic ways to drive growth. I believe this is what the president’s actions can inspire, forcing diversity and inclusion to the center of the strategy.
In the end, I believe this can be a time of real transformation. I do see renewed enthusiasm beyond the immediate concerns. The end of compliance does not mean the end of diversity. If you had a market that was 40% Hispanic before today, that market is still there. Those people will vote with their wallet. If you don't see them as a growth strategy, trust me someone else will. Companies that have already been working to see diversity and inclusion as a growth strategy to solve for change management and growth are already moving beyond compliance – and reinventing the ways all employees and customers should be served.
Stop reacting and seize the opportunity. Stop checking the box when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Start leading with an innovation mentality
“A new political era has corporate diversity chiefs rethinking their roles.
I hope so! You talk about a waste of resources.
The article talks about companies rethinking “how they cultivate a fair, inclusive workplace; include white men, show bottom-line results.”
You mean merit? Something tells me that is not what is meant. How about asking white men?
In other words, white men, must be welcomed to the conversation.
You think! What a novel damn idea!
“Many executives who run diversity programs also worry that the policy momentum that helped fuel their efforts is set to fade”
Let's hope so.
But I think this is a good thing if it forces diversity and inclusion to move out of compliance mode (cost center thinking) and into growth strategy mode (profit center thinking).
Profit center? I've got an idea let's get rid of diversity departments, staff and rules and regulations and see how much profit we make?
Focusing on compliance and quotas and keeping diversity and inclusion initiatives on the fringe of the organization, strips top talent of their potential, authentic identities and ability influence growth. What corporations should be doing is eliminating quotas
You got that right.
and stop viewing diverse employees and customers as “underserved people.”
I'm not exactly sure what that even means BUT having but having diverse customers has little or nothing to do with 'diverse' employees.
Unfortunately, the government has influenced that kind of thinking, conflating diversity with worker protections. I certainly believe there should be recourse for discrimination, sexual harassment, abuse, etc. But when it comes to talent in the workplace and growth in the marketplace, compliance may be well meaning but just leads to an excuse for doing the minimum
I disagree that complaince is 'well meaning'.
The end of compliance does not mean the end of diversity
I hope it does but I've got news for you. If think all these race based groups that have come into existence largely since the 60's to current day that now includes departments and office's across this country in any imaginable education facility, government of any size or corporation are going to agree to any system not based on quotas you are on drugs. If you think any of this raced based crap is going to willingly go away you have not a clue.
In a true meritocracy, all people compete freely and, in MLK Jr.'s words are judged not on the color of their skin but on the content of their character. We lost the 2nd part of that quote in our zeal to follow the first.
Trump's organization in the private sector has always followed meritocratic principles and his goal of fixing the inner cities is designed to bring real opportunity to those imprisoned in dependency. Break the cycle of dependency and bring real opportunity and respect for merit to the forefront and you directly attack the power base of those who profit on this cycle of dependency.
Bkmk
Diversity is a destructive bullshit idea.
How many diversity departments are in the Federal Government?
in the Army, Navy, AirForce, Marines, CoastGuard? In the Dept of HHS? HUD? Commerce? etc?
What if Trump dissolved all diversity offices in the US Government and announced that diversity was EVERYONE’s job?
1) There would be a need to retrain all those college grads with diversity degrees who are uniquely qualified to hold the diversity office jobs.
2) College students would start to think more about what classes are useful to take. This would make diversity profs unemployed.
3) Many unintended consequences...many of which would be for the better.
Wow, excellent response, you just saved me a lot of time typing a response. Bottom line, only prejudice people believe implement and enforce diversity in the workplace and thus pursue it because they know the darkness of their own hearts. The invisible hand of the market covers all that pychobabble of the article just fine.
Totally agree. Selecting people on the basis of anything other than ability and experience is un-American and discriminatory.
Affirmative Action has hurt blacks. When they don’t have to be as good as their white counterparts to move ahead, they don’t have to reach their full potential. When that happens, it often won’t be the most capable who get ahead.
Presidential diversity damn near destroyed the American republic
What I see expressed here is that by default, human beings are white and male (and presumably Christian, Jewish, or agnostic). Therefore, diversity refers to anyone who has diverged from the default category, whether by race, skin color, gender, religion, or any combination thereof.
I think I have gained a little insight into why and how the left keeps fixating on "-isms" (e.g. racism). They are angry at white Christian/Jewish/agnostic men for not being enlightened enough to diverge from belonging to the default state of human beings. And the current obsession with "transgenderism" is an attempt to force white Christian/Jewish/agnostic men to diverge from being default humans, in a way that is analogous to their efforts to change natural human society and behavior to fit some impossible socialist utopian model.
Islam is a religion, not a race--most Muslims are white. And many peoples in south and southwest Asia and North Africa are Caucasian, although some of them have very dark, almost black, skin color.
Adversity and hardships makes one grow and become stronger and even great, or it destroys you if you have no virtue.
Faith in God helped to overcome hardships and led to virtue in many and the Renaissance, Modern Science, and to the US Constitution. People who are given everything without working for it never develop the virtues of perseverance, courage, wisdom and the humility needed to do God’s work which is crucial to human civilization.
Psychologists for centuries have known that “welfare/socialism” will destroy virtue formation in children and they have known since Plato that learning and habituating virtue in little children is essential for freedom and civil societies. Without virtue, you are a slave—controlled by outside forces (vice). All Classical Christian curricula taught virtue. With John Dewey by 1930, the communist humanist, (atheist), they destroyed Classical Christian curricula for brainwashing-—operant conditioning to destroy virtue formation in all children and create a mandatory brainwashing factory for the masses. (The elites got Classical curricula without the Christianity, even though without ethics (virtue) you can never be free.)
We now see the “fruits” of the operant conditioning-—total ignorant snowflakes (group-non-thinkers only) who are too dumb to know if they are a boy or girl and what is Natural (No Common Sense whatsoever). They are totally dependent on what the State tells them and are their jackboots, just as the artificial institutions of removal from the Natural family taught them, so they would have no understanding of Natural laws-—that which formed our Constitution and Justice system.
Now we have a Vice system because of such dumb and evil people (psychopathic sodomites) who control the Deep State and all our institutions and “Systems” of education/medicine, etc. Those that defy their irrationality are marginalized and demonized and destroyed (or killed) in their Hegelian Dialectical system designed by Alinsky and his Lucifereans. The System controls Paul Ryan (probably have pics of him with little boys) and McCain—et. all. Their wealth and family will be destroyed if they DARE leave the plantation-—like a Bill Cosby. All the dirt the cabal collected on them will be splashed on all MSM just like they destroyed Sen. Joseph McCarthy and ruined his name——and he was only telling the Truth. (Truth (God) is not allowed—only lies and disinformation).
As you read the article, swap black people for diversity and/or affirmative action when you see diversity and inclusion. It makes total sense then. The author is just too afraid to state the obvious.
Thank you for the very excellent post.
The last two defense companies I worked for had contract requirements to have “highly compensated” minorities. In other words, professional people who were black. They had plenty of Asians and Hispanics but the government EEO auditor was invariably a black woman and all she was interested in was blacks. The General Dynamics facility where I worked had one black male engineer. When he was sucking my project number dry with overtime I kept a log on his comings and goings. He was in the plant less than thirty hours but billed more than forty; a federal crime. I went first to him and he accused me of racism. (I did actually turn color enough to be an American Indian.) Then I went to his (matrix organization) boss and was told to suck it up and ignore it. But it was breaking the budget I was responsible for so I went to HR and complained and implied I was going all the way to the top and maybe report him to the feds. They moved him to an overhead number and made him the diversity coordinator or some-such. He knew he was protected although he did little work. If he finished an assignment he’d put his feet up and read a magazine. Everybody else would report and start their next job. They didn’t get rid of him until they had a massive down-sizing and everybody absolutely had to pull their weight. (Incidentally, they got rid of me long before they finally let go of him. They let a lot of productive people go but held onto a lot of useless chunks of defecation until the very end.)
Because they are about as authentic as global warming studies?
“Why ignore study after study that show the diverse workplaces with gender, racial and ethnic balance perform better in so many categories? “
Because they are all bullshit.
All of them.
No matter the job, if you can afford white men, you will have a more effective work force.
Let’s combine things!
Change national policy so that H1-B (and other) visa employees DO NOT QUALIFY AND DO NOT COUNT as “diversity hires” for corporations, only US citizens do.
That is, by law, many companies must have diversity quotas, and fill them with imported labor, displacing Americans. But if these visa imports do not reduce their corporate requirements for diversity, it will really slash their incentive for hiring them in the first place.
“Our quota is that we have to hire 100 ethnic minorities, so let’s hire 100 competent Indian nationals. They won’t get seniority or raises, because we will send them back to India before they get any, and get new ones to replace them.”
“Oh, problem with that. They no longer qualify for diversity quotas. So if we hire 100 of them, we *also* have to hire 100 more American ethnic minorities. And they can’t just be janitorial staff. We can afford 100 parasites, but not 200, even if half of them actually work.”
America should be a meritocracy. Hopefully President Trump through deed and action will put America back on the path to being results oriented. IF the courts will allow it.
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