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The Rise and Fall of the Chief Diversity Officer. Diversity executives hit the exits as company priorities shift; ‘everything is a battle’
Wall Street Journal ^ | July 21, 2023 | Te-Ping Chen Lauren Weber

Posted on 07/21/2023 7:25:31 AM PDT by karpov

Two years ago chief diversity officers were some of the hottest hires into executive ranks. Now, they increasingly feel left out in the cold.

Companies including Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have recently said that high-profile diversity, equity and inclusion executives will be leaving their jobs. Thousands of diversity-focused workers have been laid off since last year, and some companies are scaling back racial justice commitments.

Diversity, equity and inclusion—or DEI—jobs were put in the crosshairs after many companies started re-examining their executive ranks during the tech sector’s shake out last fall. Some chief diversity officers say their work is facing additional scrutiny since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions and companies brace for potential legal challenges. DEI work has also become a political target.

“There’s a combination of grief, being very tired, and being, in some cases, overwhelmed,” says Miriam Warren, chief diversity officer for Yelp, of the challenges facing executives in the field.

In interviews, current and former chief diversity officers said company executives at times didn’t want to change hiring or promotion processes, despite initially telling CDOs they were hired to improve the talent pipeline. The quick about-face shows company enthusiasm for diversity initiatives hasn’t always proved durable, leaving some diversity officers now questioning their career path.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in police custody in May 2020, companies scrambled to hire chief diversity officers, changing the face of the C-suite. In 2018, less than half the companies in the S&P 500 employed someone in the role, and by 2022 three out four companies had created a position, according to a study from Russell Reynolds, an executive search firm.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: dei; diversity; racism
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Companies should try to find good workers from all groups, but pursuing "diversity" is usually just reverse discrimination.
1 posted on 07/21/2023 7:25:31 AM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

“Some chief diversity officers say their work is facing additional scrutiny since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions and companies brace for potential legal challenges.”

Well, duh. Racism in hiring is just as illegal as racism in college admissions. You better “brace” for those legal challenges, and firing the DEI office now, after you already discriminated for years, is probably not going to save you from payouts.


2 posted on 07/21/2023 7:28:28 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: karpov

“Thousands of diversity-focused workers have been laid off since last year, and some companies are scaling back racial justice commitments.”

The ONLY thing these companies care about is their bottom line - and DIE affects that bottom line - as companies like Disney and Anheiser-Bush are finding out.

Boycotts work.

This is good news...


3 posted on 07/21/2023 7:29:55 AM PDT by Bon of Babble (What did Socialists use before Candles?..... Electricity)
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To: karpov

Anyone else notice diversity officers are never white men?


4 posted on 07/21/2023 7:30:00 AM PDT by wny
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To: karpov

First step toward broke was going woke


5 posted on 07/21/2023 7:32:20 AM PDT by no-to-illegals (The enemy has US surrounded. May God have mercy on them.)
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To: wny

DEI was one of those new degree plans offered by the universities for the untrained masses.


6 posted on 07/21/2023 7:37:24 AM PDT by 9422WMR
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To: karpov

[[In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in police custody in May 2020, ]]

The writer is in deep denial


7 posted on 07/21/2023 7:45:48 AM PDT by Bob434
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To: karpov

Maybe Snow White and the seven diversity hires is the last straw for the American people.


8 posted on 07/21/2023 7:57:47 AM PDT by CIB-173RDABN (I am not an expert in anything, and my opinion is just that, an opinion. I may be wrong.)
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To: wny

One of my reservists at the Pentagon, a black female, was the IRS’ Chief Diversity Officer. Very nice, very competent, but I had a VERY hard time not rolling my eyes when she told me what her civilian position was.

Colonel, USAF JAGC (Ret)


9 posted on 07/21/2023 7:58:29 AM PDT by jagusafr ( )
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To: karpov

Prominently, businesses are IN business to make some money — especially for stockholders and top management executives. Stockholders are the source of Finance to run the show. Pleasing stockholders is crucial.

Things that inhibit or destroy profits, will be eliminated.

Top executives are most often pretty clear-eyed on what is Good For The Company.

Woke-ism is Bad For Business.

Pretty simple.


10 posted on 07/21/2023 8:01:50 AM PDT by William of Barsoom (In Omnia, Paratus)
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To: 9422WMR

Kind of like the Six-Sigma Fad.


11 posted on 07/21/2023 8:03:35 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: karpov

Racial “justice”? Ask any of these clowns if racial justice consists of dumping on white males and they’ll tell you “of course”. That happy little fantasy was doomed from the start and I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did.


12 posted on 07/21/2023 8:06:43 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: karpov

No worries as Brandon will pay off their worthless sheep skins...


13 posted on 07/21/2023 8:07:26 AM PDT by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US:-))
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To: wny
Anyone else notice diversity officers are never white men?

Diversity Officers were nothing more than a tool for companies to hire otherwise totally unqualified black women so that they could check off the box requiring one minority board member.

14 posted on 07/21/2023 8:15:09 AM PDT by Drew68 (Ron DeSantis for President. A conservative who fights and wins.)
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To: karpov

So long, moochers. Good luck finding real jobs.


15 posted on 07/21/2023 8:15:52 AM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: Drew68
Diversity Officers were nothing more than a tool for companies to hire otherwise totally unqualified black women so that they could check off the box requiring one minority board member.

That's what HR Departments are for.

16 posted on 07/21/2023 8:16:53 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator
That's what HR Departments are for.

Except HR doesn't have board members. Liberals demanded a "boardroom that looks like America" so the position of Chief Diversity Officer was created specifically to address this.

17 posted on 07/21/2023 8:21:34 AM PDT by Drew68 (Ron DeSantis for President. A conservative who fights and wins.)
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To: Drew68

Ahh true that.


18 posted on 07/21/2023 8:22:40 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: wny

In the last year my institution has started the bash the white man racism in the annual mandatory training we are required to take. Parts of it made it clear that employees who were white were privileged and had racists tendencies they didn’t even know about and we needed to watch our behavior and understand how our race and views affect others.

We were asked at the end of the training if we had ever experienced racism in our jobs and I said for the first time in nearly thirty years, yes and the company itself was the offender. We are preparing to do the same crap again next month.

When the Division Officer and Human Resources set policy and are included in the operations of your organization its days as an effective entity are numbered.


19 posted on 07/21/2023 8:28:13 AM PDT by sarge83
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To: sarge83

My view of HR is similar to Michael Scott’s.


20 posted on 07/21/2023 8:29:34 AM PDT by stevio (Fight until you die.)
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