WASHINGTON — The ongoing backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion work may leave employers with the sense that DEI is a short-lived trend. But that perspective ignores both history and legal reality, speakers told attendees at the American Bar Association’s labor and employment section conference on Thursday.
Stacy Hawkins, professor of law at Rutgers University, said DEI’s constituent parts have their origins in the broader U.S. civil rights movement. The decades that followed this era saw backlash in a variety of forms, such as opposition to affirmative action policies, but the work to address DEI’s components continued.
“This is not a new story,” Hawkins said. “We’ve been here a long time.”
A number of trends indicate the potential for a DEI revival. Per Hawkins, this includes the sheer demographic shift in the U.S., with the 2020 census finding that more than half of Americans ages 18 or under identified either wholly or in part with nonwhite racial or ethnic groups.
Then there’s the financial piece. Hawkins cited data published earlier this year by The Conference Board, which found that 63% of U.S. worker respondents said they would not, or would only reluctantly, work for a company that did not take DEI seriously. Given that some estimates pin the average cost of turnover at more than $45,000 per employee, those numbers add up, Hawkins said.
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