Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion has been in the spotlight since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, in 2020, which millions of people witnessed via social media. That reminded me of how the civil rights movement didn’t spark real change until people saw the violence against protestors broadcast directly into their homes. Similarly, in 2020, many witnessed injustice unfold in real time on their phones. We can draw parallels between the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the events of the past five years. Just as some supported integration while others opposed it, there are divided views on DEI today. Gallup Inc. helps track public opinion on these issues over time.
George Gallup founded the American Institute of Public Opinion, the precursor to Gallup. In 1935, they conducted their first political public opinion poll and have remained independent, never conducting surveys on behalf of the Republican or Democratic parties since their founding. Gallup’s foray into social issue polling included surveying people on their views regarding how they felt about the Civil Rights Movement in 1964. According to the poll, 58% of people supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 31% were against it, and 10% were unsure about their feelings. Knowing where people stood throughout history gives us a useful lens when analyzing today’s current events. Back then, while people largely supported the legislation, they were concerned about how it would be implemented—much like how some today worry that DEI initiatives may sideline them in favor of others for opportunities. In 1965, according to Gallup, 45% of those surveyed said that President Lyndon B. Johnson was moving too fast on integration, while only 14% of those surveyed said he was not moving fast enough. This finding reveals that while people like something, in theory, they feel a different way in practice; often, people say they want to progress until that progress moves faster than they are comfortable with. The speed at which progress happens and how it is implemented is always centered in offline and online debates and impacts how people of different backgrounds may view DEI. I will touch on people’s changing sentiments regarding DEI, why that may have happened, and what that means for diversity-based efforts as we advance.
DEI took the main stage back in 2020 when we saw a host of Fortune 500 companies announce commitments to DEI in various ways. Companies like Target, JP Morgan Chase, and Costco committed to diversity programs in multiple ways. Unfortunately, many companies, including Target, have recently rolled back their commitments to DEI. While George Floyd’s murder intensified the focus on DEI, it was not the sole reason CEOs saw that moment as an opportunity to take action. 2020 and 2021 were lucrative years for Fortune 500 CEOs, as stock gains during the pandemic reached unprecedented highs. Many executives assumed the momentum would last indefinitely, but the tide turned with rising federal interest rates, layoffs, and a decline in consumer spending. In response, executives have shifted from making bold investments in their workforce to adopting a more cautious approach. Moreover, the last few years have made execs go from making liberal investments in their workforce to being much more conservative. The shift in economic conditions has influenced how people perceive the value of their company leaders prioritizing DEI. In a stronger economy, hiring practices established in previous years were more flexible, but the current landscape has led to a reassessment of those approaches. This was when coding boot camps, and certifications became even more popular because tech companies with a heftier balance sheet could invest in talent from non-traditional backgrounds in ways they could not before.
This all changed in March of 2022 when interest rates started to increase, coupled with the cool-off of business that came because of the pandemic, causing executives to look at the makeup of their workforces differently. Layoffs across tech, finance, and media started and have not let up meaningfully since then. Due to this, workers began to look unfavorably at anything that may give someone else an advantage in an increasingly competitive work environment. This, I believe, is one of the reasons why there has been an increase in negative sentiment from workers regarding DEI. In February of 2023, the percentage of workers who said that focusing on DEI is a bad thing increased from 16% to 21%, and the number of workers who said it was a good thing decreased from 56% to 52%.
As opportunities become scarcer, people grow more critical of anything that appears to give others an advantage in the job market. This is no different from the pushback on H1B visas that erupted on Twitter earlier this month. When the world of work becomes more favorable for workers again, we may see people look at DEI more favorably, but only time will tell.
