Why employers can’t ignore DEI backlash
Australian employers would be “tone-deaf” to ignore the Donald Trump-led backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the chief executive of the Australian Institute of Company Directors has argued.
Also this week:
But first: Australian Institute of Company Directors chief executive Mark Rigotti says the Trump-led DEI backlash suggests a groundswell of support for companies to go “back to basics” and focus less on social issues and more on shareholders, customers and key stakeholders.
“The parallel with the US is the focus on customers, stakeholders and the community, and on the cost of living. You would be tone-deaf to ignore it,” Rigotti said.
Former Reserve Bank board member and Macquarie Group director Jillian Broadbent agreed Australian companies could not afford to ignore the backlash and must do a better job of explaining their efforts to increase workplace diversity.
“I do think that more clarity around some of this diversity, equity and inclusion and on the environment has to come,” Broadbent said.
Their comments came after The Australian Financial Review revealed the ASX Corporate Governance Council was split on how to proceed with controversial new rules that would have required boards to report on the gender, sexuality, age, Indigenous heritage and disabilities of its directors.
The changes were pushed by investor and superannuation groups but triggered alarm among directors. ANZ’s openly gay chairman Paul O'Sullivan and Zip Co chair Diane Smith-Gander AO were among those who said they should not be expected to disclose personal information such as sexuality because it was not relevant to company performance.
Reporting by Patrick Durkin and James Eyers revealed the ASX Governance Council was meeting chief executives, chairmen and company secretaries to find consensus on the rules. ASX Corporate Governance Council chair Elizabeth Johnstone denied that the changes had stalled or were in limbo.
Elsewhere, European correspondent Hans van Leeuwen explains why Australia’s biggest miners, who gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos this month, will stick to their long-term net zero and sustainability targets despite Trump’s recent rhetoric.
Sans Prejudice Solutions founder Yhana Lanwin argues the big four consulting companies have been the biggest beneficiaries of DEI programs over the past decade – not the target groups they were designed to help.
Plus, we ask HR experts and academics a provocative question: will AI tools make us dumber?
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9moThere is one overarching issue with DEI that could get both sides of the argument to agree overnight - current DEI is trying to have equality in outcome which is just another word for socialism - DEI should be targeting equality in opportunity and then we would all benefit, sure it's harder to measure and takes longer but it will be embraced by a far larger cohort of the workforce.
Energy Investments. Masters of Engineering (Energy Planning and Policy). BE University of Sydney. Grad Diploma Project Management. Grad Diploma Law Jurisprudence. Economic rationalist. Current research interest is OSINT.
9moYes indeed, it's high time for these difficult and uncomfortable conversations , is the current "leadership" capable of this, maybe not and they are likely to passively avoid this issue for as long as they can.
I find it difficult to comprehend that Australian businesses are taking guidance from a criminal misogynist narcissist. Surely it is not intelligent to attempt to measure the value of an employee by their skin colour, hair colour, eye colour, height, weight, etc… and not their capabilities
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9moYeah, ensuring the best candidates aren’t excluded due to bias is a DEI outcome. There’s also a benefit in having teams and management that reflect the diversity of the markets they operate in. DEI, if done right, ensures hiring someone based on their CV, and not the sound of their name. It should, in practice, prevent indirectly excluding more appropriate female candidates from senior roles due to bias about child-rearing responsibilities or mat leave entitlements. It should ensure that better suited queer candidates aren’t rejected because of a subtle mannerism in an interview or other bias. It should ensure more qualified candidates are not ignored due to the short-term “inconvenience” of making reasonable accomodations due to mobility or neurodiversity. Plus ensuring more inclusive environments once employees are hired helps improve retention, saving businesses from knowledge loss and costs related to retraining and rehiring. Agree it can go to far or be implemented poorly tho.
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9moI think it’s interesting that most “normal” people could see this train wreck coming yet the “sharpest minds “ and people in senior positions allowed it to occur. The most qualified person gets the job. It’s logical and just makes common sense. Another example of what the woke world has brought us. Quotas, consideration of those who may not have the qualifications but “we haven’t got enough of those” It was sheer madness from the start.