After years of investing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, many high-profile international companies have begun to scale or eliminate DEI policies in response to political pressures and other factors. It has become front and center in the United States and a key talking point on the Trump agenda.
There has been a lot of talk among our HR recruiters about what this means for companies that choose to scale back DEI policies. Why are they doing it? How will it affect the recruitment efforts of those companies? We answer these questions here:
Why are companies scaling back DEI policies?
Many well-known companies have recently scaled back DEI, including Walmart, Target, Amazon, Meta, Google, Ford, Deloitte, Disney, and many more. They are scaling back because of political pressure from Donald Trump and his recent executive order targeting DEI programs. Companies are also scaling back because of lawsuits and shifting business priorities. However, scaling back DEI programs could hurt your ability to hire.
Why could scaling back DEI hurt your hiring efforts?
For every action, there will be a reaction. There are potential repercussions that can impact hiring/retention that companies might start to see by pulling back their DEI initiatives. Our belief as recruiters is that candidates, especially millennials, Gen Z, and younger applicants, want to work for companies that support DEI. There have already been instances of pushback.
For example, Apple pushed back against shareholders who proposed to dismantle the company’s diversity initiatives. Similarly, shareholders at Walmart have expressed their disappointment in the company stopping its diversity programs. We suspect this is only the beginning.
Companies could also start to lose out on all the reasons DEI is good for the bottom line, including:
- Increased innovation
- Diverse perspectives and viewpoints
- Increased company reputation
- Higher retention rates
- Increased profitability
Is there still bias in hiring that could impact DEI?
Given the current climate, we decided to ask professionals working in hiring and recruitment if they’ve received requests to find candidates that circumvent DEI best practices. In our LinkedIn poll we asked, “Have you encountered clients / hiring managers requesting candidates with criteria such as attractiveness, age, ability, etc.?”
63% responded that they do have clients who request specific candidate characteristics:
There will always be some bias in the hiring process. But, as recruiters have pointed out, it’s rarely blatant. Many hiring managers get fixated on the type of candidate they think they need and develop an idea of what that candidate is. As recruiters, we can work with hiring managers to eliminate bias and help them have a more diverse and inclusive approach to hiring.
