DEI – What is it?

 

DEI – What is it?

DEI is an abbreviation for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In recent years, businesses have come under fire from activists on social platforms, for not being diverse or inclusive when it comes to people that work for the business and/or people the business sells too.

For example, this week I was shopping at Homegoods and instead of just the typical white Santa Claus, a darker toned “skin” Santa Claus was also available for purchase. This is more inclusive of those with skin color other than white. This means more sales for Homegoods, and support from activist groups. With the rise of social media, businesses were inclined to implement DEI as it meant maintaining and even gaining customer segments, and not being called out for being non-inclusive.

                At first, businesses that supported DEI were praised by the activist groups pushing for it, increasing the businesses popularity. Why didn’t every business do it? Most did. Some may have been able to predict the future.

                A few businesses that took DEI too far, are reeling from the fallout of social movements, or changing culture and quality of product within their business.

Boeing for example, boasted a strong DEI program and channels with other strong DEI businesses. Some of the candidates in the program and employees working for their suppliers, were not qualified for the position that they were granted as a part of the DEI program. This led to quality escapes, and danger to passengers on an aircraft as the door flew off mid-flight. Now, Boeing is under such scrutiny from customers and regulation from the FAA, it may be difficult to recover.

Another example of backfire from DEI is the massive protest against the Bud light brand after it aired a TV commercial promoting transgenderism. Bud light faced a massive drop in sales due to the boycott organized by its customers who oppose transgenderism. Today, they have dropped from number 1 in beer sales to number 3, more than a year after the initial boycott (Park, 2024).

So, should I implement DEI or not!? Like many things, DEI is healthy to a certain extent. It is generally looked at as a good thing to be inclusive and support equality and diversity. The point here is there should be DEI programs to help ensure the under-employed or under-served people are included. Businesses should implement DEI, but use extreme caution to not create unfair or unfavorable outcomes. DEI should never create the situation where underqualified workers get positions just because they are some type of minority. Additionally, DEI should never  be offensive to your main customer group. We can learn from the mistakes made by Boeing and Bud light. Implement DEI to a healthy extent. That way it achieves the goal of diversity, equity, and inclusion, without overstepping the bounds and hurting your business.

As a note, in response to what happened with Bud light, the Coors brand announced that it “no longer has representation goals” (Ring, 2024). Based on observations, Coors should not completed end all DEI as it can spark attacks from activists groups such as the one referenced.

The activist group referenced also called out the Ford Motor Company for scaling back DEI. However, upon review of Ford’s comments (that were leaked from internal sources), Ford is not ending DEI, but simply stating that it will not comment of controversial social issues, unless absolutely necessary. The attack on Ford for making this move from the activist group is uncalled for in the vast majority’s opinion. The move by Ford is actually the best possible practice for their businesses and inclusive of all of its customers (the vast majority). More companies should model their DEI approach after Ford. DEI should be focused on including qualified individuals from minority groups and cultures and serving those same groups and cultures. Good DEI allows for the highest level of success in the global market.

References

Park, A. (2024, July 23). Bud Light boycott Effects Endure—Brand drops to third. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2024/07/18/bud-light-boycott-effects-endure-brand-drops-to-third/

Ring, T. (2024, October 11). Here are 8 major companies that have turned away from DEI. Advocate.com. https://www.advocate.com/news/companies-abandoning-dei#rebelltitem1