New York
CNN
—
President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed the Federal Aviation Administration’s “diversity push” in part for the plane collision that killed 67 people in Washington, DC. But DEI backers, including most top US companies, believe a push for diversity has been good for their businesses.
Trump did not cite any evidence for how efforts to hire more minorities, people with disabilities and other groups less represented in American workforces led to the crash, saying “it just could have been” and that he had “common sense.” But Trump criticized the FAA’s effort to recruit people with disabilities during Joe Biden’s administration, even though the FAA’s Aviation Safety Workforce Plan for the 2020-2029 period, issued under Trump’s first administration, promoted and supported “the hiring of people with disabilities and targeted disabilities.”
It’s not the first time opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI, have said they can kill people. “DEI means people DIE,” Elon Musk said after the California wildfires, criticizing the Los Angeles Fire Department and city and state officials for their efforts to advance diversity in their workforces.
The Trump administration has clamped down on DEI in the federal government, ordering government DEI employees to be placed on leave, ending the use of DEI in hiring and federal contracting, and other measures to end DEI practices.
In the business world, DEI is typically a mix of recruiting practices, employee training and other measures to boost representation of people of different races, genders, classes, religions and other backgrounds.
Rather than lower hiring standards, supporters say DEI broadens the pool of people employers would consider for a job, in theory finding even more qualified people for tasks than they would have found in the past. Companies that abandon efforts to promote diversity and inclusion risk missing out on the best talent, business leaders say.
“At its best, DEI is about developing talent, measuring it in a fair way and finding hidden talent and disadvantaged talent in a world where not everybody has an equal chance to exhibit their abilities,” Ken Frazier, the first Black chief executive of a major pharmaceutical company, told CNN in an October interview.
DEI initiatives have been shown to boost profits, reduce employee attrition and increase employee motivation, according to Boston Consulting Group research based on data from more than 27,000 employees in 16 countries.
Amid growing opposition from right-wing activists, lawsuits from conservative legal groups, demand from conservative-leaning customers and other factors, many high-profile companies have stepped back from some of their DEI pledges. Walmart, McDonald’s, Target, Harley-Davidson, Ford and many others have made changes to their DEI initiatives.
However, most companies remain committed to DEI.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that opposes DEI, found in November that 486 of the Fortune 500 companies still have a statement or corporate commitment to DEI on their websites.
Most of the changes companies like Walmart and Target have made are “cosmetic” and “inconsequential,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the president of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute. Companies are adjusting language or repositioning programs rather than abandoning their commitments to expand diversity.
“Most of the leaders I speak to absolutely see the value [of diversity],” said Tarang Amin, the CEO of e.l.f. Beauty, a cosmetics company that has stood behind its DEI programs. “There’s just so much data that says diverse teams perform better than homogeneous teams, that diverse thought really drives better outcomes.”
Bigger companies are standing firmly behind DEI, too.
Costco recently rejected a proposal brought by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, that would have required Costco to report on the financial risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion goals. The group criticized Costco for possible “illegal discrimination” against employees who are “white, Asian, male or straight.”
Costco said its DEI efforts help the company attract and retain a wide range of employees and improve merchandise and services in stores. Costco also said its members want to interact with a diverse employee base.
“Among other things, a diverse group of employees helps bring originality and creativity to our merchandise offerings, promoting the ‘treasure hunt’ that our customers value,” Costco said in its proxy statement to investors. Efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion “enhance our capacity to attract and retain employees who will help our business succeed.”
