In late September, Donald Trump ordered federal agencies and companies and universities with federal contracts to stop offering diversity training that addresses systemic racism and sexism. The Wall Street Journal reports that businesses are protesting President Trump’s order, arguing that it attacks free speech and undermines workplace equity. Whether it tramples on free speech rights is a question for lawyers and voters. But whether it undermines workplace equity is a question we can answer.
Companies Need to Think Bigger Than Diversity Training
It’s time for a more ambitious approach.
October 20, 2020
Summary.
After analyzing data from hundreds of employers, across dozens of years, to assess how different equity measures work, the authors report that the typical diversity training program doesn’t just fail to promote diversity, it actually leads to declines in management diversity. Other simple managerial measures, they argue, are more effective at opening opportunities up to people of color.