Private Enterprise + Public Backlash • Perspectives Media

Not every equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) scandal is created equal.

Last week, the University of North Carolina had a public and brand toxic debacle after initially denying Pulitzer Prize journalist and alumna Nicole Hannah-Jones tenure only to turn around and offer tenure under threat of a lawsuit. A racially insensitive ESPN anchor accidentally recorded a zoom meeting where she went on a racist rant regarding work politics--and it leaked to the public.

These worse case public relations blunders make company decision makers so afraid of backlash that they will not publicly release the racial makeup of their company management.

Big Picture Numbers from Fortune.com

Only 53% of Fortune 500 companies publicly report the racial makeup of their management teams
Black & Latinx people are woefully underrepresented in American corporate management

The poor management percents of the companies that feel comfortable reporting really makes you question how bad the other companies could be doing.

In the information age (sometimes misinformation age) both internal and external EDI praise and backlash can seem to come fast and go as quickly as it came. For those who advocate for or professionally build more equitable systems, understanding the good, the bad, and the backlash is important...

You can’t close the equity gap if you don’t talk about the equity gap. A Social Equity Task Force for Traverse City, Michigan Public Schools had 200 people show up to a board meeting, 55 verbally challenged an equity, diversity and inclusion resolution that the board had already changed. The resolution will not include language about using “a social equity and diversity lens.” Only 9 people stayed to hear that the board had changed this language.

For the tech industry, Amazon opened a Black business accelerator but did not converse with black business leaders to talk about effective black investment strategies leaving the program seeming like a shallow promise and Google trumpeted gains in black hiring only to see big loses in black retention. The Bank Policy Institute is attacking racism in public statements while saying nothing about voter suppression across the country. The public relations blunders of these programs raises questions about oversight of these initiatives and the organization atmosphere that could produce such poor results.

On a more positive note, the Oscars have rolled out well received additions to its voting body after severe public shaming (remember #OscarsSoWhite). They added heavy hitters like Laverne Cox and Steven Yeun to their ranks but still did not release the big picture race / ethnic makeup to help to determine if their presence will be of significant impact. Time will tell if these additions lead to changes that are sustainable.

Actions for You

If you’re a public or private sector professional with equity in or near your responsibilities, here are a few articles to think about your programming. The goal is to create an environment where embarrassing missteps like those above can be prevented or corrected quickly.

Things like when should we be transparent about our goals? Have we talked to the right people? IIs our organization culture ready to hear hard truths? If not, how do you get it ready and what will be our plan to get there?

Bookmark these for later if you are looking for more on these questions.

Thrive vs Survive

Womxn are pushing to thrive, not just survive.

In the legal industry, a new law.com national law journal article found that companies that had female firm leaders were more likely to perform well across diversity and inclusion functional areas. They dug down and found that many of the women were in positions of power because of 10+ year diversity initiatives. So it takes a long-term commitment.

On the culture beat, Ashlee Marie Preston writes for Bazaar, “When I transitioned back in 2004, there were virtually no movies, TV shows, books, or think pieces modeling the possibilities. Quite frankly, there still aren’t. The majority of the trans-centric content we consume is centered on our suffering, and our capacity to escape death is lauded the acme of accomplishment. ...Survival is not the ceiling.” Check out this great essay.
Generational Silence

Second generation Asian American immigrants are addressing the model minority or perpetual foreigner stereotypes the face in American culture. “Asian Americans collectively are coming to a racial reckoning,” said Professor Yoonsun Choi in this Boston Globe Article and are realizing the importance of solidarity across historically marginalized groups.

These younger Asian Americans are the beneficiaries of hard fought battles to teach AAPI culture and history at colleges and universities. Professor Robert Lee almost did not receive tenure at Brown University and he said that academic hiring and tenure is a bare knuckle fight, “If the history department decided fifty years ago that Asian Americans didn’t have a history, what obligation do they have now? Is the next hire going to be another Europeanist? Another Americanist? Already, those in East Asian history are in the minority so they have very little say who gets hired.”

If you’re an alumni of a university, consider checking in on the ethnic studies programs. It never hurts to make sure diverse historic viewpoints are being heralded in your alumni community.
Gap Not Likely to Close
Although the Center for Economic and Social Rights set goals to eliminate global inequality by 2030, those goals look less achievable every day. That said, there are some lights at the end of the tunnel in the US.

Advocates are eyeing several policies that would close equity gaps

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