Since the Supreme Court overturned Affirmative Action, media outlets and business leaders alike have claimed that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work is dead. However, I believe the demise of DEI is greatly exaggerated.
Three out of four HR leaders believe DEI is crucial to their company’s future success, according to a recent survey from Muse and Fairygodboss. What’s more, 60% said they are actually planning to increase their DEI investments in 2024 with the majority of spending going toward DEI training, learning development, and employee resource group (ERG) initiatives.
It makes sense that the corporate world is plowing forward with DEI. Research has proven that diverse teams make better decisions and are more adaptive, innovative, and supportive. They also lead companies to make better investments and inspire higher engagement across teams within organizations. Perhaps most importantly, employees today heavily factor DEI into their decisions about where to work and which companies to continue working for.
However, today’s DEI initiatives will need to look quite a bit different from years past to accommodate increased pressures for measurement and accountability, changing laws, and a rapidly changing workforce population. Based on what we are hearing from corporate hiring managers, recruiters, and the millions of people who come to us to find new jobs, here are three trends driving DEI investments in 2024.
PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN DEI INITIATIVES
At every level, companies are taking a hard look at their DEI goals and evaluating what can be measured and achieved. Investing in training and development also means investing in tools and technology that measure, benchmark, and track the success of initiatives—not just the number of participants. HR leaders are increasingly being asked to show data that their efforts are actually moving the needle in ways that are advancing the company’s business objectives—not simply meeting quotas. Today, DEI initiatives need to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI), and companies must invest in the tools and expertise to serve those metrics and results.
Now, many employers are hiring new DEI leaders in light of new scrutiny and return on investment requirements. LinkedIn reports that “Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion” is the seventh fastest-growing job role. This growth can likely be attributed to a belief that specialized leadership is essential to take on the economic and legal challenges some DEI programs face.
INCLUSIVE RECRUITING AND HIRING
Inclusive hiring covers more than just gender and race in recruiting. This means trying to minimize bias and create an equitable application, interview, selection, and offer process for candidates.
One of the most challenging parts of establishing truly inclusive hiring is reaching a diverse set of applicants. Hiring managers are looking to move beyond using big job boards to post their roles and instead incorporating talent acquisition strategies, including employer branding and niche sites where a more diverse set of candidates can be found.
A SHIFT TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Employers spent heavily in the competitive talent landscape during the post-pandemic hiring frenzy. The cost-to-hire ratio increased for many businesses. Now, as hiring has slowed, employers are looking to retain the talent in which they invested and assimilate new hires across workforces that in some cases span four generations. Despite Gen Z predicted to overtake Boomers in the workforce this year, nearly a fifth of Americans older than 65 were still employed in 2023, which is roughly double the share working 35 years ago according to Pew Research. Workplaces are naturally becoming more diverse and recalibrating in a post-pandemic world.
DEI dollars are going to onboarding, mentorship, training, and inclusion programs that help top talent become more engaged in their work and their workplace. This also helps companies preserve the diversity gains they have made over the past few years.
It’s hard to deny that innovation and success come faster when there is a diversity of thought, experience, and empowered voices at the table. So while the war on DEI plays out, I believe great business leaders will continue to do what’s best for their businesses—and that means driving full speed ahead for diversity initiatives.
