DEI Under Attack: How to Survive the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Crisis, with Wema Hoover

Diversity Secrets

#33 Welcome back to Diversity Secrets Podcast!

Numerous articles are pointing to what is being called the rise and fall of DEI. After the protests following George Floyd’s murder in 2020, many companies pledged to increase their investment in DEI initiatives, leading to a two-year boom in DEI funding and staffing around the globe. However, DEI initiatives seemingly lost steam in 2023, with many of those very same organizations making pledges in 2020, cutting back on their DEI efforts, in a context of backlash, pushback, as well as political and regulatory pressure targeted at DEI programs. Within 3 years, DEI went from being the right thing to do in business, to being a largely controversial topic in the corporate world and in our societies at large.

Taking a step, back, is DEI's peak really behind us? How can organizations and practitioners continue delivering on commitments made in 2020? How de we get out of this extreme-to-extreme DEI and ensure sustainable results over controversy? As an industry, how can we regain credibility, and change the narrative to highlight what DEI really is: inclusive and equitable societies for all!
With over 15 years of experience leading DEI initiatives at a global scale, and as former Global Chief Diversity Officer at Google, Sanofi, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Wema Hoover, shares with us her unique insights and perspective to better understand this DEI crisis. (visit Wema's website here)

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