Who Really Benefitted From DEI?

 Not who you think:

Every year companies in the US spend around $8 billion on DEI efforts, according to research by the consulting firm McKinsey. With all the financial investment, time and attention put into advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in corporations, it is crucial to understand who benefits from these efforts.

In 2019 a report entitled Being Black in Corporate America, released by global nonprofit, think tank, and advisory Coqual, found that Black professionals are more likely to encounter prejudice and microaggressions than other ethnic groups. They are also less likely than their white counterparts to have access to senior leaders and managerial support.

The report lays out employees' everyday experiences of systemic racism in workplaces and the consequences it creates for those trying to advance to senior leadership positions. For example, Black professionals are nearly four times as likely as white professionals to say they've experienced racial prejudice at work.

Additionally, Black women are less likely to have access to the same support and advocacy as white women. Black women who are often numerically under-represented in professional occupations regularly grapple with how to counteract negative racial stereotypes that undermine their professional images in the office. In response, they often have to strategically engage in code-switching, by adjusting their speech, appearance, and behaviors to try and fit in.

While many white women have made gains in American workplaces, the gains for racial and ethnic minority women haven't been as significant. According to another McKinsey study, white women hold nearly 19% of all C-suite positions, while racial and ethnic minority women only hold 4%. Overall, white women have benefited disproportionally from corporate DEI efforts.

From Medium:

Some Americans are shocked to learn that Black people are not the primary beneficiaries of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Because, for many, these policies are synonymous with discussions about race. While companies voluntarily adopted policies to address racial discrimination in the workplace during the 1960s and 70s, they were designed to help a number of marginalized groups, including religious minorities and veterans. White women have benefitted the most from DEI programs. While women remain underrepresented "at every stage of the corporate pipeline," a McKinsey study estimated it would take 48 years for women of color to achieve gender parity, while only 22 years for White women to reach this milestone.

You can see the McKinsey study on this topic here.

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