Businesses are turning away from higher-ed and its push toward 'equity'

Recent data show that American businesses are becoming disillusioned with the products of the country’s higher education system– both the types of employees, and concepts. 

Just weeks ago, Campus Reform highlighted a study revealing that small businesses are becoming dissatisfied with college-educated job seekers. Now a new survey suggests that the momentum behind corporate America’s adoption of university-influenced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs has slowed. 

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New information from DEI consulting firm Paradigm shows that “the momentum fueling DEI slowed” in the corporate world, citing “economic uncertainty, the increasing politicization of diversity-related topics, and fatigue,” as well as “political rhetoric and lawsuits from conservative activists” that have “increased scrutiny around DEI goal-setting.”

Paradigm originally reported an “8-point increase in organizations who had gender representation goals and a 4-point increase in organizations with race/ethnicity representation goals,” but notes that this data was pulled in September “when the chilling effect from activist lawsuits was just setting in.”

“In the time since, we’ve heard from a number of HR leaders who are de-emphasizing data and analytics as a part of their DEI efforts,” the firm reports.

”External forces are no longer pushing companies to invest in DEI; instead, in some cases, external forces are pushing back on companies’ investment in DEI,” the report notes, adding a warning that “If companies don’t want to see the diversity of their workforce backslide in the coming years, they need to revisit their hiring processes now.”

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DEI initiatives that incentivize goals such as racial parity and “equity” have long been commonplace on college campuses, and have infiltrated the workforce on a large scale in recent years. In addition to July’s Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in college admissions, many lawmakers have taken hard stance against these programs in recent months. In June, Texas became the first state to ban DEI initiatives and offices at public colleges and universities. 

“The issue is not diversity – the issue is that equity is not equality, and DEI practices conflate the two, Governor Abbott’s spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told Campus Reform at the time. “Some universities and woke professors have been using DEI to advance political agendas and exclude conservative viewpoints on college campuses. These efforts adversely affect our students, limit exposure to diverse thought, and destroy our education system.”