Cuts to Investment in Diversity Threaten Gains. Financial Times. Taylor Nicole Rogers MARCH 8 2023

US businesses are cutting back on their investments in diversity and inclusion as fears of recession grow — in a shift that experts say risks reversing the progress made since George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

The number of companies in which staff reported having access to diversity programmes — such as resource groups supporting minorities — fell to 41 per cent in 2022 after two years of gains, says employer review website Glassdoor. Diversity teams have been hit by redundancy programmes in the tech industry.

Twitter, Meta and online real estate broker Redfin have all let go of members of their inclusion teams since the start of the year.

Racial equity became a top priority for corporate America after Floyd’s murder sparked a global racial reckoning. Chief executives who had seldom before spoken out on racism — including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan — did so. Some 271 US companies pledged $67bn towards racial equity work, according to a tally of public promises compiled by consultants Creative Investment Research.

(NOTE: We now calculate the total of BLM Pledges at $70 billion, See: https://www.prlog.org/12954909-corporate-donations-to-black-lives-matter-now-total-70-billion.html)

To read the full article, see: https://www.ft.com/content/d61ce264-a7ca-4352-bfb7-fef60078bc34

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