Gen Y on D&I: So, you think you care about D&I?

“I don’t care about diversity and inclusion.” -No one ever 

Okay, not literally, but you get what I mean—we don’t hear this much. However, whether it is said aloud or not, the truth is evident: a lot of people don’t care about diversity and inclusion—or at least, not enough to do anything about it. This goes for people and companies. Consider this:  

Whether it is said aloud or not, the truth is evident: a lot of people don’t care about diversity and inclusion—or at least, not enough to do anything about it. Share on X

Have you heard about what’s going on in the legal industry right now? The American Bar Association passed Resolution 113, which urges providers of legal services to expand and create opportunities at all levels for diverse attorneys. General Counsels within many organizations signed a pledge agreeing to collect diversity data from the firms they contract for legal services and use that data to decide which ones to hire. Sounds great, right? And it is great, in theory. But this isn’t new.  

In 1988, the General Counsel of General Motors sent a letter to law firms about increasing the diversity of the attorneys handling its legal matters, which was followed by a Call to Action, initiated by Chief Legal Officer Sara Lee in 2004. Nonetheless, diversity within the legal industry hasn’t really increased much, especially for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx attorneys. Take a look at the recent New York Times article entitled Elite Law Firm’s All-White Partner Class Stirs Debate on Diversity. It has caused quite “the buzz” in the industry. Paul, Weiss (the firm mentioned in this and similar articles) has not gone without critique of its diversity practices since posting a picture of its mostly white, mostly men, class of partners (image below).  

Many other firms have criticized the diversity (or lack thereof) of the firm’s latest class and Paul, Weiss has since “vowed” to do better—but the reality is, the industry as a whole has the SAME problem. Believe it or not, Paul, Weiss ranks higher in diversity than many of its industry peers.    

The financial services industry isn’t exempt either. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted research on diversity trends in the financial services industry from 2007 through 2015. They found that diversity within certain categories had decreased, while others remained stagnant over the years. 

How about what’s going on in the fashion industry? Gucci received backlash this month for selling a black turtleneck that covers half the face and has large red lips printed around a cut-out mouth. The sweater very clearly resembles blackface. Gucci issued an apology when they drew criticism, stating that they “consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision” they make.  

To quote the movie Elf, it seems like they all “sit on a throne of lies.” 

Why do I say that? Well…these stories and occurrences have become all too familiar. Remember when H&M put a young Black boy model in a ‘Coolest Monkey in the Jungle’ hoodie on their website and was the target of backlash? What about Heineken and their ad where a bartender looked at what guests were drinking and then slid a bottle of Heineken Light down the bar, passing many people of color before stopping in front of a woman with a lighter complexion, at the same time as the tagline “Sometimes, lighter is better” appeared on the screen?  

Sure, each of these companies issued an apology, but the question still remained: how did this stuff get approved in the first place? Inasmuch as companies benchmark their competitors for marketing and industry intel, why not also use these industry “mistakes” as examples of what NOT to do. Certainly, someone within these organizations is aware of the negative response others have received for these types of mistakes. So, why do these things keep happening? My best guess…because most people do not truly care. I struggle with the “if they knew better, they’d do better” response because if corporations don’t know better by now, I would suggest it’s because they don’t want to.  

So, what’s the moral of the story here? If you truly care about diversity and inclusion, actions and outcomes speak much louder than words. Do what you can to improve diversity and inclusion within your sphere of influence and control; you have more power than you may think. 

If you truly care about diversity and inclusion, actions and outcomes speak much louder than words. Do what you can to improve diversity and inclusion within your sphere of influence and control. Share on X