Publications
Publications
- January 2025
- HBS Case Collection
Shifting Winds: DEI in Corporate America
By: Clayton S. Rose, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and David Lane
Abstract
In the 2020s, intense and conflicting social and political pressures challenged organizational leaders around the world. Prominent among these were powerful competing views on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) in the United States. Public outrage over the deaths of Black people at police and vigilante hands in 2020 had prompted an outpouring of corporate statements, commitments, and stepped-up investments in DEI. Then, in the aftermath of the June 2023 decision by the United States Supreme Court outlawing the use of race as a factor in college admissions, it became clear that efforts aimed at greater diversity and inclusion in business were under intense attack. Business leaders would need to understand the challenges being made, determine what programs really mattered and the reasons why, and then craft a path forward that accounted for the strategic, financial, reputational and moral costs and benefits.
Keywords
Disruption; Leadership; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Satisfaction; Diversity; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Employees; Retention; Recruitment; Adaptation; Programs; Consulting Industry; Auto Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Motorcycle Industry; Technology Industry; Education Industry; United States; Massachusetts; Maryland; Tennessee; District of Columbia
Citation
Rose, Clayton S., Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon, and David Lane. "Shifting Winds: DEI in Corporate America." Harvard Business School Case 325-017, January 2025.