• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

The Demise of the Chief Diversity Officer

by Will Jones
22 July 2023 3:00 PM

Two years ago Chief Diversity Officers were some of the hottest hires into executive ranks. Now, they increasingly feel left out in the cold, write Te-Ping Chen and Lauren Webber in the Wall Street Journal. Here’s an excerpt.

Companies including Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have recently said that high-profile diversity, equity and inclusion executives will be leaving their jobs. Thousands of diversity-focused workers have been laid off since last year, and some companies are scaling back racial justice commitments.

Diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — jobs were put in the crosshairs after many companies started re-examining their executive ranks during the tech sector’s shake out last fall. Some Chief Diversity Officers say their work is facing additional scrutiny since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions and companies brace for potential legal challenges. DEI work has also become a political target.

“There’s a combination of grief, being very tired, and being, in some cases, overwhelmed,” says Miriam Warren, Chief Diversity Officer for Yelp, of the challenges facing executives in the field. Warren says the fear that company commitments are imperilled fuel her and others to feel “more committed to the work than ever.” Yelp’s DEI budget has grown for the past five years.

In interviews, current and former Chief Diversity Officers said company executives at times didn’t want to change hiring or promotion processes, despite initially telling CDOs they were hired to improve the talent pipeline. The quick about-face shows company enthusiasm for diversity initiatives hasn’t always proved durable, leaving some diversity officers now questioning their career path. 

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in police custody in May 2020, companies scrambled to hire Chief Diversity Officers, changing the face of the C-suite. In 2018, less than half the companies in the S&P 500 employed someone in the role, and by 2022 three out four companies had created a position, according to a study from Russell Reynolds, an executive search firm. 

Once mostly tasked with HR matters, today’s diversity leaders are expected to weigh in on new product development, marketing efforts and current events that have an impact on how workers and consumers are feeling. Warren and other CDOs said the expanded remit is playing out in a politically divided environment where corporate diversity efforts are the subject of frequent social-media firestorms. 

New analysis from employment data provider Live Data Technologies shows that Chief Diversity Officers have been more vulnerable to layoffs than their human resources counterparts, experiencing 40% higher turnover. Their job searches are also taking longer. 

“I got to 300 applications and then I stopped tracking,” says Stephanie Lubin, who was laid off from her role as Diversity Head at Drizly, an online alcohol marketplace, in May following the company’s acquisition by Uber. In one case, Lubin says she went through 16 rounds of interviews for a role she didn’t get, and says she is now planning to pivot out of DEI work.

The number of CDO searches is down 75% in the past year, says Jason Hanold, Chief Executive of Hanold Associates Executive Search, which works with Fortune 100 companies to recruit HR and DEI executives, among other roles. Demand is the lowest he has seen in his 30 years of recruiting.

At the same time, he says, more executives are feeling skittish about taking on diversity roles.

“They’re telling us, the only way I want to go into another role with DEI is if it includes something else,” he says of the requests for broader titles that offer more responsibilities and resources. He estimates that 60% of diversity roles he is currently filling combine the title with another position, such as Chief Human Resources Officer, up from about 10% five years ago.

Worth reading in full.

Tags: DiversityEDIESGWoke capitalismWoke CorporationWoke GobbledegookWokus-Dei

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

Is it Something in the Water?

Next Post

The Great Berlin Lion Panic of 2023

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

19 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

The Sceptic | Episode 40: Rob Bates on Stopping Britain Becoming Majority-Minority, Tilak Doshi on Trump vs Green Blob and Mario Trabucco on Osborne’s Elgin Marbles Betrayal

by Richard Eldred
13 June 2025
1

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

News Round-Up

15 June 2025
by Will Jones

Green Council Branded “Absolutely Insane” After Painting Green Spots on Road to “Calm Traffic”

14 June 2025
by Will Jones

The War in Ukraine Has Shattered the West’s Digital-Age Delusions

15 June 2025
by David Betz and Michael Rainsborough

Pro-Palestine Protesters March Through London Waving Iranian Flags

14 June 2025
by Will Jones

Did the Mainstream Media Cover Up an Eco-Terror Attack in a French School?

15 June 2025
by Steven Tucker

The War in Ukraine Has Shattered the West’s Digital-Age Delusions

38

The Two-Stroke Engine of Brian Wilson

72

Pro-Palestine Protesters March Through London Waving Iranian Flags

29

Sir Keir Set to Launch Full National Inquiry Into Grooming Gangs in Latest U-turn, Following Months of Mounting Pressure

20

Landlords Face Higher Bills As New Net Zero Rules Kick in

17

The War in Ukraine Has Shattered the West’s Digital-Age Delusions

15 June 2025
by David Betz and Michael Rainsborough

Did the Mainstream Media Cover Up an Eco-Terror Attack in a French School?

15 June 2025
by Steven Tucker

Oxford is Now More or Less a Quango

14 June 2025
by Darren Gee

The Two-Stroke Engine of Brian Wilson

14 June 2025
by James Alexander

As a Civil Servant, I Can Tell You Dissent From DEI Dogma is Not Allowed

13 June 2025
by Anonymous Civil Servant

POSTS BY DATE

July 2023
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Jun   Aug »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

POSTS BY DATE

July 2023
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Jun   Aug »

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

News Round-Up

15 June 2025
by Will Jones

Green Council Branded “Absolutely Insane” After Painting Green Spots on Road to “Calm Traffic”

14 June 2025
by Will Jones

The War in Ukraine Has Shattered the West’s Digital-Age Delusions

15 June 2025
by David Betz and Michael Rainsborough

Pro-Palestine Protesters March Through London Waving Iranian Flags

14 June 2025
by Will Jones

Did the Mainstream Media Cover Up an Eco-Terror Attack in a French School?

15 June 2025
by Steven Tucker

The War in Ukraine Has Shattered the West’s Digital-Age Delusions

38

The Two-Stroke Engine of Brian Wilson

72

Pro-Palestine Protesters March Through London Waving Iranian Flags

29

Sir Keir Set to Launch Full National Inquiry Into Grooming Gangs in Latest U-turn, Following Months of Mounting Pressure

20

Landlords Face Higher Bills As New Net Zero Rules Kick in

17

The War in Ukraine Has Shattered the West’s Digital-Age Delusions

15 June 2025
by David Betz and Michael Rainsborough

Did the Mainstream Media Cover Up an Eco-Terror Attack in a French School?

15 June 2025
by Steven Tucker

Oxford is Now More or Less a Quango

14 June 2025
by Darren Gee

The Two-Stroke Engine of Brian Wilson

14 June 2025
by James Alexander

As a Civil Servant, I Can Tell You Dissent From DEI Dogma is Not Allowed

13 June 2025
by Anonymous Civil Servant

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment