Malia Lazu
The world is still reeling from the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that struck down affirmative action admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Eyes are turning now to business leaders to see who will be the first to rein in their DEI policies out of fear of recriminations and lawsuits over supposed “discrimination” against the majority.
The first to fold, however, are always the weakest hands. These will be the organizations that never had a deep commitment to DEI in the first place and who do not actually believe diversity is valuable. If my 20 years of work in equity and justice have taught me anything, it’s that those who pay only lip service are almost always the ones looking for an excuse to back away.
And when they do, their customers and employees will be watching.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has given these weak hands something to grasp: a ruling that prohibits college admissions from using race as a factor. As the Los Angeles Times declared in an editorial, “It was an unsurprising position for the majority-conservative court, but devastating nonetheless.”
Even within the high court, the 6-3 decision stirred rancor. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a pointedly dissenting opinion, “The Court subverts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by further entrenching racial inequality in education, the very foundation of our democratic government and pluralistic society.”
A Blow to Talent Recruiting
And as for Chief Justice John Roberts’ complaint against “some recent opinions to criticize the decisions with which they disagree”–let us remind him that this ruling is nothing short of an outrage. As for the rest of us, voicing our dissent is a constitutional right.
Business leaders beware. This Supreme Court ruling almost ensures that companies will have a hard time recruiting the talent they need to remain globally competitive. When minority students find their entrance into elite colleges blocked, their pathways to the workplace will be fraught with even more obstacles. Not only will young talent suffer, businesses also will be the losers.
There is no question that diverse talent by every definition – race, ethnic, gender, sexual identity, culture, ability – is good for business. As McKinsey found, top-quartile companies for racial and ethnic diversity were 35 percent more likely to generate financial returns above the median of their national industries. For gender diversity, those in the top quartile were 15 percent more likely.
Such research has been so prominent over the years, no business leader can plead ignorance to these facts. But there is a deeper, more philosophical argument at work here – one that is unwilling to look at the other side of this coin. Pushback against DEI is not about fairness or preference for one group over another. It is grounded in racism and the clutching fear of white supremacy.
Earlier this month, I spoke on a panel at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, along with Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, a leading scholar on critical race theory; Damon Hewitt, who heads Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; and Alphonso David, president and CEO of Global Black Economic Forum. The main takeaway of our talk was this ruling is an intellectually dishonest one. It attempts rewrites everything we know to be true about racism and how it affects society. As Hewitt said, “It’s like [they’re trying to tell us] the sky is red but we know it’s blue.”
This ruling has thrown out 45 years of precedent and comes at a terrible cost. The strength of the United States sits in its diversity. This is why, even as the United States continues to evolve away from a culture that enslaves other humans, America struggles with what to do with white privilege. The problem is fragility in the face of this truth.
Stand Up and Be Counted
The Supreme Court has already opened the door to discriminate against same sex couples by refusing to do business with them – remember the Colorado baker who won his day in court. Now the Supreme Court is striking down meritocracy in education. It’s a dangerous precedent –just ask Disney, as Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to try to tell the entertainment giant how to run its business.
Business and conservatives have been long-time bedfellows, but that may no longer be working. Striking down policies that build a stronger America for the future is dangerous and shortsighted. One industry not folding? Military academies, some of the most elite institutions in the world, will still use race as a factor for admissions. In fact, 35 former top military leaders, including four former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing affirmative action was vital for national security.
Business leaders cannot let the Supreme Court push them backwards, away from the initial, hard-won steps toward some gains in diversity and inclusion. It’s time for the DEI champions to stand up for what they believe. More than ever, we need sound business policies and practices that promote fairness, allow everyone to have the same opportunities and encourage a genuine sense of belonging. It’s good for people, it’s good for business and it’s good for America.
Malia Lazu is a lecturer in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management, CEO of The Lazu Group and former Eastern Massachusetts regional president and chief experience and culture officer at Berkshire Bank.
