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Diversity

Yesterday

While backlash rhetoric often targets perceived advantages for women, people of colour, and the LGBTQIA+ community, the data shows those “gains” have been incremental at best.

I told a summit DEI’s business case doesn’t stack up. Response was icy

Diversity, equity and inclusion programs have been a cash cow for consultants, far exceeding the gains for the target groups they are meant to support.

  • Yhana Lanwin
Jillian Broadbent, Macquarie director.

‘You would be tone-deaf’ to ignore Trump’s ESG backlash

Macquarie Group director Jillian Broadbent says companies need to be sensible about their push for greater diversity, particularly when faced with immediate challenges such as a cost of living crisis.

  • Updated
  • Patrick Durkin and Hans van Leeuwen

This Month

Leaders at Davos made it clear the MAGA vision of corporate life will be resisted by boardrooms.

A woke mining boss shows why Trump’s DEI crusade will fail

Davos showed how many companies are convinced diversity and environmental measures make financial sense.

  • Updated
  • Pilita Clark
President Donald Trump signs an executive order relating to cryptocurrency in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

War room, webinars: Corporate America tries to cope with Trump blitz

Businesses have been left trying to nail down what the tax, immigration, DEI and energy orders will mean for them.

  • Stephen Foley, James Fontanella-Khan and Jamie Smyth
Donald Trump has ignited a storm around ESG and DEI.

Investors should forget DEI and ESG wars and follow the money

Donald Trump’s war on woke has quickly washed up on Australian shores. But investors and companies would be smart to block the noise, and stay rational.

  • James Thomson
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Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill.

Woodside chooses timidity for the sake of short-term shareholder gains

Readers’ letters on companies withdrawing from clean energy projects, ASX diversity reporting, Donald Trump’s climate policy, and debate over gender choices.

The Boy in the Bubble

Trump fires up war on woke

Donald Trump is waging war on DEI policies. Does this mean the defeat of woke – or just another front in the fight?

  • Jennifer Hewett
Donald Trump urged the private sector to dismantle “illegal, pernicious discrimination”.

US companies brace as Trump ramps up war against DEI

Bulk grocer Costco is in the crosshairs of activist groups that are urging it to reconsider its diversity policies. But many customers don’t care.

  • Matthew Cranston
Elizabeth Johnstone, chair of the ASX Corporate Governance Council.

ASX diversity rules in limbo amid Trump DEI backlash

New rules requiring listed companies to report on diversity measures remain up in the air, after the ASX’s governance council refused to put a timeline on finalising the changes.

  • Patrick Durkin, Angela Macdonald-Smith and Hannah Wootton
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump moves to sack all federal DEI staff in lightning purge

The president also encouraged the US private sector to follow the federal government’s lead and “end illegal DEI discrimination”.

  • Updated
  • Erica Green
Donald Trump is back in the White House.

Trump will only make China great

Readers’ letters on Donald Trump’s White House return, the ESG revolt, taxpayer-funded lunches, DEI initiatives, antisemitic attacks, and the return of Joe Aston.

Craig Drummond says DEI policies will continue, but they need to consider all perspectives.

Directors brace for Trump’s DEI dismantling

Australian company directors are not willing to backtrack on hard-won gains in gender diversity and inclusion, but are preparing for employee and customer pushback.

  • Patrick Durkin and Hannah Wootton
Political events overseas, including the election of President Donald Trump (pictured) have made a political football of investor sustainability issues.

Big super still supports diversity despite Trump

While political shifts in the US have brought to prominence some loud voices, investments should not be subject to short-term and non-evidential noise.

  • Louise Davidson
Donald Trump and First Lady Melania ahead of the planned signing of a raft of executive orders.

Trump set to end DEI with the stroke of a pen

US government websites promoting issues such as reproductive rights and the effects of climate change already appear to be shutting down.

  • Bianca Flowers and Gram Slattery
Corporate heavyweights such as Qantas and Coles cop a lot of heat for reporting healthy profits.

Four charts reveal surprising views on Aussie businesses

Voters hate Coles and Woolworths? Think again. Amid a debate on the role of business in society, a new poll unearths some unexpected views on business.

  • Ronald Mizen
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DEI efforts have been blamed for everything from the Los Angeles fires to Mark Zuckerberg not being able to bring his “masculine energy” to work.

Why DEI should be here to stay but under another name

Organisations will need to rethink the language they are using to communicate their diversity strategies, focusing on language that builds broader support.

  • Elizabeth Shaw

Prosperity and diversity can go hand in hand

Readers’ letters on DEI policies, Peter Dutton’s attacks on “woke” banks, ageing Qantas planes, the real cost of nuclear power, and Myer’s strategy.

No comment: DEI debate too controversial for corporate Australia

Amid reports of increased employee opposition, the question over the future of diversity and inclusion programs appears to be too hot to touch.

  • Euan Black
Security is already being stepped up ahead of the global elite’s arrival in Davos on Monday.

Has Trump killed DEI? Davos might have the answer

The World Economic Forum summit, where the liberal cosmopolitan elite gathers to network and self-congratulate, will be an early litmus test for Trump 2.0.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s declaration of climate awareness heralded an ESG sea-change in global finance and the wider business world.

Business must maintain courage of climate convictions

The political attacks on ESG make it more challenging for businesses to put their heads above the parapet and support climate action.

  • The AFR View

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/diversity-5wc