Seize the DEI backlash for an honest cultural discussion, says Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz

The backlash against DEI policies is a chance for a more nuanced conversation on gender says Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, who will say that workplaces need to move beyond superficial thinking.

The backlash against workplace diversity, equity and inclusion policies is not strictly a setback and a chance to reset cultural according to Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, the president of the nation’s leading women’s lobby group, Chief Executive Women.

She will tell more than 1300 guests at the CEW’s annual dinner in Sydney on Thursday night that while polling shows 17 per cent of Australians now think DEI programs have gone too far, the emerging public debate is an opportunity for a more nuanced conversation about the issues.

Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz is one of Australia’s most experienced CEOs and directors. She used to run ASX-listed developer Mirvac.

Her speech will focus on the need to recognise the changing political and social context facing businesses and the public sector, including US President Donald Trump’s determination to scale back DEI in America.

The dinner, which attracts senior leaders of business and politics, will also hear from a panel including Macquarie boss Shemara Wikramanayake and Telstra’s Vicki Brady.

Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz will argue that DEI is not a male versus female exercise, but instead is about drawing staff and talent from the whole population. She will say that workplaces and sectors need to move beyond surface-level commitments and superficial thinking about hiring the right people for their organisations.

DEI and gender-equity programs, including the annual exercise by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency to calculate a national gender pay gap, are adopting a lower profile amid the backlash.

Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz is expected to say that gender equality is needed to drive better financial and economic outcomes, and will reject the claims that diversity comes at the expense of merit.

She will remind guests that when CEW was formed in 1985, many professions were still considered off-limits for women, and those who dared to enter male-dominated industries faced significant resistance. Women’s participation in the workforce was 48 per cent, the gender pay gap was 23 per cent in 1981 and only 5 per cent of women held a bachelor’s degree.

However, the federal Sex Discrimination Act had come into force just the previous year, making gender based discrimination and sexual harassment illegal for the first time.

Today, 44 per cent of members of the senate and House of Representatives and 36 per cent ASX 300 directors were women, she will say, and more than half those earn a bachelor’s degree each year are women. Women’s workforce participation is now 63.5 per cent and the gender pay gap has fallen to 11.9 per cent.

Among those expected to attend the annual dinner are former RBA governor, Philip Lowe;

Tarun Gupta, CEO of Stockland, investment banker Matthew Grounds, and NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey.