America’s bosses grapple with threats to diversity policies
On june 29th America’s Supreme Court ended 45 years of affirmative action in university admissions. The decision did not change the laws which govern companies’ hiring and firing decisions. But it did put wind in the sails of those who think efforts by firms to increase the racial diversity of their workforces have already stepped beyond the rules. Bosses and their lawyers have since scrambled to make sense of the judgment’s implications. One big law firm, Morrison Foerster, wrote a memo to clients after the ruling, counselling them to ensure their diversity policies do not create “unlawful preferences”.
The firm is now alleged to have ignored its own advice. In August American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), an organisation run by Edward Blum, the activist who brought affirmative action to the Supreme Court, sued Morrison Foerster. AAER alleges that one of the firm’s programmes for law students, a highly prized fellowship open only to applicants from “underrepresented” groups, illegally discriminates on the basis of race. Days later the law firm broadened the requirements of its fellowship in online advertisements.
Morrison Foerster is not alone. In the most recent quarter chatter about diversity on big American firms’ earnings calls dropped by more than a third, compared with the same period last year, according to data from Bloomberg. Annual general meetings have lost their revolutionary zeal: support for proposals on social issues declined this year, and companies faced a record number of “anti-woke” proposals. Haranguing from progressives has eased ever since Joe Biden replaced the race-baiting Donald Trump in the White House in 2021. And bosses, confronted by higher interest rates, labour unrest and souring geopolitics, hardly need a lawsuit over their hiring practices.
2023-10-02 15:22:35
Article from www.economist.com
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