Hiring managers are fielding questions about DEI and want employers to take a stand, survey finds

Posted by News Room 29 October 2024

Dive Brief:

  • Candidates and employees are asking about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to 1 in 5 hiring managers surveyed earlier this year.
  • Hiring managers, in turn, want employers to take a stand on that and other issues, the Oct. 23 results from the Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey indicated.
  • Employers must carefully consider which issues to take a stance on, based on their values and shareholder needs, said Bill Stoller, Express Employment International CEO. “It’s about finding the right balance between staying true to the company’s mission and addressing the concerns that matter most to their employees and customers.”

Dive Insight:

The Express Employment Professionals survey touched on other issues such as environmental issues and politics, but DEI was the top question from job applicants and the top issue on which hiring managers said they wish employers would weigh in.

Those findings come in a year when some corporations have scaled back — or in some instances, gutted — their DEI programs following public pressure to do so. And it was public pressure that led some to stand up those programs in the first place — in many cases, just a few years ago.

Notably, the most recent survey didn’t delve into whether candidates were seeking an employer with a DEI program or without, or which type of stand hiring managers wanted their employers to take. But Stoller’s advice about focusing on company values and customer demands is in keeping with recent messaging from some corporations.

Tractor Supply, for example, eliminated all DEI roles and goals in August, saying it had “disappointed” customers. Microsoft, on the other hand, made clear that recent cuts that affected two DEI roles should not be viewed as indication that it is pulling back from DEI commitments; the company’s focus on diversity and inclusion is “unwavering,” a spokesperson told HR Dive at the time.

Months of backlash and backtracking led a group of Congressional Democrats earlier this month to call on CEOs to affirm their commitments to DEI in the workplace. The lawmakers said such programs decrease the risk of discrimination and threats to employee and consumer safety.