The Growing Backlash Against DEI
In this edition, we explore the pushback on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, allegations of a toxic work environment at the World Economic Forum and how to power through boring tasks.
How Tractor Supply Decided to End Diversity Efforts—Fast
It took less than a month for a conservative activist to target Tractor Supply for its DEI efforts and get the company's management to disavow those goals.
Robby Starbuck, a former Hollywood director with a sizable social-media presence, laid out a string of complaints about stances taken by the Tennessee retailer and its leaders, from a warehouse displaying pride flags to the CEO promoting the Covid-19 vaccine.
The company has conservative shoppers who don’t agree, he said, encouraging half a million followers on X to “start buying what we can at other places.”
Within three weeks, Tractor Supply said it would end DEI efforts. In an interview, Starbuck said he proved a model of blitzing criticism at a company with a primarily conservative customer base. He intends to target others soon.
Read the whole story here.
Behind Davos, Claims of a Toxic Workplace
Despite its lofty goals, the World Economic Forum has faced numerous accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination against women and Black people.
Several female staffers have been pushed out after maternity leave or were sexually harassed at the hands of senior managers. Employees have also registered internal complaints after white Forum managers used the N-word around Black employees.
When Klaus Schwab, the octogenarian founder of WEF, decided the organization needed a youthful makeover, he singled out a group of employees over 50 years old and instructed his human-resources chief to get rid of them all, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Read the whole story here.
Have a Boring Task to Do at Work? Don’t Just Plow Through It
It’s hard for most people to avoid at least some monotony at work. Complete an Excel spreadsheet. Send a perfunctory email.
Workers often think the most productive approach when confronted with mind-numbing tasks is to try to fight off the boredom and plow through them. Now, research suggests that struggling through boring tasks might actually be hurting workers’ ability to be productive later on.
Read the whole story here.
Best of the Rest
Check out some of the Journal's best-read stories on work life over the past week:
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This newsletter was curated by Lynn Cook, WSJ's Careers and Workplace Bureau Chief. Reach her on LinkedIn.
An Active Retiree
3wOpinion: I have had conversations with two profiles about this topic and the only impression I carry away is that they think DEI is based on minority quotas. Ideally DEI is not, but in practice depending on the company, it may be. Tractor Supply wanted their local stores to reflect the local population of customers, so there may have been a hiring bias toward that end. For a retail business, is that bad? If you are not hiring employees who live close by, how will that affect customer service - language, culture, mannerisms, communications, etc. DEI is about education of differences among people and cultures. Training white males through DEI will help them be successful in a minority neighborhood store. If Tractor Supply wanted to penetrate the minority markets, it makes great sense to shape their retail operations to those markets. Opposition to DEI and ESG based on a restrictive ideological worldview is an unfortunate consequence of the culture war the conservative right is waging on American freedoms.
Proposal Development | Science & Technology | Construction | Facilities
3wI think one way to drive workplace fairness is by using LinkedIn, which enables everyone to build networks made up of multi-skilled, young/old, racially and ethnically diverse people.
Senior Admin Officer at University of Ottawa
3wLet's stand for DEI to promote a fair work environment.
‘What is talent but the art of being whatever it is one happens to be?’ Henry James - (photo above at Emmys 2024). Strategic independent film - CEO Ciboney Productions - The Peterson House, film set Ciboney Prods.
3wCertainly, in the style you're looking for: "DEI? It's like the punchline to a joke nobody gets. You know, the kind where you're promised a pot of gold but end up with a pile of condescension. ."
Retired
4wThe way it should be, this is foolishness.