Despite an impressive body of research pointing to a variety of financial and other performance benefits, there is a danger that equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) will fall victim to the culture wars in the United States. Dozens of leading corporations have been slashing their EDI budgets over the past year while former highly vocal leaders in the space have either gone quiet or done a volte face.
Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig founded Sigmar Recruitment before going on to establish his latest venture, SkillStack, the performance skills and leadership development streaming platform. He has seen the rapid growth in EDI investment by organisations and believes a new trend is taking hold which needs to be viewed in the context of global events.
“I don’t have good news, I’m afraid,” he says. “There has been significant pushback against EDI in the last year. It’s a deeply complex issue with many facets. Look at what we’ve been through over the last couple of years. We had Covid when employers reacted by looking after employee needs in areas like healthcare and wellbeing support. The great resignation saw a shifting of gears to focus on employee wants. Employers gave employees everything they wanted, and salaries and benefits went north. The aim was to keep people in a highly competitive labour market.”
That changed as the economy stabilised. “Last year we had the tech wreck and employee lay-offs and there was a shift in the power balance back to employers. We have seen that recently in return to office policies. More and more employers are requiring people to come to work in the office full time.”
Mac Giolla Phadraig notes an interesting change in attitudes to productivity. During the pandemic numerous assertions were made for increased productivity among remote and hybrid workers but the reverse is now being claimed by some quite high-profile corporate leaders.
“Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff has argued that employees in remote working situations don’t have the appropriate skills to drive performance,” he says.
When it comes to management offering leadership on political matters, Mac Giolla Phádraig has seen a shift. “We have seen a sea change in attitudes [over the past year] and there has been a regression and pushback on EDI programmes.
“It wasn’t that difficult a few years ago for corporate leaders to take a political stance on minority rights – it was the right thing to do. But that became deeply complex after [the Hamas attack on Israel on] October 7th. It wasn’t easy to reflect the values of employees after that. There are diverse views on the issues and different sides in the workplace. Many employers ran for the hills.”
Mac Giolla Phadraig says the events of this summer have been interesting: “You can look at the US as a barometer. What happens in politics there is reflected in society and the workforce. And that’s starting to bleed into boardroom decisions. When we look back to the George Floyd killing and the Black Lives Matter movement, corporate America reacted by pushing EDI programmes for the right reasons. But it has become very political now.
“The divide in politics has made corporate America pick sides. If you support Democrat liberal values, you are seen as woke. If you are a Republican, you are seen as conservative. There is a tug of war being played out in US boardrooms. I believe that will come to Europe.”
The number of leading corporations to make public announcements in relation to diminishing EDI efforts almost suggests concerted action.
“Online retailer Asos stated that they will no longer have diversity targets as part of their bonus structure,” says Mac Giolla Phadraig. “You get the behaviours you incentivise. That’s a backwards step for EDI. The company has a hub in Belfast, so that is quite close to home.
“In July, it was reported that Microsoft had laid off its entire EDI team, citing changing business needs for the decision. Nothing has really changed in the workforce or society. That one is hard to explain. There was a big shift in August when some big manufacturing companies began to pull back on their commitments. A number of companies signalled that they would no longer participate in the Corporate Equality Index. These include Ford, Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Company, Jack Daniel’s marketer Brown-Forman, John Deere, Molson Coors and, most recently, Stanley Black & Decker.”
He also points to a leaked Ford memo in August which indicated the company would be more cautious in relation to commenting on political issues of the day.
“We are mindful that our employees and customers hold a wide range of beliefs, and the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve,” Ford chief executive Jim Farley said in the memo to employees.
“Companies that had once been advocates of progressive social change are now moving back from that position,” Mac Giolla Phadraig adds. “Coinbase was pilloried when it told employees not to bring all of themselves to work and leave their political views at the door. A lot of companies are now following suit and saying the same thing. Lowes, the home-improvement retailer, has pulled back from resourcing minority groups. The inclusive component of EDI has become very difficult.”
There are also internal strains within workplaces. “It has almost become a case of a diversity Olympics in workplaces,” says Mac Giolla Phadraig. “You have different groups looking for resourcing and support and minority groups competing against others for budget, resources and a voice. That’s become a complex thing to manage.”
He believes a different approach could address this concerning trend. “I don’t think regulation will solve it. What could solve it is upskilling the workforce to give them the competencies they need to succeed in their careers. Acting with integrity starts with understanding yourself. Do people understand themselves in terms of self-awareness and so on. These soft skills are essential for achieving true inclusion. Investing in those soft skills including self-awareness, communications, and leadership is a way to achieve inclusion that could be a game changer.”
His new venture, SkillStack, is aimed at helping people build the portfolio of skills and competencies they need to succeed in their chosen career paths. It has been described as a cross between TED talks, skills masterclasses, and personal coaching.
“Most people develop their stack of skills through stories,” he says. “I invited people I had learned from during my career to contribute to the platform. We have assembled a faculty of 20 great storytellers with great stories to tell that will teach people how to improve their work performance.”
These great storytellers include Bertie Ahern, talking about the behind-the-scenes negotiations in the peace process; Eddie Wilson of Ryanair, talking about creating cost advantage; author and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan on building committed teams; and AJ Thomas, formerly of Alphabet’s Moonshot Lab, on transformational leadership.
“We have 50 courses to drive work performance. Each has just enough content and is available just in time. The aim is to uplift the skills of the workforce to drive economic independence and social mobility.”
Companies can subscribe to the service to customise courses for high potential leaders, executives, graduate-programme recruits and so on, says Mac Giolla Phadraig.
“When individuals move into management roles for the first time, they typically get zero training for the first 100 days. We fill that gap,” he adds.