.png)
Loading...
Members of The Conference Board get exclusive access to the full range of products and services that deliver Trusted Insights for What's Ahead ® including webcasts, publications, data and analysis, plus discounts to conferences and events.
26 June 2024 / Essay
Email
Linkedin
Facebook
X
Copy LinkJune 29, 2024, marks the one-year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which eliminated affirmative action in college admissions. Following the court’s decision, there has been backlash against companies’ diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) policies and programs focused on specific underrepresented racial groups; and reverse discrimination lawsuits (i.e., claims of discrimination against members of a majority rather than minority).1 According to data from The Conference Board, 62% of surveyed executives believe the court’s decision has negatively affected their firm’s diversity efforts, 53% expect scrutiny on corporate diversity efforts to increase over the next three years, and 66% consider the current environment surrounding corporate diversity efforts to be very or extremely challenging.
June 29, 2024, marks the one-year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which eliminated affirmative action in college admissions. Following the court’s decision, there has been backlash against companies’ diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) policies and programs focused on specific underrepresented racial groups; and reverse discrimination lawsuits (i.e., claims of discrimination against members of a majority rather than minority).1 According to data from The Conference Board, 62% of surveyed executives believe the court’s decision has negatively affected their firm’s diversity efforts, 53% expect scrutiny on corporate diversity efforts to increase over the next three years, and 66% consider the current environment surrounding corporate diversity efforts to be very or extremely challenging.
These challenges are also unfolding in the proxy season. As of May 31, 2024, the number of diversity-related shareholder proposals (e.g., on topics such as workplace diversity, EEO-1 data disclosure, and board diversity) going to a vote at Russell 3000 companies almost doubled from the same period in 2023, from 13 to 25. Unlike last year, when companies and shareholders were often able to reach a compromise on shareholder proposals relating to DEI topics (including gender/racial pay equity and racial equity audits), most companies receiving a DEI-related proposal have not been able to avoid a vote this year (11 DEI-related proposals have been withdrawn thus far in 2024 versus 34 during the same period in 2023). Moreover, DEI has been a growing focus of conservative shareholders who have ramped up their anti-environmental, social & governance (ESG) activity this y
Former Senior Researcher, Governance & Sustainabil…
The Conference Board
myTCB® Members get exclusive access to webcasts, publications, data and analysis, plus discounts to events.
You already have an account with The Conference Board.
Please try to login in with your email or click here if you have forgotten your password.
To Protect Manufacturing Workers, Make Heat Management a Priority
October 16, 2026
To Stay Ahead of Workforce Policy Changes, Read the Signals Early
October 02, 2026
To Ease Health Care Workforce Shortages, Use AI to Expand Capacity
September 18, 2026
To Make Limited Pay Dollars Count, Target Raises Where They Matter Most
September 11, 2026
To Navigate AI-Driven Change, Build a Culture of Trust and Adaptability
September 04, 2026
To prepare for AI, redesign career paths and manager development
August 07, 2026
To Protect Manufacturing Workers, Make Heat Management a Priority
October 16, 2026
To Stay Ahead of Workforce Policy Changes, Read the Signals Early
October 02, 2026
