Promoting workplace diversity: What's legal and what works

Motivated by a summer of protests as well as a recognition of inequality in their ranks, a number of high-profile corporations recently committed to make their workforces—especially their leadership—more diverse. But those efforts raised red flags after President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) in September that questioned the legality of some of those commitments. Lawsuits aimed at quashing the order soon followed. Even if the order survives court challenges, there's little doubt that as president, Joe Biden will rescind it. But the order, which affected federal employers and private-sector employers that do business with the federal government, left many employers wondering how to best accomplish their diversity goals in a politicized environment.

Playing defense

Big players in high-profile industries have been criticized in recent years for their lack of diversity, and many recently have launched intensive efforts to change that, especially as the Black Lives Matter movement has gained prominence.

Before the recent Trump administration EO signaled a change in tone, employers were more likely to worry that the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) would find their diversity training efforts lacking. But in September, Trump issued EO 13950, titled Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, which instructed federal contractors and subcontractors to no longer conduct training that includes what the order called "divisive concepts" as well as what it considers race or sex "scapegoating."