In my experience spanning almost four decades, I have observed numerous market bubbles and crashes that, in retrospect, were entirely foreseeable. However, the warning signs of an inevitable failure were disregarded by many individuals who were more interested in being part of a popular trend than using common sense. Eventually, the bursting of the bubble serves as a wake-up call for these individuals, shattering their belief that the good times will last forever.
The current bubble differs from previously seen cases, where overinflated stocks were sustained by Wall Street. Instead, it is an overinflated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) industry, which gained prominence following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent corporate America response. According to LinkedIn, the number of DEI positions skyrocketed by 170% between 2019 and 2022, with a significant acceleration occurring after nationwide protests and riots in 2020. Jason Hanold, CEO of Hanold Associates, an executive search advisory firm, highlights the urgency and national narrative driving this demand.
However, this demand quickly plateaued, resulting in one-third of diversity professionals losing their jobs in 2022. Hanold explains that many companies were ill-prepared and struggled to define success, provide sufficient resources, and establish clear responsibilities for their diversity officers. This situation arises from the sudden transition of America’s corporate environment, previously criticized for being overly focused on profit margins and efficiency, to one that is driven by emotions and fear of legal liability. Corporate America, despite being viewed as an entity, is ultimately composed of individuals who can be as easily influenced as the rest of society. The media’s propagation of racial division intensifies these concerns within companies, leading to questions about whether the demands of social justice will permeate their boardrooms.
Similar to an opportunistic insurance salesman in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the DEI industry takes advantage of corporate leaders’ anxiety by offering social justice coverage, albeit with hidden costs. The diversity-industrial complex capitalizes on fear to pitch a vision of a corporate utopia where profit and social consciousness coexist. It entices executives by portraying them as saviors of civilization. Other departments in corporations typically have measurable metrics to justify their existence and gauge performance, but how does one measure diversity or equity? It becomes evident that this scheme is economically and environmentally unsustainable. To justify their roles, diversity professionals must identify problems and issues. If none exist, they resort to manufacturing them. By capturing the internal structure of their companies ideologically, they leave their budgets vulnerable to external corporate diversity trainers who drain consulting fees in exchange for useless psychobabble.
Now that the initial fear has subsided, it is clear that this supposed transformative management approach is merely an opportunity for ideologically-driven, underqualified college graduates, a career path for executive types seeking purpose, and a way to siphon money from corporate budgets without producing substantial results. Corporate America accepted a negative cultural diagnosis based on dogmatic diversity advocates’ rhetoric, and as a result, it has only worsened. The DEI movement can be likened to a Nigerian love scam in the corporate world – the money invested will never be recovered.
Adam B. Coleman, the author of “Black Victim to Black Victor” and the founder of Wrong Speak Publishing, offers these insights. Follow him on Substack: adambcoleman.substack.com.
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