A heated debate about DEI could miss the point of the issue

Good morning!

There’s no doubt that DEI is on everyone’s lips right now. But are they asking the right questions?

Not according to Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. At the Fortune Impact Initiative conference earlier this week, he addressed the current state of workplace inclusion and concerns about DEI rollbacks. While that may be reality, he says it obscures a larger point.

“Why don’t we ask why the majority of people in leadership are white men? Why isn’t that the right question? Why don’t we ask why companies chose to adopt ESG and D&I without actually tying it to performance? These should be the questions we should be asking ourselves, as opposed to: Why is a company taking a step back from D&I?”

In recent months, companies like Harley Davidson, Lowe’s, John Deere and Ford have all scaled back their inclusion initiatives in the face of a cultural backlash, and anti-DEI activists like Robby Starbuck have become mainstream figures. In fact, DEI is gaining popularity among the U.S. workforce, but HR leaders across the country are busy wrangling over how to defend their diversity initiatives in the face of increasing scrutiny.

David urged employers to first address the systemic inequities that require DEI programs – women and people of color have been excluded from professional opportunities for centuries. This problem is reflected in the faces of C-suite executives today and continues to be a pervasive problem. In 2024, only 10% of all Fortune 500 CEOs will be women.

“We need to change and change the narrative when we talk about these issues because it is still a problem that women are not at the top of most Fortune 500 companies. And in fact, we only have two black women,” Alphonso said. “Think about it. Why isn’t that the right question at this moment? I think we should talk about that.”

You can read more must-read insights from the Fortune Impact Initiative conference here, here, here and here.

Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com

This story was originally published on Fortune.com