Three buzzwords this year among politicians and business leaders at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland: diversity, equality and inclusion.
It's no surprise that DEI is on the minds of business leaders, as it has also been front and center in the White House.
“My administration has taken action to eliminate all the discriminatory nonsense on diversity, equity and inclusion,” President Donald Trump said during a virtual appearance in Davos on Thursday. “America will once again become a merit-based country.”
Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the federal government's diversity and inclusion programs on his first day in office. The written order applies only to federal government employers, but he also mentioned the expansion of his executive order to private institutions in his remarks in Davos.
Following his executive order, his administration also focused on affirmative action on federal procurement and ordered that all federal DEI personnel be placed on paid leave.
On the ground in Davos, DEI has been the subject of conversations, both on the record and behind closed doors, with discussions including the possibility of ditching the overused acronym and changing external communications around certain policies.
Most business leaders who spoke to CNBC during the first four days of the summit reiterated that while language may change and internal policies may be adjusted, company values will remain the same.
Here's what executives had to say:
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase
“We will continue to reach out to the Black community and the Hispanic community, the LGBT community and the veteran community. … Wherever I go – red states, blue states – mayors and governors say they like what we're doing. So we We try not to give in to any side or any thing. If you point out something we are doing that is wrong, I would change it. And we'll make changes in the future, but we're very proud of what we've done, and what we've done is lifted up cities, schools, states, hospitals, countries, companies, and we're going to do more of the same. “
Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq
“For Nasdaq, we're really continuing to look at everything we do as we build the right culture. We believe that a place where we feel people can be themselves and operate at their highest potential, and where diversity of opinion and diversity exists. of backgrounds, actually makes us a better company and ensures that we perform better. So we will continue to operate that way. And I think ultimately these things come and go with different political cycles. At the same time, I believe there is an undercurrent that remains supportive.”
Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest
“People on our platform come from all walks of life, all different backgrounds, and so we're very focused on how we drive inclusivity on our platform with things like inclusive AI, with things like 'diversity standard' in our feed. .. We're not [changing anything]The reason for this is that we have seen that it actually leads to better engagement. There is consumer demand for it and it is good for our business.”
Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco
“I think what's happened is there's been a number of DEI-branded initiatives that have been particularly resentful of us. And I think that's blown the whole thing up… When I'm sitting in a room trying to solve a complex problem or to pursue a big opportunity, I want a lot of different brains in that room, and I don't care if it's gender, if it's nationality, or if it's just diversity of experience .Diversity is generally good for business the pendulum I think It was a handful of issues that really brought all this about.”
Robert Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners
“I think diversity is a great thing in business. How do I know that? Because I look at the data, I look at the facts. When we have diverse teams, our teams are more productive. We have less risk. We are I think that companies and executives who actually understand its importance are actually able to outperform those who don't have diverse teams, think diversely in the work they do, in the products they create This will benefit in the long run the markets they serve… We're going to have to navigate this, and there some laws may have to be changed, but people will do the right thing.”
Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI
“We operate in an incredibly competitive and rapidly evolving AI industry, and I have no choice but to hire the best, brightest, and most capable people for every single job within my company. So as a result, we have no choice but to be meritocratic… And in doing so we achieve diversity.”