DEI, ESG, & MLK
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” — “I Have a Dream,”? Martin Luther King, Jr.1963?
Tired of Toronto traffic, I rode the train to Toronto on Monday January 20th.? As I sat comfortably, reading, I was reminded that it was not only Inauguration Day in the United States, but it was also a national holiday to remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.? That sent me down the rabbit hole reading about MLK and his life and his ideals.? That reading caused my mind to turn to two ideas that have emerged over the past decade or two: DEI and ESG.
DEI
For the uninitiated, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are (according to Wikipedia) “organizational frameworks which seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to?discrimination?on the basis of?identity?or?disability”. ?
DEI has earned a bad reputation in recent years as some see it as illegally discriminating against the majority (alleged to be older white males) while others see it as promoting ideas that they consider against the laws of nature like saying men can be women if they want.? The pushback seems to have peaked this year in Davos, Switzerland, where speaking to the World Economic Forum, the President of Argentina gave a speech decrying the ‘woke’ as all that is wrong in the world and pushing for a more conservative framework for human relations.
Recently, AIMCo in Alberta dismissed 19 employees charged with the DEI effort.? Some think this is a signal that DEI doesn’t matter.? Others think it is simply a cost-saving measure by an underperforming manager trying to refocus on its core business.? Who knows?
Personally, I think the sentiments behind DEI are positive and if well executed will lead to a better society for all.? But the key is well executed.? How do we make room for everyone to be included and feel included – without favouring one group over another?? I don’t have an easy answer and so far, it seems there is no easy answer at all.
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ESG
For the uninitiated, Environmental, Social and Governance is (according to Wikipedia) “shorthand for an?investing?principle that prioritizes?environmental issues,?social issues, and?corporate governance. Investing with ESG considerations is sometimes referred to as?responsible investing?or, in more proactive cases,?impact investing”.?
ESG has earned a bad reputation in recent years as some believe that the environmental movement against carbon emissions is based upon flawed science while others think we are punishing some countries like Canada while other countries like China burn coal with limited restraint and some countries in the Middle East continue to produce and export oil so that Canada isn’t saving the world after all.? On the Governance front – some of it appears to be window dressing.? The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is now facing a lawsuit for its ill-fated investment in FTX.? Where was the governance lens on that decision?? And on Social? – in the West, Russia has now been declared evil, but before the war in Ukraine investment in Russian oil companies was considered perfectly fine.
Recently Blackrock withdrew from The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero and all of Canada’s big banks have withdrawn from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.? Some think this is a big step backwards in the pursuit of a net-zero world.? Others think it is politics based upon the whims of the new President in the United States.
Personally, I think the sentiments behind ESG are positive.? At home, we try to recycle as much as possible and we are conscious in how often we need to drive our cars.? I know on a global scale our effort rounds to zero – but if we all make these small efforts, we can collectively make a difference.? The problem seems to be when well-intentioned goals become marketing labels and following the principles is not the game – being seen to be following the principles is the game.
MLK
Growing up in the 70s and 80s, one could not help but hear about Martin Luther King, Jr and his “I have a dream” speech.? As someone born in 1966, I always thought that the civil rights movement was in the 1960s and Gordon Lightfoot’s song Black Day in July telling the story of race riots in Detroit in 1967 captured its peak.? But it turns out the civil rights movement in the United States started in the mid-50s and it was a long battle that some argue is still being waged.
Many of my readers will think of me as ‘white’.? I grew up thinking that I was white, because my skin colour isn’t particularly dark.? My mom was also white – born and raised in PEI.? My dad was decidedly not white.? Born in Trinidad, today people would say my dad was brown.? I was keenly aware growing up in a largely white community that my dad was different and on maybe one or two occasions I was bullied because of it – but not often because Mississauga where I grew up was already becoming multi-cultural.
I remember once asking my dad why he didn’t try to climb higher on the corporate ladder (for the record he did fine but in my mind didn’t reach his full potential) and his reply took me by surprise.? He said that in the 50s and 60s the good opportunities didn’t often go to someone with brown skin.? This reply hurt as until that moment I hadn’t really seen racism up close.? I grew up with a clear lens that “all men are created equal” which also included all women.? Recent decay in the social fabric in the United States has shattered the illusion that racism is in the past and everyone my age and younger sees equality as a guiding principle.
Forging Ahead
Diversity, equity and inclusion, taking care of our environment and encouraging business to operate using good governance for the benefit of society as well as shareholders are all ideas that I believe have merit.? It seems that when we shorten these ideas to an acronym, they become a meme and a marketing tool – this is unfortunate.? But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.? As we see pushback on these ideals – we need to continue to pursue their virtues and hopefully create a better society for all.?
Author on retirement
3 周Everything you write is good, and I enjoy reading it. One peripheral comment. I’ve never understood why G was included in ESG. E and S, as well as D, E and I, are all involved with making the world a better place for its citizens. G has nothing to do with that — its sole concern is organizational efficiency: it looks inward rather than outward, as far as the company is concerned. Cheers — Don?
Hi Joe. As always, a great perspective and commentary. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need to consider DEI as those things would be embedded in the fairness of life, especially professional life. But that is not the past experience and not the present. People are biased and slow to change and worry they will lose power and the privilege they don't even see (e g., older white men). Younger adults don't view DEI like old men in power or closed minded people. They just think it means fair and equitable access and they think it means that diverse opinions and backgrounds and experiences help to make decisions and create a better world for all. That is it. They don't think a lot about past discrimination against non whites and non men (although they know it) and they don't see equal access as meaning that unqualified people get positions. The opposite!!! They want equal access based on their age to show how good they can and will be. Thr problem, to me, is corporate spin on DEI and form over substance. Sadly, old people will almost always fear younger people, maybe because they don't or can't understand change anymore.