DEI: How to lead without going offside
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are boardroom agenda items. Whilst much of the focus has been on achieving greater board diversity, the spotlight is increasingly moving towards the board’s responsibility for the organisation’s overall D&I strategy. In a challenging landscape, with a variety of attitudes towards DEI being expressed by stakeholders, and legal limitations on […]
Simon Kerr-Davis is a Counsel and Laurie Ollivent is a Senior Associate at Linklaters LLP. This post is based on their Linklaters memorandum.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are boardroom agenda items. Whilst much of the focus has been on achieving greater board diversity, the spotlight is increasingly moving towards the board’s responsibility for the organisation’s overall D&I strategy.
In a challenging landscape, with a variety of attitudes towards DEI being expressed by stakeholders, and legal limitations on what actions can lawfully be taken to improve DEI, how do boards safely drive change from the top? To what extent should boards intervene or let change happen organically?
Applying a DEI lens to all decisionmaking may be the only authentic way for boards to achieve meaningful and sustainable change in DEI, whilst mitigating the potential challenge of positive discrimination and avoiding the meritocracy trap.
