Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — three words that have been both praised and pilloried recently. Taken together, DEI is defined as, “A conceptual framework that promotes fair treatment of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background or identity.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Those of us in the meat and poultry industry have seen many of our industry’s largest companies give DEI a full-throated endorsement by appointing corporate officers to be in charge of these efforts. We have seen a ripple effect throughout the US as other industries’ companies are jumping on the DEI bandwagon seemingly trying to outdo each other in their efforts.

The recent Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) college admission decision that eliminates affirmative action or race-based judgments replaced by the US Constitution’s edict of all are created equal will both exacerbate and slow this ripple effect as institutions and companies either embrace or scorn DEI. In my estimation, companies will now be forced to consider or reconsider if DEI programs are right for their individual companies, thereby spreading or retarding future DEI efforts.

The SCOTUS decision to reject affirmative action admission policies at Harvard and North Carolina may not immediately affect our industry’s DEI participation. However, over time, that decision may chill the efforts of all those implementing DEI programs as they will surely be more heavily scrutinized. It is conjectured that this SCOTUS decision will spread beyond college admissions and give rise to more companies or institutions questioning the legitimacy for hiring, promoting and or firing of individuals without consideration of any perceived minority discriminatory basis.

We must admit our industry’s plant work force is decidedly non-diverse, as it skews towards Hispanic and other immigrant-based individuals plus many more employees of African American or black heritage — both considered minorities, although gender diversity is pretty much even split male and female. Should the top management makeup of these companies reflect the same racial and gender basis? Would that make the top management more empathetic and effective? In previous blogs (Meatingplace.com, Mack H. Graves blogs of Nov. 1, 2018, and Feb. 17, 2022), I gave examples of industrial companies with more women (considered a minority by our government) than a token few in top management positions producing more company profitability than those without. Would a management cadre more reflective of a meat or poultry companies’ work force be equally effective in helping such companies become more profitable, too?

Maybe the recently embraced company DEI efforts are not yet fully enshrined, and our companies should follow the SCOTUS decision that there shouldn’t be a race-based litmus test for hiring, promoting or firing, but rather employee DEI decisions should be more along the lines of that proclaimed in our US Constitution — of all being created equal. However, we would be foolish to think that all our citizens stand equally before the constitution’s bar. We have seen throughout our society the inequities infused by racial and immigrant bias.

With the recent SCOTUS decision, my concern is that these fledging DEI programs will come under fire if any should be perceived to violate in fact or spirit any part of the new SCOTUS discrimination standards for college admissions.

Any attempt to evade such a standard in the hiring or promoting of persons of color or immigrant status or even gender will be decried by those objecting, citing the SCOTUS decision as justification. A discrimination stain will be unfettered, spreading across our society.

The SCOTUS decision may seem for many to be righting of the discrimination ship. However, those companies who embraced DEI programs must now gird themselves for plaintive cries of “unfair” from those who feel that such a re-balancing of defined discrimination has finally come to fruition and should be adhered to by those making the hiring, promoting and firing decisions throughout our industry and others as well. This is particularly true for those companies who have been slow to embrace DEI and may now find justification for their tardiness, as well as dampen other companies’ efforts with renewed vigor.

In the meantime, please join me in celebrating our nation’s 247^th Independence Day this past Fourth of July, honoring our democratic republic with all its flaws. Happy Fourth to you all!!

Diversity, equity and inclusion

Join for free* to continue reading.