Insights Into The Shifting Role, Responsibilities And Priorities Of The Chief Diversity Officer

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities across the globe. Millions of lives have been lost, and the long-term health implications to survivors remain unknown. Additionally, the pandemic's disproportionate impact on global communities of color has laid bare the health, education and economic inequities that have existed in society for too long. While businesses continue to recover from the shock and impact to their bottom line, leaders are asking big questions about the future of work and the workplace.

On top of all that, in May 2020, Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, sparking a wave of racial and civil unrest across the United States, which quickly carried over into protests around the world. As tension and frustration boil over, organizations have quickly realized that the old DE&I playbook doesn't work; consumers and employees are demanding real change.

While our earlier study focused primarily on the roles and responsibilities of CDOs (or those who held the senior most DE&I position in their organization) and the benefits of DE&I functions being wellaligned with the business, our latest study dives deeper into how the function has continued to grow and strengthen its presence within organizations. We also evaluate how the external environment has - and hasn't - shifted priorities as DE&I leaders face more opportunities and challenges than ever before. And different from the 2019 study, this study expands focus beyond the United States (US) to include the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada.

This study also serves as a companion study to our 2021 benchmark that measures employees' perceptions of DE&I within their organizations: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A People Imperative.