WVXU: Companies are losing ground on DEI efforts

WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition host Lucy May interviews Littisha Bates, PhD, UC’s associate dean for inclusive excellence and community partnerships, and Eric Ellis, president and CEO of Integrity Development Corp, on the current state of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives since the death of George Floyd in 2020.

“That problems that existed before George Floyd are the same ones that exist after his murder,” Bates says in response to questions about the promises and initiatives made from corporations in 2020.

Bates says that while almost every company and employer moved to hire people into DEI roles, those roles have since lessened and even come under attack.  

A report, which prompted the panel interview, shows that inequity in the workplace is actually increasing, not decreasing. 

“There have been some changes,” Bates says, but not much ground has been gained. There is also new legislation in different states that could thwart future teachings about DEI, says Bates.

Dr. Bates is also faculty affiliate in UC's Department of Africana Studies.

Listen to the interview. 

Featured image at top by Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand