Channel Committed to DEI as Tech Giants Roll Back ProgramsChannel Committed to DEI as Tech Giants Roll Back Programs

It’s been widely reported that many tech giants are cutting their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Most recently, Meta and Amazon have rolled back DEI programs.

In a memo to staff about the decision, which affects hiring, supplier and training efforts, Meta cited a “shifting legal and policy landscape” ahead of President Donald Trump's return to the White House this month.

“It has been a challenging 12 months for DEI at a corporate and global level,” said Elsa Nightingale, principal ESG analyst, Canalys — an Informa Tech Target company that also owns Channel Futures.

But so far, channel partners aren’t following suit. Indeed, most seem steadfast in their commitment to increasing diversity in their organizations.

Canalys data reveals that 31% of channel partners globally have seen their DEI teams reduced in size — or eliminated entirely.  A further 33% stated they did not have a DEI team to begin with. However, interestingly, 36% of partners report their DEI teams have grown or remained the same size in the last year. Therefore, the largest category of all (36%) continue to invest in DEI teams. 

“We are increasingly seeing IT vendors walk back on their DEI commitments and reduce DEI investments. However, on communication, we are seeing a divergence between vendors and partners,” said Nightingale.

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“When Canalys asked channel partners whether their communication on DEI had changed in the last twelve months, only 12% of partners reported that their companies were communicating less on DEI.”

Moreover, a significant 54% stated that their companies were communicating more on DEI, or at the same rate as previous years. 

“The macro-political context cannot be ignored: Many of the vendors currently walking back on commitments are headquartered in the United States. For some audiences, these walk-backs will be welcomed,” said Nightingale. “However, for many, they fuel the view that corporate commitments cannot be taken seriously, and earlier DEI commitments lacked sincerity, reliability and accountability. This division will create a group of company ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ on DEI worldwide. After all, the role of DEI in achieving business success has been well documented in recent years.

“However, we should not forget that the Black Lives Matter movement rose to global prominence under a Trump presidency, alongside the 2019 climate strikes. So, all is not lost on DEI, and other vendors and channel partners remain steadfast on DEI," Nightingale added.

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EMEA channel partners and execs that spoke to Channel Futures remain committed to building a diverse workforce.

Exertis' Jo Lawrence

Jo Lawrence is people director at distributor Exertis UK. She said: “As the executive sponsor of the employee resource groups at Exertis, I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of driving change in our industry and communities through DEI initiatives. Everyone deserves to feel valued, included and celebrated, and we’ve found our ERGs to be a successful way of championing people to be their true selves at work. Our data shows that authentically focusing on DEI leads to colleagues feeling more connected and engaged, resulting in improved business and meaningful solutions for our partners.”

Nigel Dunn, VP & managing director, EMEA North at Jabra, believes rolling back on DEI will be detrimental to business.

Jabra's Nigel Dunn

“How can you say you employ, nurture and develop the best talent if you don’t openly support DE&I? By its nature, it’s a policy of exclusion. History tells us that innovation, inventions and change has been driven by all races across this globe and it proves there is no single monopoly on these things," said Dunn.

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Dunn feels passionately that the efforts to cut back DEI efforts are “driven by fear or threat to the status quo.”

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“[DEI] is seen as an impediment to growth," he said. "Management view it as tick-box exercises, an investment of money in training [and] investment in time. They are angry about potential targets or positive discrimination. In the U.S., they even talk about the biggest area of oppression [being] middle-aged white men as they find it more difficult to get jobs, citing DE&I targets as discrimination.”

But Dunn points to the overwhelming number of men in channel roles, compared to women. This is a vicious circle as many companies don’t market themselves well to women.

“In my experience in the past and today, there is always a disproportionately higher percentage of women salespeople in the top performance quartile vs. men. Yet if my company puts out a job advert tomorrow, nine out of 10 applicants will be male,” he said. “A simple thing for the channel to consider is, how do you sell or market to a culturally diverse market where your decision makers and users will be swayed by how you present yourself and your credentials?”

Dunn said that if the U.S. venture-capital market “had blinkered itself on DE&I, there simply would not be companies like Google, Nvidia or Tesla around today.”

He added: “Now is not the time to limit ideas, innovation and progress by clinging to old biases and insecurity. Many leaders and managers will be fearing for their jobs and may take the less risky option of not recruiting people smart enough to embrace the future. Doing so will actually drag their company backwards in terms of competition and growth.”